To the editor:

While remembering Quantrill’s raid (“Unique to us,” LJW, Aug. 21), Lawrencians ought to also consider what provoked this murderous hatred.

Lawrence was indeed founded upon the “conviction that slavery must be abolished.” Prior to this raid, these freedom-fighters (or Jayhawkers) had committed a number of terrorist attacks to get this message across. William Quantrill and his band of bushwhackers may have been ruthless scoundrels, but they likely felt their violence was justified. By portraying the victims of Quantrill’s terror as totally innocent victims, your editorial not only distorts the historical record but also misrepresents the often morally messy fight for freedom.