Sacking of Osceola
| Sacking of Osceola | |
|---|---|
| Part of American Civil War | |
| Location | Osceola, Missouri | 
| Date | September 23, 1861 | 
| Target | Citizens of Osceola | 
Attack type  | War crime, looting, extrajudicial killings of civilians, state-sponsored terrorism | 
| Deaths | 9 | 
| Perpetrators | Pro-Union Jayhawkers | 
The sacking of Osceola was a Kansas Jayhawker initiative on September 23, 1861, to push out pro-slavery Southerners at Osceola, Missouri. It was not authorized by Union military authorities but was the work of an informal group of anti-slavery Kansas "Jayhawkers". The town of 2,077 people was plundered and burned to the ground, 200 slaves were freed and nine local citizens were court-martialed and executed.