Sacking of Osceola

Sacking of Osceola
Part of American Civil War
LocationOsceola, Missouri
DateSeptember 23, 1861
TargetCitizens of Osceola
Attack type
War crime, looting, extrajudicial killings of civilians, state-sponsored terrorism
Deaths9
PerpetratorsPro-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.