Bald Knobbers

The Bald Knobbers were a group of vigilantes in the Ozark region of southwest Missouri during the period 1883–1889. They are commonly depicted wearing hoods with horns, a distinction that evolved during the rapid proliferation of the group into neighboring counties from its Taney County origins.

The group got its name from the grassy bald knob summits of the Ozark Mountains in the area. The hill where they first met is called Snapp's Bald, located just north of Kirbyville, Missouri.

The Bald Knobbers, who for the most part had sided with the North in the American Civil War, were opposed by the Anti-Bald Knobbers, who for the most part had sided with the Confederates.

Hernando summarizes their political role:

During the Civil War, Missouri as a border state was hard hit by neighbor against neighbor bushwhacker fighting. After the war the neighbor versus neighbor fighting continued throughout the state with perhaps the most famous being the actions of the James-Younger Gang. Authorities had a difficult time bringing the criminal fighting under control because both sides still held strong partisan supporters.

Between 1865 and 1885 Taney County reported there were 40 murders and not a single suspect was ever convicted. The Bald Knobbers initially set out to put an end to the marauding gangs. But the Bald Knobbers were to end up having their own excesses and criminal activities.

In 1883, thirteen men led by Nat N. Kinney formed the group, in retaliation against the hordes of invading marauders that had plagued the area since the start of the Reconstruction Era. The original thirteen were Nat Kinney, James A. DeLong, Alonzo S. Prather, Yell Everett, James B. Rice, T.W. Phillips, James R VanZandt, Pat F. Fickle, Galba E. Branson, J. J. Brown, Charles H. Groom, James K. Polk McHaffie, and possibly Ben Price. During the period of 1865-1882, over thirty murders were committed, none leading to a conviction. The group was called both the "Citizen's Committee" and "The Law and Order League" by its members. However, because their secret meetings were held atop a "bald" mountaintop (in order to keep a lookout for spies), the public began to refer to them as the Bald Knobbers. As their numbers grew into the hundreds, out of a county of only 7,000 people, the original intent began to lose focus. Though initially praised for driving out the notorious outlaws (such as the Taylor brothers), public sentiment soon turned against them.

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