CLAY COUNTY SAVINGS ASSOCIATION, LIBERTY MISSOURI

2/13/1866

It has been two weeks since the owners of the Clay County Savings Association held a large meeting of Republicans in Liberty at the bank. This has not gone unnoticed by men like Archie Clement, the James Brothers, Cole Younger, and others. It's been less than a year since the war ended, and they still felt as bitter as the moment they laid down their arms and took the damn oath. But they've also been paying attention to happenings down south in the Indian Territory, with the Yankees taking several lickings from the Indians. They knew they had to strike while the iron was hot, and hoped that they could set off the Missouri powderkeg and give the Yanks a taste of Missouri resistance. And so they set their sights on a special target: the Clay County Savings Association, owned and run by Greenup Bird and his son William.

On February 13th, at around 2 PM, a dozen men rode into Liberty and loitered around the bank. Two would go into the bank, hoping to get as much money as they had in the bank.