Occasionally, evidence emerges from the archives to send a clear reminder of the abhorrent state of war that existed in Missouri from 1861 to 1865. This vitriolic pamphlet, which was intended to raise money in support of the state's Union soldiers and their families, denounced the actions of Confederate bushwhackers in northwestern Missouri from the earliest days of the war to 1864. Among the stories outlined in the pamphlet—some accurate, others undoubtedly embellished—are accounts of plunder, the collapse of law and order, conspiracy, torture, murder, and mutilation of prisoners' bodies.