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Title: Court Martial Proceedings Against Capt. John E. Stewart
Description: This document details the court martial proceedings at Kansas City, Missouri against Capt. John E. Stewart, Co. C, 9th Kansas Volunteers on November 18, 1863. Stewart is accused of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a Gentleman” by misrepresenting himself as a Missouri citizen to Kansas City election officials on November 5, 1863. Stewart pleaded not guilty and was acquitted. On the last page of the document, General Ewing writes a response in which he asks the court to reconsider the verdict.
Date: November 18, 1863

Title: Memorandum of Losses to Federal Troops, 1861-1863
Description: This table, written between 1861 and 1863, summarizes property losses sustained by Daniel A. DeWitt of Jackson County, Missouri during the war. Raided six times, DeWitt kept a careful record of each item lost to Union forces, listing its description and value and the name of the commanding officer responsible for the raid. Clothing, horses, livestock, farm equipment, and crops were among the items taken; the final raid, including the loss of “house and contents,” occurred on August 25, 1863 when DeWitt’s farm was burned out.
Object Type: Document
Date: 1861-1863

Title: Special Orders
Description: This order, issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas E. Ewing, commands John Poyntz, a resident of Cass County, Missouri, to leave the state until the end of the war. The document is written on official letterhead from the Headquarters of the District of the Border in Kansas City, Missouri. It is signed by Charles S. Hills, Captain and Acting Assistant Provost Marshal for the District of the Border, and dated September 19, 1863.
Date: September 19, 1863

Title: From J.C. Iserman to Brother William
Description: J.C. Iserman writes a letter from Independence, Missouri to his brother William on September 21, 1861. He tells William that he is surrounded by danger. He mentions the Battle of Liberty and the First Battle of Lexington, and says he can hear "cannons booming on all sides." He also writes about his desire to leave Missouri, complaining that "the Secessionist are stealing all the horses and cattle from the Unions and the Jayhawkers from Kansas are retaliating. Times are very hard."
Date: September 21, 1861

Title: Special Orders, No. 70 and No. 4
Description: These orders were issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas E. Ewing in 1863. Special Order No. 70, dated September 5, 1863 and signed by Maj. Preston B. Plumb, commands Dr. Joseph Chew and his family, residents of Kansas City, Missouri, to leave the area “during the rebellion.” Special Order No. 4, dated October 20, 1863 and signed by Lt. Col. R.T. Van Horn, revokes the banishment of Chew and his family, and authorizes them to reside in Clay, Platte, Ray, or Carroll Counties, Missouri.
Date: September 5, 1863 and October 20, 1863

Title: From P. McClanahan to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 23, 1863, is from P. McClanahan in Independence, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. McClanahan writes that Gen. Ewing has ordered citizens to return to their homes, but "no one with any sense or discretion would accept . . . in my opinion this last order is no better than the famous Order No 11." He also tells Comingo that Red Crenshaw's house was burned down.
Date: November 23, 1863

Title: From E.F. Slaughter to Eliza Colgan
Description: On October 7, 1864, E.F. Slaughter writes from Hickmans Mill, Missouri to Mrs. Eliza Colgan. Slaughter says that prices for goods are rising and "farmers can't keep up with the merchant." He reports that the railroad is complete "from Independence to Kansas City and next spring will be run through to St. Louis…If we only had peace we might enjoy the sight of such improvements." He also mentions that "there was a great revival of religion in the army."
Date: October 7, 1864

Title: Disloyalists Banished from Western Missouri
Description: This newspaper clipping, ca. August 1863, lists the names of "disloyalists" who were banished from Western Missouri in accordance with Gen. Ewing's General Order No. 11. The people listed were residents of Kansas City, Missouri; Independence, Missouri; Osage County, Kansas; and Olathe, Kansas. The order prohibits these "disloyal" citizens from residing in their homes or in Platte, Clay, Ray, or Carroll counties.
Object Type: Newspaper Article

Title: From Thomas E. Ewing to Thomas Carney
Description: This telegram, dated August 27, 1863 was sent by Brig. Gen. Thomas E. Ewing in Kansas City, Missouri, to Kansas Gov. Thomas Carney. Ewing writes: “I ask you to use your influence & authority to prevent any expedition of citizens or militia organizing in Leavenworth for a Raid into Missouri.”
Object Type: Telegram
Date: August 27, 1863

Title: From Willard P. Hall to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On August 31, 1863, Willard Hall writes from Headquarters, State of Missouri in St. Louis to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Hall refers to "an order from Gen. Ewing"--presumably Order No. 11--and predicts that Jackson and Cass Counties in Missouri "will be laid waste" after its implementation. Hall adds that he will continue to protect the Missouri counties of Clay and Platte.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: August 31, 1863

Title: From Unknown to A. Comingo
Description: In this letter to A. Comingo, sent December 3, 1863 from Harrodsburg, the writer asks Comingo to send several items he left in Independence, Missouri to Lexington, Kentucky. The writer says that since "all is now quiet at Independence--and…there are no [soldiers] there," Comingo should be able to send the articles he requests.
Date: December 3, 1863

Title: From James Griffing to My Dear Wife
Description: This letter, dated October 23, 1864, was written by James Griffing in camp at Kansas City, Missouri, to his wife. James provides an account of “a tremendous battle about five miles south of this” (presumably the Battle of Westport), which he heard about via dispatches from the battlefield. James includes an assessment of the Union casualties from regimental surgeon Dr. Hidden: “he thought but few cases would prove fatal.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 23, 1864

Title: From Maurice E. Pitcher to Mr. Colgan
Description: On November 6, 1864, Maurice E. Pitcher writes from Independence, Missouri to Mr. Colgan. Pitcher states that he saw Colgan's son Willie on October 21 when he came into Missouri with Gen. Price's army: "he is looking quite well…he had no appearance of being 'one of Price's starved to death, rag-muffins.'" He says that Price's men "had a series of battles from little blue (in this county) until within a few miles of Fort Scott, and you may well imagine they had a series of successes."
Date: November 6, 1864

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Dear Wife and Boy
Description: This letter, dated October 6, 7, 10, and 11, 1861, is from A.J. Huntoon to his wife Lizzie and son Prentice. Huntoon, a member of the 5th Kansas Cavalry volunteer regiment, tells his family that he was ordered to take charge of a military hospital in Mapleton, Bourbon County, Kansas. He estimates that there are 50,000-55,000 Union soldiers in Missouri, including the companies of Generals Sturgis, Siegel, and Fremont, and that there are about 70,000 Confederate troops in Missouri under the commandment of Generals McCulloch and Rains. Huntoon predicts that “We will have a big battle in this vicinity ere so long.”
Date: October 6, 1861-October 11, 1861

Title: From G.W. Veale to George W. Dietzler
Description: On October 30, 1864, this dispatch was sent by Col. G.W. Veale at Headquarters, 2nd Regiment, Kansas State Militia in Topeka, Kansas, to Maj. Gen. Dietzler, Comm. Kansas State Militia. Veale reports on a recent campaign in which his regiment moved from Topeka to Shawneetown in Johnson County, Kansas, to Jackson County, Missouri, where it fought in the Battle of the Blue on October 22, 1864. Veale states that his regiment lost 44 killed and wounded, with 68 men taken prisoner after fighting “a force six times our number for three quarters of an hour.” The dispatch includes a list of the soldiers killed and wounded in the battle.
Date: October 30, 1864

Title: Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri
Description: This 1864 pamphlet, entitled “Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri,” was written by Major J.M. Bassett, former Provost Marshal-General of the Northwest District of Missouri. Bassett provides a “glance at the history of the Rebellion in Northwest Missouri,” admitting “it may be that my hatred for rebels is too intense, my sympathy for loyal men too strong, to make every sentence I write acceptable to all.” The pamphlet, which features several black-and-white illustrations, was published by the Press of Wynkcop, Hallenbeck, and Thomas in New York, with proceeds from its sale given to The Ladies’ Aid Society of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Date: 1864

Title: From Thomas Ewing to A.O. Runyan and Family
Description: This extract of Special Order No. 64 is addressed to A. O. Runyan and his family in Independence, Missouri. The order, issued from Headquarters, District of the Border in Kansas City, Missouri on August 29, 1863, instructs Runyan's family "to remove from this District within ten days," and forbids them from going to reside in Platte, Clay, Ray, or Carroll counties in Missouri. The order is issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing and signed by Maj. Preston B. Plumb, Chief of Staff.
Date: August 29, 1863

Title: From H.D. Palmer to Isaac Feback
Description: This letter, dated December 20, 1862, was written by H.D. Palmer in Independence, Missouri, to Isaac Feback. Palmer thanks Feback for his kindness, lamenting that he has few friends left who can rise above “political prejudice” as Feback has done. Palmer says he has done everything “to keep down jayhawking & protect my Union friends,” but has been betrayed by those friends and the militia who took his livestock without proper payment. Palmer notes that the oath of allegiance is meaningless unless it offers government protection for those who take it.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 20, 1862

Title: From John C. Gage to Dear Friends
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1862, was written by John C. Gage in Kansas City, Missouri to friends in Pelham, New Hampshire. John states that Confederate forces camped nearby have retreated to Arkansas, leaving the area vulnerable to guerrilla attacks. The biggest threat comes from Jim Lane’s brigade under Jennison, which is “raising and arming negroes in Kansas to plunder good citizens in Missouri.” Of Jennison, John declares, “He ought to be killed and I would esteem it the best act of my life to do it.”
Date: September 1, 1862

Title: From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
Description: This letter, written on the letterhead of Headquarters, Department of the Missouri and dated August 29, 1863, was sent by John M. Schofield in St. Louis to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Topeka, Kansas. Writing in the aftermath of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, Major General Schofield states his hope that President Lincoln will appoint a Court of Inquiry to investigate the raid. Schofield refers to a meeting proposed for September 8, 1863 in Paola, Kansas, in which participants plan to enter Missouri “to recover their stolen property.” Schofield emphasizes the need to preempt this potentially violent meeting.
Date: August 29, 1863

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865

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