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Title: Warrant for the Arrest of Gen. John Reid
Description: This warrant for the arrest of Gen. John Reid was issued on September 19, 1856 by S.G. Cato, Assistant Justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas Territory. The warrant accuses Reid and others of sacking and burning the town of Osawatomie, Kansas, kidnapping two people, and stealing property worth several thousand dollars on August 30, 1856.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: September 19, 1856

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
Description: This letter was written on March 31, 1855, by Frederick Starr in Weston, Missouri, to his father. Starr describes the election fraud that took place at the Kansas legislative elections on March 30, calling it “a high handed outrage.” He says that hundreds of armed, pro-slavery Missourians came into Kansas to disrupt the election, and that more than 800 illegal votes were cast in Leavenworth, Kansas. Starr asks his father to publish the information in his letter in the Albany Evening Journal, without mentioning his name.
Date: March 31, 1855

Title: From Thomas McCleary to Hugh D. Fisher
Description: On September 25, 1863, Thomas McCleary writes from Blairsville to Rev. Hugh D. Fisher. McCleary says he was glad to hear of Fisher’s “Providential escape from the hands of the Rebbels.” He expresses hope that Kansas may rise in her strength and demolish border ruffians…and all that opposes freedom.”
Date: September 25, 1863

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: This is an excerpt from a letter written on December 1, 1854 by Frederick Starr to an unknown recipient. Starr describes a recent “outrage on the ballot box” during elections in Kansas, when “Some 1200 or 1400 Missourians armed with bowie-knives & revolvers took the polls.” Starr says that many free-soilers were unable to reach the polls at all, and declares that “Big times are coming.” He adds that circumstances in Weston, Missouri “look dark.”
Date: December 1, 1854

Title: Battle of Osawatomie
Description: In this excerpt of a ca. 1856-1861 document, Orville Chester Brown describes the August 30, 1856 Battle of Osawatomie. In the middle of the night, Brown states, John Reid led his men towards Osawatomie. At dawn they marched into the town armed with bayonets, and the men of the town “flew to arms – whilst the women in their night clothes bearing their children in their arms fled to the woods.” Brown's house was burned down in the battle and his son was taken prisoner.
Object Type: Document

Title: Tender of Service of Martin White
Description: In this document, created October 5, 1856, a volunteer company of mounted riflemen in Lykins County, Kansas, tenders its service to the Governor of Kansas Territory. The document includes a list of the company’s officers, including Captain Martin White.
Date: October 5, 1856

Title: From T.W. Trego to Dear Sister Alice
Description: This letter, dated October 18, 1862, is from T.W. Trego in Chicago to his sister-in-law Alice in Kansas. He tells her that he has recently heard from Alice’s husband Joseph, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, and that he is camped in Helena, Arkansas. He speculates that Joseph’s regiment “must feel very uneasy down there in their inactivity while so many brilliant victories are being won elsewhere.” He expresses hope that Alice is not in danger of guerrilla attacks from the “Missouri ruffians.”
Date: October 18, 1862

Title: Petition of Sundry Citizens of Pottawatomie Creek
Description: This petition, dated September 19, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by 32 Kansas citizens living near the Pottawatomie, Sugar, and Middle Creeks and the Osage River. The petitioners describe several recent guerrilla attacks in their region, including the Battle of Osawatomie, and ask for Geary to take action. They complain that the attacks, launched by Missourians and “guided by a few desperate men in our midst,” have succeeded in “sacking and burning houses and in robbing and plundering and menacing the lives of our citizens.”
Object Type: Petition
Date: September 19, 1856

Title: From James A. Holmes to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 2, 1856, was written by James A. Holmes on behalf of the people of Osawatomie, Kansas, to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Holmes states that on August 30, 1856, a band of 410 Border Ruffians led by Martin White attacked Osawatomie, killing two men and injuring a third before plundering and burning the town. Holmes seeks permission for the citizens of Osawatomie to organize in self-defense against another attack by White.
Date: October 2, 1856

Title: From Martin White to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 5, 1856, was sent by Martin White in Miami County, Kansas, to Kansas Governor John Geary. White is frustrated by Geary’s lack of response to his previous requests for troops to protect local citizens against John Brown’s raids. White states that has raised a company of 80 men who wish to be mustered into the U.S. service to help with local defense.
Date: October 5, 1856

Title: From James Griffing to Augusta
Description: This April 6, 1855 letter was written by James Griffing in Wakarusa, Kansas, to Augusta. James has been helping some new “pioneer friends” stake a claim and become settled in Kansas Territory, remarking, “You can hardly think how fast the emigration is pouring in from the free states.” James describes a recent episode of election fraud: “armed forces from Missouri came and took possession of the ballot boxes and pretty much carried on the election as they pleased. Their proceedings will only work against them.”
Date: April 6, 1855

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: In a June 29, 1856 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas predicts the onset of war and states that he is happy about it, “for the North needs something to wake them up once.” He also expresses happiness about the recent presidential nomination of John C. Fremont. He anticipates that there will be trouble at the July 4 convention of the Topeka Legislature, stating, “I hope for the best, but fear for the consequences.” He recommends that his parents read the book "Six Months in Kansas" by Hannah Anderson Ropes.
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 29, 1856

Title: From Thomas R. Mitchell to J.T. Sweringen
Description: This letter is from Thomas R. Mitchell to J.T. Sweringen. Mitchell writes from Huntsville, Missouri on June 20, 1857, to inform Sweringen that Mrs. Ralston has safely arrived in town: "She found no difficulty in getting along amongst the 'border ruffians.'" He also expresses his concern that crops in Missouri are scarce this season.
Date: June 20, 1857

Title: Proclamation to the State of Missouri
Description: In response to the federal government’s order that all eligible men enroll for the draft, Upton Hays and William Clarke Quantrill issue this proclamation to the state of Missouri. Hays and Quantrill state that all Missourians joining their forces will be furnished with arms and ammunition. “Any one who shall be found guilty of reporting to any military post the whereabouts of any Southern person shall be shot,” while men eligible for military duty who leave the state will be deemed “enemies of the ‘South’ and treated accordingly.”
Object Type: Circular
Date: August 4, 1862

Title: From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated June 26, 1863, was written by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Washington, DC, to James L. McDowell. Carney writes that Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, has refused to approve Major General Schofield’s order to raise a regiment. Carney says that if necessary he will “foot the bill” himself to defend “helpless women and children” from the “brutal...ruffian raids that have so long cursed our state.”
Date: June 26, 1863

Title: From William Clarke Quantrill to William W. Scott
Description: William Clarke Quantrill writes a letter from Olathe, Kansas to William W. Scott on January 22, 1858. Quantrill reports the results of a recent election on the Lecompton Constitution, which he refers to as the "Lecompton swindle." He mentions a recent skirmish at Fort Scott and declares it "a pity" that the Kansas settlers "had not shot every Missourian that was there." He also calls James Henry Lane "as good a man as we have here" and describes Kansas Democrats as "rascals."
Date: January 22, 1858

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown
Description: Leigh R. Webber writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to Miss Brown on October 22, 1859. He reports on recent events in Kansas politics, mentioning that Charles Robinson was nominated for Governor and James Henry Lane plans to run for Senate if Kansas is admitted to the Union. He reports that John Brown has caused "quite a row in the East" and criticizes Brown's "insane madness against the Slave Power."
Date: October 22, 1859

Title: From Wilson Shannon to Franklin Pierce
Description: This letter, dated June 27, 1856, was written by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in St. Louis to President Franklin Pierce. Shannon informs Pierce that after recent “troubles” in Kansas Territory, the area is no longer threatened by any “illegal military bodies” as far as he knows. Shannon believes that the presence of federal troops helped to restore peace, and states that these troops should be maintained in Kansas to help suppress future conflicts. Shannon is particularly concerned about the threat of civil unrest if the Free State legislature meets, as planned, on July 4, 1856.
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 27, 1856

Title: From James Griffing to Augusta
Description: This letter, dated June 8, 1855, was sent to Augusta by James Griffing at Walnut Cabin. James discusses frontier life and news of friends in the area, and says that he plans to dispose of his current claim and secure one near Topeka, Kansas. He reassures Augusta that Kansas remains safe despite a violent episode of election fraud perpetrated by “a gang of drunken, worthless villains.”
Date: June 8, 1855

Title: From D.R. Anthony to Dear Sister
Description: D.R. Anthony writes a letter from Leavenworth, Kansas to his sister on September 10 and 11, 1858. He reports the results of a recent municipal election, which put into office three Democrats, two Whigs, and fourteen Republicans. He expresses dismay about local Irish-Americans voting Democrat and their desire to establish a “Free white state for white men.” Anthony decries the rampant racism of the times, as well as “the ignorance and prejudice of the Irish.” He tells his sister that his antislavery stance has earned him “the reputation of being one of the most radical men in Kansas.”
Date: September 10, 1858-September 11, 1858

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

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