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Title: Diary of A.H. Lewis
Description: This diary, written between December 15, 1861 and March 19, 1862, records the experience of A.H. Lewis of Saline County, Missouri as a Confederate soldier and prisoner of war. Lewis’s company of Missouri State Guards was captured by Col. Davis in the Battle of Blackwater River on December 19, 1861. After being held for several weeks at the St. Louis military prison, the Confederate prisoners were moved to the penitentiary at Alton, Illinois. Although Lewis initially criticized prisoners who took an Oath of Loyalty to the Federal government to gain freedom, Lewis took the Oath himself on March 14, 1862 and was released.
Object Type: Diary
Date: December 15, 1861 - March 19, 1862

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter from Clinton, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. In the letter, dated July 3 and 5, 1864, Bushnell expresses fear that his life may be in danger and that his letters may be misconstrued as disloyal. He criticizes traitors and declares that this country was “not made by selfish hands for selfish purposes.” He says that soldiers have left Calhoun, and that he would like to know what they are doing next, but does not want to “manifest any unusual curiosities.” He also mentions hearing a sermon on Independence Day about racial equality.
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 3, 1864-July 5, 1864

Title: From Ben Loan to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On September 28, 1862, Brig. Gen. Ben Loan writes from Headquarters, Central Division of Missouri, in Jefferson City, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Loan reports that he sent Capt. Hout's company to Sedalia, Missouri and ordered Col. Spedden to take command at Warrensburg, Missouri. He tells Gamble that "the condition of our citizens on the western border is most deplorable," and that the Missouri militia has suffered "persecution and outrage at the hands of the guerrillas."
Date: September 28, 1862

Title: Diary of John Ament
Description: This diary, kept by John Ament or possibly one of his children between August 7, 1863 and August 24, 1863, records the family's flight out of Cass County, Missouri after being ordered to leave their home. Ament and several neighboring families travelled by wagon “in the dust and dirt,” through the towns of Boonville, Sturgeon, Mexico, and others. The diary, kept in a penmanship notebook originally used to document Ament’s work as Treasurer for his church, includes a transcription of the poem “The Soldier’s Misfortune.”
Object Type: Diary
Date: August 7, 1863 - August 24, 1863

Title: From S.A. Routsong to Wife Ellen
Description: S.A. Routsong writes a letter to his wife, Ellen, on November 13 and 14, 1862. He describes recent travel to Iowa and assures her of his safety. He states that he has heard that William Clarke Quantrill is travelling South through Johnson and Bates counties “with the Militia hard after him of course”. He also mentions a rumor that “the New + Old Militia were fighting each other” in Jefferson City.
Date: November 13, 1862 - November 15, 1862

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