Error message
Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in IslandoraSolrDisplayManagerResults->currentQueryDisplays() (line 222 of /var/www/drupal7/sites/all/modules/islandora_solr_display_manager/includes/islandora_solr_display_manager.inc).
Pages
-
-
Title
-
Statement of C.W. Babcock
-
Description
-
This is C.W. Babcock’s sworn statement to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Dated October 11, 1856, the statement claims that a man named Castleman, posing as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, unlawfully arrested Babcock in Topeka, forcibly moved him to Lecompton, and held him there for three hours.
-
Object Type
-
Legal Document
-
Date
-
October 11, 1856
-
-
Title
-
Report of Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs
-
Description
-
This report, dated September 29, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs. Tebbs tells Geary that the U.S. Marshal sent him to Topeka to make several arrests. In his first attempt to make an arrest, Tebbs says, the suspect escaped and could not be found; the townspeople then told him that if he tried to arrest anyone else, he would be resisted. Tebbs also informs Geary that Col. Lane was spotted near the Nebraska state line.
-
Object Type
-
Government Document
-
Date
-
September 29, 1856
-
-
Title
-
From John Montgomery and C.H. Withington to John W. Geary
-
Description
-
John Montgomery and C.H. Withington write a letter to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on September 16, 1856. They inform Geary that a group of armed abolitionists belonging to Gen. Lane’s army invaded their settlement in Allen County, robbed stores, destroyed property, and declared that anyone who refused to join them “may expect to meet a bitter fate.” Montgomery and Withington claim that their community has no means of self-defense and they ask Geary for protection.
-
Date
-
September 16, 1856
-
-
Title
-
Gale Block, Topeka, Kansas
-
Description
-
Photograph of the Gale block in Topeka, Kansas, where the Kansas state legislature convened in the 1860s.
-
Object Type
-
Image
-
-
Title
-
From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie Huntoon
-
Description
-
A.J. Huntoon writes a letter from Shawnee County, Kansas to his wife Lizzie in New Hampshire. The letter, dated December 30, 1860-January 4, 1861, describes Huntoon’s daily life in Kansas Territory. He also reports to his wife that he plans to travel to Lecompton the following week “to witness the convening of our territorial legislature.”
-
Date
-
December 30, 1860-January 4, 1861
-
-
Title
-
From Daniel Woodson to H.H. Sibley
-
Description
-
This dispatch, dated July 4, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson in camp with the 1st Cavalry at Topeka, Kansas, to Major H.H. Sibley, 2nd Dragoons. Woodson instructs Sibley to march his command down to the vicinity of Topeka and encamp for the day just above the town.
-
Date
-
July 4, 1856
-
-
Title
-
Proclamation of Daniel Woodson
-
Description
-
This proclamation was issued July 4, 1856 by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson. Woodson forbids all persons claiming legislative authority or power in Kansas from assembling at Topeka, Kansas and from organizing, attempting to organize, or acting in any legislative capacity whatsoever. Woodson declares that this proclamation upholds President Pierce’s proclamation of February 11, 1856, which decreed that all such acts would be considered insurrectionary.
-
Object Type
-
Government Document
-
Date
-
July 4, 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 S.P. Higgins to John W. Geary
-
Description
-
Lieut. S.P. Higgins writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 23, 1856. He informs Geary that 31 prisoners in his custody escaped the previous night through holes in the prison walls. He says that he suspected the prisoners were headed for Topeka, so he travelled there, but did not find them. He now suspects that they might have gone to Lawrence, and assures Geary that he will update him when he receives new information.
-
Date
-
November 23, 1856
-
-
Title
-
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
-
Description
-
Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts on February 24, 1856. He says that the Free State Legislature plans to meet next month in Topeka, and that President Pierce has proclaimed them traitors. Fitch predicts that the Missourians will attack Kansas, “but if they try it we shall have a bloody time out here.” He finishes the letter on March 9 and tells his parents that the Legislature met in Topeka, and that no violence occurred.
-
Date
-
February 24, 1856-March 9, 1856
-
-
Title
-
The Western Dispatch.
-
Description
-
This is the August 17, 1856 evening issue of the Western Dispatch, printed in Independence, Missouri. The newspaper announces that war is "being waged by the Abolitionists," and reports that James Henry Lane, John Brown, and their forces have robbed several Kansas residents and driven them into Missouri. The paper also mentions that Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon requested aid from the U.S. military, but was refused. A last minute extra, printed at the bottom of the paper, states that Lane and his men have captured Lecompton.
-
Object Type
-
Newspaper Article
-
Date
-
August 17, 1856
-
-
Title
-
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
-
Description
-
Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter on August 25, 1856 to his parents, who live in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Edward argues that Hopkinton, his hometown, should pay him for his contributions to the Free State cause in Kansas. He adds that a lot of his neighbors also need financial help and don’t have enough food or clothing. He writes that he recently attended the funeral of Captain Shombre, who was fatally wounded at the Battle of Fort Titus, and mentions that Major David S. Hoyt was killed the same week in an attack at Washington Creek.
-
Object Type
-
Letter
-
Date
-
August 25, 1856
-
-
Title
-
From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
-
Description
-
Edward Fitch writes a July 26, 1855 letter from aboard a steamboat on Lake Erie. He tells friends in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts that he is en route from Boston to Osawatomie, Kansas. He describes the other members of his travelling party, a group of nineteen emigrants he is taking to Kansas for the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
-
Object Type
-
Letter
-
Date
-
July 26, 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 Daniel Woodson to Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke
-
Description
-
This letter, dated September 1, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke near Lecompton. Woodson instructs Cooke to proceed immediately with U.S. troops to Topeka, Kansas and disarm all insurrectionists, burn their fortifications and breastworks, and take as prisoner any man found in arms against the Territorial government. Woodson also directs Cooke to station a detachment of troops near the road leading from the Nebraska line to Topeka, to “intercept all aggressive invaders…that may make their appearance.”
-
Date
-
September 1, 1856
-
-
Title
-
Statement of Wilson Shannon
-
Description
-
This statement by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon was written ca. December 1855. Shannon describes the series of events leading to the Wakarusa War, beginning with the murder of a Free State supporter named Charles Dow by Franklin Coleman, a proslavery man. To address the subsequent civil unrest in Douglas County, Kansas, Shannon asks General Richardson, General Strickler, and Col. Sumner to supply troops and assist Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones in restoring order.
-
Object Type
-
Government Document
-
-
Title
-
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
-
Description
-
Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas, writes a letter to his parents in Massachusetts on August 9, 1857, announcing that Kansas has voted to ratify the Topeka Constitution. He adds that Free State supporters appear to comprise a majority in Kansas. Fitch complains about a recent Herald of Freedom article on the apportionment of the Kansas Legislature, and claims that it is “the most damning piece of villany ever perpetrated by any men or set of men.”
-
Date
-
August 9, 1857
-
-
Title
-
Kansas - Col. Sumner Arriving at Constitution Hall
-
Description
-
Wood engraving of Col. Sumner dispersing the Topeka Legislature on July 4, 1856. The Topeka legislature met to draft a request to Congress for the admission of Kansas as a free state, but federal soldiers under command of Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner dispersed the assembly. The Topeka Constitution was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, but the U.S. Senate rejected it by two votes.
-
Object Type
-
Image
-
Date
-
July 26, 1856
-
-
Title
-
From Daniel Woodson to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore
-
Description
-
This letter, dated September 3, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson at Lecompton, Kansas to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore on behalf of the Kansas State Central Committee. Woodson refers to Gen. James Lane’s recent raid on Franklin, Kansas and several other areas of the Territory. He reminds Hutchinson and Moore about the proclamation issued August 25, 1856, declaring Kansas to be in a state of insurrection, and also cites the recent general order issued to Gen. Richardson and Gen. Coffey forbidding the burning of houses under any circumstances.
-
Object Type
-
Letter
-
Date
-
September 3, 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
Pages