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Title: From Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown
Description: This letter, dated April 22, 1862, is from Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown. Chandler reports that his regiment recently marched from Wyandotte, Kansas to Paola, Kansas and merged with the "3d Regt." He adds that the staff officers, including colonels and surgeons, have been mustered out of his regiment, and that he may lose his position as hospital steward.
Object Type: Image
Date: April 22, 1862

Title: From Sara Robinson to "My Dear Martha"
Description: This letter, dated October 19, 1862, is from Sara Robinson in Topeka, Kansas to Martha. Sara reports that her husband, Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson, went to Altoona, Pennsylvania to meet "the Governors," but by the time he arrived they had already gone to Washington, D.C. Charles "had no wish to see the Sec. of War or the President, both of whom have treated him & the young state of Kansas so villainously & did not follow them." Sara states that when Charles returned, he went to St. Louis to see Gen. Curtis.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 19, 1862

Title: From James Griffing to Unknown
Description: This letter, dated January 10, 1854 but presumably written January 10, 1855, was sent by James Griffing in Wyandotte County, Kansas to an unknown recipient. James discusses pioneer life in Kansas Territory, claiming that it is not at all dangerous: “Our society is mostly all from the East, and you feel just as much composed as when in New England.” Although James believes Missourians are more dangerous than the American Indians, he insists “there is no more reason for a person who attends to his own business to be afraid here” than anywhere else.
Date: January 10, 1855

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: 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: From Abelard Guthrie to James Henry Lane
Description: This letter, dated November 21, 1864, is from Abelard Guthrie in Quindaro, Kansas to James Henry Lane. Guthrie reports on the proceedings of a Supreme Court case to determine if Kansas has the right to tax land assigned to the Shawnee Indians. Guthrie argues that if the court exempts these areas from taxation, it will deprive "the counties of Douglass, Johnson, and Wyandot of about sixty thousand dollars of taxes which they sorely need."
Date: November 21, 1864

Title: Shawnee Indian Mission, Wyandotte County, Kansas
Description: Photograph of the Shawnee Indian Mission, where the Bogus Legislature met on May 30, 1855.
Object Type: Image
Date: July 6, 1940

Title: From Samuel Lyle Adair to Florella Brown Adair
Description: This letter was written March 26 and 29, and April 1, 1861 by Samuel Lyle Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas, to his wife Florella Brown Adair. Samuel writes that he was forced to borrow money to continue work on the church’s construction, and will likely need to borrow more; he explains that this is difficult in Osawatomie because money is scarce. He states that many people in Kansas are destitute, although aid continues to arrive in the county, including a shipment of seed wheat from the New England Relief Committee.
Date: March 26, 1861-April 1, 1861

Title: Affidavit of Henry E. McKee
Description: This is the sworn affidavit of Henry E. McKee, signed by Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on October 4, 1856. McKee claims that on October 2, he witnessed H. Miles Moore enter the American Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, where eight men captured him. They took Moore to Wyandotte, Kansas and “unlawfully imprisoned” him there, McKee says. He adds that if Moore does not receive help soon, “his life is in great hazard and will be sacrificed.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 4, 1856

Title: Maps of Shawnee Indian Reservation
Description: These 21 plat maps were made ca. 1857 by Isaac Cooper Stuck. The maps are marked with geographical features and locations of people’s land claims within the Shawnee Indian Reservation in eastern Kansas.
Object Type: Map

Title: Muster Rolls of Kansas Volunteer Regiments
Description: These muster rolls from 1861 and 1862 list the names, ranks, and enrollment dates of soldiers in companies from the 4th and 10th Kansas Volunteer Regiments. They also list the names of soldiers who deserted their regiments or were discharged, transferred, or deceased. The companies were commanded by Capt. James M. Harvey, Capt. James H. Harris, Col. William Weir, and Col. William Cloud.
Date: 1861-1862

Title: Report on Price's Raid
Description: James Henry Lane wrote this report ca. October 1864 about his role in the campaign against Price's Raid. Lane states that he accompanied Gen. Blunt, Col. Moonlight, Col. Jennison, and Gen. Curtis on an expedition into Missouri to impede Sterling Price and his forces. Lane describes the Second Battle of Lexington, the Second Battle of Independence, the Battle of Byram's Ford, the Battle of Westport, and the Battle of Little Blue River.

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