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Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This letter, dated September 21, 1856, is from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts. He tells them that he and his army regiment marched to Franklin the previous week in an attempt to defend the town from Border Ruffians. The Ruffians rode into town, burned several buildings, robbed Fitch of everything he owned, and then “dispersed in different directions . . . stealing and murdering as they went.” Fitch mentions his suspicion that Governor Geary is a traitor who has negotiated with the Border Ruffians.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 21, 1856-September 28, 1856

Title: From John W. Geary to F.J. Marshall
Description: This dispatch, dated September 16, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. John W. Geary in Lecompton, Kansas, to Gen. F.J. Marshall, 1st Division, Northern Kansas Militia. Geary received Marshall’s dispatch about the threatened invasion of Gen. Lane’s troops and his proposal to station regiments of the Kansas Militia along the northern Kansas line. Geary replies that if such an invasion occurs, he will first employ U.S. troops to combat it, and then call upon Kansas Militia troops if necessary.
Date: September 16, 1856

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: Proclamation to Discharge Kansas Volunteer Militia
Description: The lower half of this page includes a complete proclamation by Territorial Kansas Governor John W. Geary on September 11, 1856. Geary declares that the Kansas volunteer militia, originally organized to maintain order, is "no longer required, and hereby order that they be immediately discharged." This page is taken from the 1888 publication of Collections of the Kansas Historical Society, v. IV.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 11, 1856

Title: Correspondence of the Kansas Territory Executive Department
Description: These documents, dated between 1855 and 1856, relate to the organization and administration of the Kansas Territorial Militia, Northern Division. The documents include commissions issued by acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson, officer appointments, and company requests to be mustered out of service.
Date: 1855-1856

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