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From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Title
From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description
This letter, dated September 30, 1862, is from Joseph H. Trego, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his wife Alice. Trego, writing from Helena, Arkansas, says that he was sick the previous week, and that several of the soldiers in his regiment are severely ill: “There are three lying in the hospital now awaiting coffins. We will all be thankful if we ever get out of this place.” He adds that he was pleased to learn of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Date
September 30, 1862
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Title
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description
On July 8, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from Springfield, Missouri to his sister. Stowell says he was "heartily glad that the Rebels went into Pennsylvania," and predicts the war will soon come to an end. He tells his sister that his time in the U.S. service will expire in November 1864.
Date
July 8, 1863
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Title
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description
On April 22, 1865, Abishai Stowell writes from Lewisburg, Arkansas to his sister. Stowell, a member of Co. B, 2nd Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, reports that "the prospect is good for me to go home in a few days for the war is just about ended." He says the assassination of President Lincoln "has caused a great deal of excitement here[,] the Union people feel the loss to be one that can never be repaid while the Secesh are overjoyed with the news."
Object Type
Letter
Date
April 22, 1865
From Fred L. Haywood to Dear Sister Loesa
Title
From Fred L. Haywood to Dear Sister Loesa
Description
This letter, dated April 6, 1863, is from Fred L. Haywood, a soldier in the 1st Minnesota Battery, McArthur’s Division, Army of the Tennessee, to his sister Loesa. He writes from Louisiana, where both his regiment and the 1st Kansas Regiment are camped. He tells his sister that the 1st Kansas Regiment recently discovered, upon the death of one of their sergeants, that the sergeant was a woman: “You can imagine their astonishment . . . She was brave as a Lion in battle . . . She would have been promoted to a Lieutenancy in a few days if she had lived.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
April 6, 1863
From John Brown, Jr. to My Dear Friend
Title
From John Brown, Jr. to My Dear Friend
Description
This letter, dated July 18, 1862, is from John Brown, Jr., a former member of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his friend Parker Pillsbury. Last winter, Brown writes, he and his regiment helped to free more than 2,000 slaves. Now, he says, the commander of the regiment, Lieut. Col. Daniel R. Anthony, is under arrest. Brown includes a copy of a letter he received from another friend, Arthur T. Reeve, concerning Brig. Gen. Mitchell's arrest of Anthony. Brown writes: “His arrest for such a cause is in the estimation of every true man a greater honor than to have won a battle.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
June 26, 1862-July 18, 1862
From Sara Robinson to "My Dear Martha"
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
Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri
Title
Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri
Description
This 1864 pamphlet, entitled “Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri,” was written by Major J.M. Bassett, former Provost Marshal-General of the Northwest District of Missouri. Bassett provides a “glance at the history of the Rebellion in Northwest Missouri,” admitting “it may be that my hatred for rebels is too intense, my sympathy for loyal men too strong, to make every sentence I write acceptable to all.” The pamphlet, which features several black-and-white illustrations, was published by the Press of Wynkcop, Hallenbeck, and Thomas in New York, with proceeds from its sale given to The Ladies’ Aid Society of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Date
1864
From H.D. Palmer to Isaac Feback
Title
From H.D. Palmer to Isaac Feback
Description
This letter, dated December 20, 1862, was written by H.D. Palmer in Independence, Missouri, to Isaac Feback. Palmer thanks Feback for his kindness, lamenting that he has few friends left who can rise above “political prejudice” as Feback has done. Palmer says he has done everything “to keep down jayhawking & protect my Union friends,” but has been betrayed by those friends and the militia who took his livestock without proper payment. Palmer notes that the oath of allegiance is meaningless unless it offers government protection for those who take it.
Object Type
Letter
Date
December 20, 1862
From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Title
From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description
This letter, dated September 7 and 8, 1862, is from Joseph H. Trego in Helena, Arkansas to his wife Alice. Trego, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, reports that he and several of his fellow soldiers are ill, that his regiment is “badly managed,” and that he has considered leaving the regiment. He predicts that “much fighting must necessarily be done this coming winter and we are likely to be called upon to do our full share.”
Date
September 7, 1862-September 8, 1862
From Leigh R. Webber to Esteemed Friend
Title
From Leigh R. Webber to Esteemed Friend
Description
This letter, dated September 20, 1862, is from Leigh R. Webber to an "Esteemed Friend." He writes from camp in Tennessee, where he has just returned after a "jayhawking trip," during which the soldiers in his regiment foraged for food and robbed a family of Secessionists, but "did not so much as get a glimpse of a rebel soldier." Webber identifies himself as an abolitionist and voices his support for James Henry Lane's proposal to arm and enroll African-American troops.
Date
September 20, 1862
From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Title
From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Description
This letter, dated January 20, 1861, was sent by Calvin Iserman in Independence, Missouri, to his brother William. Calvin writes that Independence is “in favor of secession,” and predicts “there is going to be a civil war.” He fears being driven from Missouri along with other “Eastern men,” adding that those who voted for Lincoln are also under threat. Calvin describes a foiled “abolitionist” raid on a Missouri plantation (possibly Walker’s Raid of December 10, 1860), in which all the attackers were killed.
Date
January 20, 1861
From Thomas P. Akers to Hamilton Gamble
Title
From Thomas P. Akers to Hamilton Gamble
Description
On September 12, 1862, Thomas P. Akers writes from Kansas City, Missouri to Missouri Governor Hamilton Gamble in St. Louis. Akers, a former Missouri Congressmen who opposed secession, states that when he returned to Lexington, Missouri after a year's absence, his wife and children were forcibly removed from their home and his father-in-law was arrested and imprisoned under false charges. Fearing arrest, Akers seeks Gamble's permission to peacefully resolve his affairs in Lexington before leaving the state.
Date
September 12, 1862
From Edward and Sarah Fitch to Dear Mother
Title
From Edward and Sarah Fitch to Dear Mother
Description
Edward Fitch, along with his wife Sarah, writes a letter to his mother in Massachusetts on December 8, 1861. They describe their family’s Thanksgiving celebration in Lawrence, Kansas, where they served a baked turkey and twenty-five pies. Edward goes on to criticize James Henry Lane and accuses him of stealing money. He also expresses disappointment about the removal of John Fremont from military command: “He has been grossly abused by men in high places because they thought he was getting to be more popular than they themselves were.”
Date
December 8, 1861
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Title
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description
This letter was written between February 28 and March 8, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that she plans to go to Oberlin, Ohio the next day and then travel to Xenia, Ohio the following week. She says that Marian’s ill health is slowly improving; Marian “feels that she has been sorely afflicted but trusts that it has been for her spiritual good & advancement in the Christian life.” Florella also refers to Lincoln's recent inauguration.
Date
February 28, 1861-March 8, 1861
From T.W. Trego to Dear Sister Alice
Title
From T.W. Trego to Dear Sister Alice
Description
This letter, dated September 24, 1862, is from T.W. Trego of Chicago to his sister-in-law Alice in Kansas. He decries the “anxieties of the War” and praises Alice and other women in Kansas for their bravery: “we think very, very often of your exposed situation and believe you must be perfect heroines.” He also commends President Lincoln for announcing that he will issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Date
September 24, 1862
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Title
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description
This letter was written on December 13, 1860 by Florella Brown Adair in Hudson, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that she has been reading in the papers about “the troubles in Kansas,” and that she occasionally reads Samuel’s letters to relatives who are interested in events in the Territory. She adds that Lincoln’s election has caused “great excitement” in Hudson, where “every kind of business seems to be out of joint & in a depressed state.”
Date
December 13, 1860
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Title
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description
This letter was written on February 26 and 27, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that “much excitement prevails here in anticipation of the inauguration of Pres. Lincoln, many fears are expressed in his behalf, there is a good deal of war spirit felt most every where I go, most feel that the time for compromise has passed. I hope we shall not have war but I fear it.”
Date
February 26, 1861-February 27, 1861
Diary of Jonathan B. Fuller
Title
Diary of Jonathan B. Fuller
Description
This is an excerpt from the diary of Rev. Jonathan B. Fuller. Fuller, a pastor in Kansas City, Missouri, writes about visiting military hospitals, leading prayer meetings for soldiers, and hearing the sounds of muskets in nearby skirmishes. His diary entries, dated June 4, 1864 - June 25, 1865, also describe the Battle of Westport, and mention the movements of Gen. Price and Col. Jennison, and the assassination of President Lincoln.
Object Type
Diary
Date
June 4, 1864-June 25, 1865
From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Title
From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Description
This letter, ca. April 1861, was sent by Calvin Iserman in Independence, Missouri, to his brother William. Calvin writes that Independence “is the strongest secession town” in Missouri. He writes that men from Independence “seized the State Arsenal” at Liberty, and Lincoln has ordered federal troops to retake it. Calvin declares that all Union supporters “who can get away” are leaving the area. The letter includes a brief note addressed to “sister Gusta,” presumably written by Calvin's wife.