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Title: From John A. Halderman to B.M. Prentiss
Description: This dispatch, dated October 13, 1861, is from Maj. John A. Halderman at Camp Prentiss near Chillicothe, Missouri to Gen. Benjamin Prentiss. Halderman informs Prentiss that he recently visited Kansas to discuss with military authorities the defense of their state and of St. Joseph, Missouri. In the event of an insurrection or invasion, Halderman states, “you may safely rely upon two thousand troops being raised on a short notice from the ranks of the state militia.” He also mentions that Gov. Charles Robinson expressed his gratitude for Prentiss’s concern about Kansas.
Date: October 13, 1861

Title: From George Collamore to G.L. Stearns
Description: This letter was written on May 2 and 7, 1861 by George Collamore in Leavenworth, Kansas to G.L. Stearns in Boston. Collamore writes that Kansas is under threat of attack from Missouri and the Cherokee and Osage Indians, and that Kansas’s defenses are weak. He reports that Gov. Robinson offered him the position of Quartermaster General of the Kansas Militia, which he temporarily accepted. Collamore asks Stearns to send “thick colored blankets” and other items to Kansas, urging Stearns to keep his activities secret and to be cautious about what he writes in future letters.
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 2, 1861 and May 7, 1861

Title: Letters Sent (Provost Marshal, Northern District of Kansas)
Description: This notebook contains copies of correspondence sent by the Provost Marshal's Office, Northern District of Kansas in Leavenworth, Kansas, between December 1863 and May 1864. Topics addressed in the correspondence include desertions, weekly reports of the officers, and recruitment efforts. Participants in the correspondence include Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis; Provost Marshal General James B. Fry; and Capt. J. McCahon, Provost Marshal for the Northern District of Kansas.
Date: December 1863-May 1864

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Dear Wife
Description: A.J. Huntoon writes a letter from Williamsport in Shawnee County, Kansas to his wife Lizzie, reporting that Rebels have fired at U.S. troops in Independence, Missouri. He adds that hundreds of Kansas troops have left Lawrence and Fort Leavenworth to assist U.S. troops in Kansas City and St. Joseph, Missouri. The letter, dated June 16 and 19, 1861, also mentions recent shootings in Leavenworth and Atchison, Kansas. Huntoon writes, “We may look for these as common occurrences in Kansas, for a while at least. All carry arms now . . . Men are paying out their last cent for them.”
Date: June 16, 1861-June 19, 1861

Title: Map Showing the Progress of the Public Surveys in the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska
Description: This black-and-white map, signed by Ward B. Burnett, Surveyor General, was issued by the Surveyor General’s office in Nebraska City, Nebraska Territory on October 1, 1858. The map depicts the progress of the public surveys in Kansas and Nebraska in 1858, and was created to accompany the Surveyor General's report of that year. The map was printed by C.B. Graham Lithographers in Washington, DC.
Date: October 1, 1858

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