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Title: From Sue Brawner to All at Home
Description: This letter of July 24, 1859 is from Sue Brawner in Linneus, Missouri to “all at home.” She describes a recent trip from Lexington, Missouri to Linneus via the city of Brunswick. Along the way she and her traveling companions visited relatives. Sue writes of staying with Tom, a relative in Linneus who owns several slaves: “They have a black girl as large as I am.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 24, 1859

Title: Extracts From Instructions to Capt. A.J. Weaver
Description: This unsigned document is an extract of military instructions to Capt. A.J. Weaver, dated June 26, 1858. Weaver is instructed to “preserve the peace and protect all the peaceable inhabitants in the counties of Bourbon and Linn particularly.” The writer adds, “I cannot too strongly urge on you the importance of establishing and keeping up a good understanding with the people living on the Missouri side of the boundary line…in no event will you allow the troops under your command to enter the State of Missouri. You will see that your men do not annoy the people...or in any way needlessly alarm the community."
Date: June 26, 1858

Title: From Samuel Medary to Robert M. Stewart
Description: In this January 5, 1859 letter, Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary introduces Capt. A.J. Weaver of Linn County, Kansas to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Medary states that he is sending Weaver to Missouri to transport arms, and asks that Stewart help him complete his mission safely: “You will confer a great favor upon me by granting him the use of your name as security to the people of Missouri.”
Object Type: Government Document
Date: January 5, 1859

Title: Marais des Cygnes Massacre
Description: Illustration of the Marais des Cygnes Massacre by John R. Chapin copied from "Beyond the Mississippi" by Albert D. Richardson, 1867.
Object Type: Image

Title: From D.M. Frost to Robert M. Stewart
Description: Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost writes a dispatch from Camp Daniel Boone to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on December 8, 1860. He states that James Montgomery and his forces have dispersed throughout Kansas Territory, and thus Frost and his troops will be unable to find and conquer them. Frost explains that he wants to leave some troops in Bates and Vernon Counties to patrol the area. If Missouri does not remain on the defense, Frost warns, “anarchy and murder will reign triumphant.”
Date: December 8, 1860

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated December 8, 1860, is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons reports that a “band of marauders of Kansas Territory” murdered a Missouri citizen for capturing a fugitive slave. The 300 mounted and armed marauders, under the command of James Montgomery and Charles Jennison, have also captured slaves and threatened the lives of Missouri citizens. Parsons asks Stewart to send troops to the border to protect citizens “threatened with arson plunder and death.”
Date: December 8, 1860

Title: Statement of the Citizens of Bates Co. Concerning Border Troubles
Description: This statement, dated June 5, 1858, was written by Joseph Clymer and signed by Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons and 11 citizens of West Point in Bates County, Missouri. The statement describes the invasion of West Point and the robberies and attacks on Missouri citizens committed by James Montgomery and his band. The citizens state that Montgomery’s men have threatened to destroy West Point, and that a number of citizens have fled their homes in fear. The citizens request assistance from the Missouri government.
Date: June 5, 1858

Title: From Joseph Denison to Br. Griffing
Description: This letter, dated January 3, 1861, was written by Joseph Denison in Philadelphia to Br. Griffing. Joseph discusses the relief efforts of the Methodist Church in Kansas, which are being hindered by the threat of war. “Many think that War is inevitable,” he writes, “and affirm that if it does come it will be the end of slavery.” Joseph adds that if more people heard about the difficulties of Kansans, “it would arouse them to a sense of the real suffering in Kansas.”
Date: January 3, 1861

Title: From John W. Clem to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on August 18, 1859 by John W. Clem in Butler, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Clem, the Sheriff of Bates County, Missouri, reports that James Montgomery and his Jayhawkers have laid siege to Paris, Kansas; they soon intend to cross over into Missouri to free William Wright (alias Pickles), a prisoner being held there for murder and robbery. Clem states that if the Jayhawkers enter Bates County, “I will then call out the entire militia force for defense.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 18, 1859

Title: Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri
Description: The Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri was printed in 1861 by W.G. Cheeney in Jefferson City, Missouri. It includes petitions and letters to Gov. Robert M. Stewart about the guerrilla attacks on Missouri led by James Montgomery and Charles Jennison. The appendix also includes Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost’s report on the South-West Expedition, affidavits relating to Jennison’s murder of Russell Hindes, and proceedings from the Southern Kansas Convention.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1861

Title: Sectional Map of Kansas Territory
Description: This color map, dated April 1857, is entitled "Sectional Map of Kansas Territory." It was drafted by C.P. Wiggin and signed by L.A. MacLean, Chief Clerk of the Surveyor General’s office in Lecompton, Kansas Territory. MacLean certifies that the map was compiled from U.S. survey field notes. The map was published by MacLean and Lawrence and printed by William Schuchman and Bro. in Philadelphia.
Object Type: Map
Date: April 1857

Title: New Sectional Map of Kansas
Description: This color map, drafted in 1859 by Robert L. Ream, was published by Stevenson and Morris of St. Louis, and printed by A. Janicke and Co. of St. Louis. The map is entitled “New Sectional Map of Kansas,” and was compiled from the field notes in the Surveyor General’s office.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1859

Title: Sectional Map of the Territory of Kansas
Description: This color map, entitled “Sectional Map of the Territory of Kansas,” was compiled from the field notes in the Surveyor General’s office. It was published in 1857 by John Halsall in St. Louis.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1857

Title: Kansas and Nebraska 1856
Description: This color map, entitled “Kansas and Nebraska 1856,” was printed by J.G. Wells in New York.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1856

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