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Title: From S.G. Cato to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 29, 1856, is from Judge S.G. Cato in Shawnee County, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary. Cato reports on the judicial proceedings he has presided over as Associate Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. He lists the number of bills of indictment returned by grand juries in Anderson, Allen, Lykins, Bourbon, Franklin, and Shawnee counties, and reports that three criminal trials have been held in Bourbon County.
Date: October 29, 1856

Title: Proceedings of the Citizens of Tecumseh
Description: This document details the proceedings of a meeting of Tecumseh, Kansas citizens held at the Tecumseh courthouse on November 26, 1856. The attendees appointed 12 men to serve as delegates at an upcoming convention in Leavenworth. They also voted on and approved several resolutions, including a commitment to establishing peace in Kansas, and an agreement to support Gov. John W. Geary. The document is dated November 29, 1856 and is signed by 18 citizens.
Object Type: Document
Date: November 29, 1856

Title: Statement of C.W. Babcock
Description: This is C.W. Babcock’s sworn statement to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Dated October 11, 1856, the statement claims that a man named Castleman, posing as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, unlawfully arrested Babcock in Topeka, forcibly moved him to Lecompton, and held him there for three hours.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 11, 1856

Title: From John Montgomery and C.H. Withington to John W. Geary
Description: John Montgomery and C.H. Withington write a letter to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on September 16, 1856. They inform Geary that a group of armed abolitionists belonging to Gen. Lane’s army invaded their settlement in Allen County, robbed stores, destroyed property, and declared that anyone who refused to join them “may expect to meet a bitter fate.” Montgomery and Withington claim that their community has no means of self-defense and they ask Geary for protection.
Date: September 16, 1856

Title: From S.P. Higgins to John W. Geary
Description: Lieut. S.P. Higgins writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 23, 1856. He informs Geary that 31 prisoners in his custody escaped the previous night through holes in the prison walls. He says that he suspected the prisoners were headed for Topeka, so he travelled there, but did not find them. He now suspects that they might have gone to Lawrence, and assures Geary that he will update him when he receives new information.
Date: November 23, 1856

Title: From Edward Hoogland to John W. Geary
Description: Edward Hoogland writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 28, 1856. He relays a rumor that a party of ten or eleven men in military uniform unlawfully arrested a criminal named Capt. Holmes and took him across the state line into Jackson County, Missouri. Hoogland asks Geary to investigate the matter and expresses his fear that this “great outrage” might mar the public image of the military and “endanger the peace of the Territory.”
Date: November 28, 1856

Title: From Israel B. Donalson to John W. Geary
Description: U.S. Marshal Israel B. Donalson writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 24, 1856. He asks Geary to send troops to Shawnee County to aid him in making arrests of approximately 20 people. Donalson says that some of the suspects are 100 miles away, and he estimates that it will take eight to ten days to find them and bring them back.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 24, 1856

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke writes a dispatch from camp in Nebraska to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on October 8, 1856. He reports on military operations near the Nebraska-Kansas border, and informs Geary that he is sending troops to Lecompton and Topeka.
Date: October 8, 1856

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke writes a dispatch to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on September 23, 1856, informing him that Col. Johnston has received orders to march to the “Northern frontier.” Cooke asks Geary to relay any new information he might have.
Date: September 23, 1856

Title: From Edward Hoogland and John A.W. Jones to John W. Geary
Description: In this November 29, 1856 letter, Edward Hoogland and John A.W. Jones report to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary about their recent expedition to southeastern Kansas. They inform Geary that they took depositions, issued warrants, and made arrests in relation to a number of crimes, including some committed during the Pottawatomie Massacre. They also report that they found and returned a substantial amount of stolen property. Hoogland and Jones ask Geary to station U.S. troops in southeastern Kansas, suggesting that “their presence would aid in restoring confidence.”
Date: November 29, 1856

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