Civil War

Title: Daniel Read Anthony
Description: This black and white photograph shows Daniel Read Anthony, (1824-1904), brother of suffragist Susan B. Anthony. He migrated to the Kansas territory in 1854 as a member of the New England Emigrant Aid Company and settled in Leavenworth, Kansas; where he established a long and successfully career as a newspaper editor and publisher.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1880-1904

Title: Examination of D.C. Allen
Description: This unsigned 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States bears the name of D.C. Allen. The oath is No. 192 in a bound volume of loyalty oaths given by citizens of Liberty, Missouri between 1866 and 1868.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
Description: This letter, dated September 3, 1863, is from Major General John M. Schofield to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney. Schofield thanks Carney for offering the assistance of the Kansas Militia in protecting Lawrence and other border towns from Missouri rebels. Many of Schofield’s troops, he says, have left to fight with the regiments of Generals Grant, Steele, and Blunt. Schofield expresses a desire to avenge Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, and he hopes that the extra troops will be able to “destroy the guerrilla bands which have so long savaged the border.”
Date: September 3, 1863

Title: Examination of Samuel Ruffner
Description: This is Samuel Ruffner's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ruffner, a 72-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 16 years and "was always in favor of the Constitution of the United States." The oath is No. 225 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Jesse James
Description: Charcoal portrait of Jesse James dressed in suit coat, vest, shirt, tie, and hat. In 1863, James joined Quantrill's Guerrillas and after the Civil War became leader of the James-Younger gang. He was shot by a new member of his gang, Robert (Bob) Ford, April 3, 1882.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Neosho, Missouri Masonic Hall
Description: Rendering of the Masonic Hall at Neosho, MO, site of Secession Convention, October 21-28, 1861.
Object Type: Image

Title: Unidentified Man in Confederate Uniform
Description: Charcoal portrait of unidentified man in Confederate uniform and hat with ostrich plume. The drawing is unsigned but attributed to Anna Lee (Dillenbeck) Stacey.
Object Type: Image

Title: General Orders, No. 15
Description: This is Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis’s General Order No. 15, signed and dated October 23, 1864 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The order revokes General Order No. 54, which had established Martial Law north of the Kaw River. Curtis states that the enemy has moved south and that the area is no longer in danger. He adds that he is “glad to relieve the People from this burden.”
Date: October 23, 1864

Title: Examination of Jasper Thomas
Description: This is Jasper Thomas's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Thomas, a 21-year-old native of Mercer County, Missouri, states that he served in the Federal army during the war. He also says that he "felt sad" upon hearing of the Federal defeat at Bull Run in 1861. The oath is No. 194 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Missouri Militia Request for Recommendations for Enrolling Officers
Description: Missouri Militia Colonel Hosea G. Mullings requests that James J. Akard recommends "competent energetic and reliable men, for Enrolling Officers" in southwestern Missouri.
Date: September 3, 1866

Title: Examination of Jonathan G. Payne
Description: This is Jonathan G. Payne's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Payne, a 55-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has resided in Missouri for 6 years, and manifested his loyalty during the war by staying at home and attending to his own business. As an invalid, he was "unable to bear arms." The oath is No. 190 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Abishai Stowell to Margaret Torrence
Description: On October 14, 1864, Abishai Stowell writes from Fort Smith, Arkansas to his sister Margaret. Stowell, a member of Co. A, 2nd Kansas Volunteers, tells Margaret that her recent letter "was the third letter that I have got for over 8 months and I have written at least forty since that time." He adds that he hastens to answer her letter, "for soldiers don't know at what hour they may be called on to leave camp or how long they will have to stay away."
Date: October 14, 1864

Title: Examination of M.L. Farminger
Description: This is M.L. Farminger's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Farminger, a 29-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he served in the United States army from 1861 to 1865. The oath, labeled No. 64 in a bound volume, was signed by Farminger in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: William Clarke Quantrill
Description: Portrait of William Clarke Quantrill from the book "Quantrill and the Border Wars" by William Elsey Connelley (1st Ed., 1909).
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Clifton Searcy
Description: This is Clifton Searcy's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Searcy describes himself as a 41-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that during the Civil War, he sympathized "especially with those who suffered." He admits that he does not know if he truly remained loyal to the United States Government during the war. The oath, labeled No. 74 in a bound volume, was signed by Searcy in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
Description: This letter was written on March 31, 1855, by Frederick Starr in Weston, Missouri, to his father. Starr describes the election fraud that took place at the Kansas legislative elections on March 30, calling it “a high handed outrage.” He says that hundreds of armed, pro-slavery Missourians came into Kansas to disrupt the election, and that more than 800 illegal votes were cast in Leavenworth, Kansas. Starr asks his father to publish the information in his letter in the Albany Evening Journal, without mentioning his name.
Date: March 31, 1855

Title: From James Beatty to William Fowler
Description: On August 29, 1864, James Beatty, Deputy Provost Marshal for the 20th Missouri subdistrict, writes from Milan, Missouri to Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal for the 7th District of Missouri, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Beatty reports that Wesley Griffith of Taylor, Missouri claims that the township is "entitled to many more credits for soldiers furnished" than appear in the draft documents. Beatty also states that he sent a soldier back to his regiment because his sick furlough had expired.
Date: August 29, 1864

Title: Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley
Description: Two black-and-white portraits—displayed in a single wooden frame—depict Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley in military uniform. The men’s birth and death dates are listed: William lived from 1842-1863 and Channing from 1844-1863. A note indicates that both men served under Confederate General Joseph Shelby; William was a color bearer.
Object Type: Image

Title: Old Sacramento
Description: Photograph of Mexican-American War cannon, nicknamed "Old Sacramento," that was captured by Free-State forces at the attack on Franklin, Kansas. On August 12, 1856, Free-Staters attacked Franklin, Kansas, and six proslavery settlers were killed. The attackers captured "Old Sacramento," the name given to a cannon used by Missourians in the Mexican-American War. The attack was a success in part because the Free-Staters managed to roll a wagon of hay up to the front of a building holding proslavery men, where they ignited the hay and threatened the building.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Proceedings of the Lafayette County Board
Description: This is a series of proceedings of the County Board of Lafayette County, Missouri, dated August 14 – October 2, 1862, and signed by R.C. Vaughan, Secretary. In each of the proceedings, the Board compiles a list of disloyal citizens residing in the neighborhoods where soldiers or loyal citizens were murdered. The Board members agree to charge all of the disloyal citizens 7-10% of the value of their estates.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: August 14, 1862-October 2, 1862

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

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