Civil War

Title: Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Circular Orders Requesting Information on Deserters
Description: In this Circular Order to the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Company "A", commanding officers are requested to provide detailed information on deserters, including where the deserter lived when enlisted.
Date: March 28, 1863

Title: From Z.M. Hadly to Edmund G. Ross
Description: This 1864 telegram was sent by Capt. Z.M. Hadly in Kansas City, Missouri, to Capt. Edmund G. Ross in Lawrence, Kansas. Hadly states that between 150 and 200 guerrillas crossed into Kansas the previous night, heading in the direction of Olathe, Kansas. Hadly reports that 350 cavalry were immediately dispatched from Kansas City to Olathe.
Object Type: Telegram
Date: 1864

Title: Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This sepia carte de visite, ca. 1861-1865, depicts an unidentified soldier who served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The carte de visite was produced by Hoag & Quick's Art Palace in Cincinnati. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated June 3, 1858 is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons reports from Cass County, Missouri on the border conflict; he states that a number of Missouri farmers have abandoned their farms and moved into the interior of the state to seek safety. He adds that James Montgomery and a group of Kansas citizens met with a committee of Missouri citizens and demanded their surrender.
Date: June 3, 1858

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter, dated November 8, 1860, was written by Florella Brown Adair in Hudson, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas. Florella writes that she just returned to Hudson after a trip to Ashtabula, Geauga, and Portage Counties. She says that she will come home if necessary, but is reluctant to because of the present difficult times in Kansas. Florella adds that she came to Ohio “hoping to enjoy the society of my friends once more after being so long shut up in Kansas and I have so far not been disappointed.”
Date: November 8, 1860

Title: Free State Convention!
Description: Invitation to the Free State Convention in Big Springs, Kansas. On September 5-6, 1855, approximately 100 delegates gathered at Big Springs, Kansas, along the California Road in Douglas County, to form the Free-State Party. The party supported the entry of Kansas into the Union as a free state, but it did not necessarily espouse abolition of slavery in the South, a position commonly considered to be radical in both the North and the South.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1855

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter from his home in Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh. In the letter, dated August 17, 1864, Bushnell expresses his contempt for disloyal citizens, declaring them evil. He tells Eugenia of his plans to visit her, but emphasizes his need for caution due to the danger of bushwhackers and radicals. He speaks of his hope for peace in Missouri and predicts an impending “crisis” in the northern states.
Date: August 17, 1864

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This letter, dated September 21, 1856, is from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts. He tells them that he and his army regiment marched to Franklin the previous week in an attempt to defend the town from Border Ruffians. The Ruffians rode into town, burned several buildings, robbed Fitch of everything he owned, and then “dispersed in different directions . . . stealing and murdering as they went.” Fitch mentions his suspicion that Governor Geary is a traitor who has negotiated with the Border Ruffians.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 21, 1856-September 28, 1856

Title: From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
Description: This letter, dated August 24, 1863, is from R.G. Elliott in Lawrence, Kansas to his sister. He informs her that he was taken prisoner during Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, but managed to escape. He states that troops from Kansas City are in pursuit of Quantrill's Raiders, but he does not believe they will catch them. Following the Raid, he writes, "We have been engaged ever since in burying the dead."
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 24, 1863

Title: From Charles R. Jennison to Charles Robinson
Description: This letter was written by Charles R. Jennison in Mound City, Kansas, to Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson on August 22, 1862. Jennison writes that in southern Kansas there is “a general feeling that Lane is a great humbug.” Jennison notes that he has a petition from Dr. Mitchell – a Missourian – and other “Lane men” who are organizing a new regiment in Mound City. Jennison believes that Kansas men should command Kansas troops.
Date: August 22, 1862

Title: Examination of Z. Barnes
Description: This is Z. Barnes's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Barnes, a 69-year-old Pennsylvania native, states that he has lived in Missouri since 1845. He says that during the war he was "in sentiment on the Southern side," and was not required by the military authorities to give bond. The oath is No. 256 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From H.M. Clark to R.M. Stewart
Description: This June 2, 1858 letter is from Capt. H.M. Clark in Boonville, Missouri to Missouri Gov. R.M. Stewart. Clark volunteers his company, the Union Riflemen of Cooper County, Missouri, to assist in patrolling the western border to "preserve peace with Kansas." He states that he can offer a force of fifty mounted men, or light infantry, and adds that they need a few additional tents and wagons.
Date: June 2, 1858

Title: Abstract of Ordinance Expenditure, 1864
Description: This military document includes two abstracts of materials expended or consumed by the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A". These abstracts are documentation of the first and second quarters of 1864.
Date: 1864

Title: From A.M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated August 2, 1863, is from Lieut. A.M. Bedford to his wife Mary E. Bedford in Savannah, Missouri. Bedford, imprisoned at Johnson’s Island, Ohio, tells his wife that he is looking forward to her visit, and that he plans to have a degarian artist to visit and make a portrait of them. He asks her if she received his last letter, and tells her he had enclosed 2 rings for “the little girls.”
Date: August 2, 1863

Title: Kelley Fields
Description: This carte de visite depicts Kelley Fields, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: African Methodist Episcopal Church, Nicodemus, KS
Description: View of the east front of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Adams & Third Streets, Nicodemus, Graham County, KS
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Missouri State Militia Special Order No. 52
Description: By order of Brigadier General John B. Sanborn, 1st Lt. W. D. Hubbard calls for James J. Akard and six other commanding officers from the Missouri State Militia 6th and 8th Calvary Regiments to serve as the Court for the trial of a war prisoner.
Date: February 25, 1864

Title: Unidentified Man
Description: Charcoal portrait of unidentified man with suit coat, shirt, and tie. Drawing is signed by the artist with "93" immediately below the signature.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Soldier, Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This sepia carte de visite depicts an unidentified member of the Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph, ca. 1861-1865, was produced by A.C. Nichols of Leavenworth, Kansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of L.D. Marr
Description: This is L.D. Marr's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Marr, a native of Kentucky, states that he has lived in Missouri for nine years. He says he traveled to Illinois during the war "and was away a few weeks." The oath is No. 230 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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

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