Civil War

Title: Examination of William V. Inskeep
Description: This is William V. Inskeep's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Inskeep, a 61-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri since 1845 and manifested his loyalty during the war by staying at home "to take care of three helpless children all the time." He says he left Missouri during the war to take the children "to their friends in Kentucky." The oath is No. 224 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William P. Richardson
Description: This order, dated September 1, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Major General William P. Richardson, Kansas Militia, Northern Division. Woodson reminds Richardson that General Order No. 1, issued August 21, 1856, directed that all peaceable Kansas citizens and their property were to be protected regardless of their political views, and that no houses were to be destroyed unless they were proven to be used as forts or arsenals against the territorial government. Woodson directs Richardson to use the “severest penalties” against soldiers violating the order, and prohibits the burning of dwellings.
Date: September 1, 1856

Title: Examination of John C. Hall
Description: This is John C. Hall's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hall, a 23-year-old Missouri native, states that he served in the militia during the war. He also says that he was enrolled by the military authorities as "disloyal" in 1862 and was required to give bond. The oath is No. 253 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to A.M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated March 8, 1864, is from Mary E. Bedford to her husband, Lieut. A.M. Bedford, who is at the military hospital in Point Lookout, Maryland. Mary reports that she has just arrived in St. Joseph, Missouri after visiting relatives and friends in Kentucky. She expresses hope that her husband will soon be able to return home. She encourages him to write letters to his relatives, and offers to send him money.
Object Type: Letter
Date: March 8, 1864

Title: Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, Officer of the Federal Army
Description: Photograph of Major General Alfred Pleasonton.
Object Type: Image

Title: Petition from Leaders of Emigrant Train
Description: This petition, dated October 14, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by six conductors of an emigrant train that brought families from Mount Pleasant, Iowa to settle in Kansas. They tell Geary that they brought sabres with them because they had heard that armed men were blockading the Missouri River to Free State emigrants. They state that they were stopped at the border by U.S. troops, who searched their wagons, stole their arms, and imprisoned them. The conductors assert their rights as American citizens “to bear arms, and to be exempt from unlawful search or seizure,” and they request Geary’s assistance.
Object Type: Petition
Date: October 14, 1856

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter, dated January 2, 1861, was written by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella expresses frustration that Samuel seems to disapprove of her letters and activities in Ohio: “I have been frank in saying that as long as we were all here & well provided for, & there was such a want of every thing in Kansas that it seemed best to stay this winter & send back what I could for you & others that are suffering there.”
Date: January 2, 1861

Title: Examination of James T.V. Thompson
Description: This 1866 document attests that James T.V. Thompson, a 73-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, refused to sign an Oath of Loyalty to the United States following the Civil War. Thompson claims that he remained loyal during the war, and offers a pardon from President Johnson in lieu of taking the oath.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes a letter to John Bushnell in St. Louis on December 16, 1863. She tells him that the Kansas Delegation recently invaded her hometown of Hickory Grove, Missouri and stole property and recently-freed slaves from people whom they had determined were disloyal to the government. Eugenia complains that Christmas is around the corner and “yet great armies are in the field and among them my own dear Brothers.”
Date: December 16, 1863

Title: Benjamin "Pap" Singleton
Description: Sepia carte de visite portrait of Benjamin "Pap" Singleton. Singleton, a former slave from Tennessee, became known as the leader of the “Exoduster Movement” for his efforts establishing black colonies and helping thousands of Exodusters relocate to Kansas.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1880

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore
Description: This letter, dated September 3, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson at Lecompton, Kansas to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore in behalf of the Kansas State Central Committee. Woodson states that he received their letter asserting that a deputation from their committee is being illegally detained at Lecompton. Woodson replies that although he met with two men from the committee, they did not represent themselves as a deputation and were rightly arrested as spies.
Date: September 3, 1856

Title: From W.L. Marcy to John W. Geary
Description: This telegram was sent from W.L. Marcy in Washington, D.C. to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on September 27, 1856. Marcy acknowledges receipt of an earlier dispatch from Geary. He informs Geary that “Military law can properly be applied, But you have not power to proclaim Martial law, you must get along without doing so.”
Object Type: Telegram
Date: September 29, 1856

Title: Poor Deluded Miss-Sori Takes a Secession Bath
Description: Political cartoon satirizing secessionist attitudes in Missouri. The image is from a series of Civil War "Union Envelopes," which featured images of Union patriotism and war propaganda.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Haywood Colvin
Description: This is Haywood Colvin's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Colvin, a 60-year-old Virginia native, states that he has resided in Missouri for seven years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 150 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written between December 30, 1860 and January 2, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella says that she is often asked about the situation in Kansas, with people wanting to know if the money and provisions sent from Ohio have been received in the Territory, or by Missourians.
Date: December 30, 1860-January 2, 1861

Title: From Samuel Jones to John W. Geary
Description: Samuel Jones, Sheriff of Douglas County, Kansas, writes a letter to Gov. John W. Geary on November 15, 1856. He informs Geary that he has a warrant to arrest Thomas Addy. He states that he anticipates Addy will resist, and he requests that Geary send troops to aid in the arrest.
Date: November 15, 1856

Title: Examination of Patrick Ryan
Description: This is Patrick Ryan's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ryan, who was born in Ireland and describes himself as a "45 or 50" year old resident of Liberty, Missouri, declares that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. He states that "anything that I was asked to furnish I gave." The oath, No. 16 in a bound volume, was signed by Ryan in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Richard (Dick) Yeager
Description: Charcoal portrait of Richard (Dick) Yeager dressed in suit coat, shirt, and tie. Dick Yeager was a son of James B. Yeager, a judge who served in the state legislature for two years and as presiding judge of the Jackson County Court in 1840. James owned a freight business running the Santa Fe Trail, and before the war, Dick was in charge of one of his father's wagon trains. When his father's farm was raided, Dick joined Quantrill's guerrillas. He was part of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and is also known for a daring raid in the vicinity of Council Grove, Kansas, on May 4, 1863. There are several versions of his death, which occurred around July or August 1864.
Object Type: Image

Title: Andrew (Andy) McGuire
Description: Charcoal portrait of Andrew McGuire in coat over a tab-closing shirt. McGuire was part of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and Centralia, Missouri, September 27, 1864. He surrendered at Samuel's Depot, Kentucky, July 25, 1865. In May 1867, 14 men held up the bank in Richmond, Missouri. A warrant was issued for McGuire's arrest in connection with the robbery. He was arrested in St. Louis and taken to the Richmond city jail. On March 20, 1868, a mob of 15 stormed the jail and lynched McGuire along with James M. Devers.
Object Type: Image

Title: Abraham Lincoln-Hannibal Hamlin Campaign Button for 1860 Presidential Election
Description: Double-sided campaign button featuring presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln's name and photograph on the front and running mate Hannibal Hamlin's name and photograph on the reverse.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1860

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

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