Civil War

Title: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This March 1864 military roll lists the names of "colored troops" enlisted in the 6th district, 28th sub-district in Chariton County, Missouri. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupations, birthplaces, and the names of their owners.
Date: March 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: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On June 15, 1863, John Bushnell writes from Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh. John references an incendiary “peace meeting” in New York (possibly the June 3 “Peace Convention”), likening it to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. He fears that war may soon permeate “every state in the Union.” John mentions a friend who has seen “every battle fought by General Price since the Lexington fight,” and is now awaiting exchange as a military prisoner.
Date: June 15, 1863

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

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Beloved Wife and Boy
Description: This letter, dated September 15, 1861, is from A.J. Huntoon to his wife Lizzie and son Prentice. He writes from Mapleton, Bourbon County, Kansas, where he is assisting at a military hospital for General Lane’s Brigade. He reports that his regiment, the 5th Kansas Cavalry volunteers, recently arrived at Mapleton from Fort Lincoln along with Wier’s, Montgomery’s, and Jennison’s regiments. He expresses a desire to return to the battlefield, saying that “it is impossible to lay idle . . . when treason shows its dragon head in every settlement.”
Date: September 15, 1861

Title: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg
Description: Black and white photograph of President Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
Object Type: Image
Date: November 19, 1863

Title: Examination of James Carson
Description: This is James Carson's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Carson describes himself as a 70-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that during the Civil War he "stayed at home." The oath, labeled No. 124 in a bound volume, was signed by Carson in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: On August 9, 1864, Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis, writes to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri in Lexington, Missouri. Alexander states that one black soldier was enlisted from Comingo's district during July 1864, in Clinton County.
Date: August 9, 1864

Title: Charleston, South Carolina. Ruins of Secession Hall
Description: Photograph of the remains of Secession Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, where delegates voted to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860.
Object Type: Image
Date: April, 1865

Title: From Chauncey McKeever to E.B. Alexander
Description: This is a copy of a November 12, 1863 dispatch from Chauncey McKeever, Assistant Adjutant General to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri. McKeever writes from the Provost Marshal General's Office at the War Department in Washington, D.C., providing instructions on payment to Recruiting Agents for each volunteer they enlist.
Date: November 12, 1863

Title: From Edward Bates to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated July 23, 1861, was written by U.S. Attorney General Edward Bates to James L. McDowell, U.S. Marshal in Kansas. Bates replies to McDowell’s request for advice about enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law, declaring that no government official can choose to enforce the laws he likes and ignore those he dislikes. Bates adds that the recent “insurrectionary disorder” in Missouri does not alter its legal status as a member of the Union.
Date: July 23, 1861

Title: The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Description: Mountain Meadows Massacre courtesy of T.B.H. Stenhouse's The Rocky Mountain Saints: a Full and Complete History of the Mormons, from the First Vision of Joseph Smith to the Last Courtship of Brigham Young. The Mountain Meadows Massacre, which occurred September 7-11, 1857, was one notable event in the turbulent period known as the Mormon or Utah War.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1873

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. 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 S.F. Chalfin to E.B. Alexander
Description: This letter, dated November 16, 1863, is from S.F. Chalfin, Assistant Adjutant General, to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri. Writing from the War Department in Washington, D.C., Chalfin informs Alexander that when a Deputy or "Special Agent" is sent in pursuit of military deserters, his transportation expenses will be paid, whether or not he is successful in apprehending the deserters.
Date: November 16, 1863

Title: Correspondence With Recruiting Officers and Special Orders (Provost Marshal General's Bureau)
Description: This notebook contains copies of correspondence between the Missouri Provost Marshal General's Bureau and recruiting officers in the field from December 1863 to July 1864. Topics addressed in the correspondence include appointments to various military positions; inventories of supplies and equipage; and information about new recruits. Participants in the correspondence include Col. E.B. Alexander, Lieut. James E. Clark; and Capt. C.W. Noell.
Date: December 1863-July 1864

Title: Pass for John F. Richards
Description: A Provost Marshall wartime pass for travel west of St. Louis to Kansas. It is for John Francisco Richards who was the founder and owner of the Richards and Conover Hardware Company. His hardware store started out in Leavenworth, KS in 1857 and then later he moved it to the building that is still standing at 5th and Wyandotte. The pass describes Richards as having brown hair, gray eyes, five feet and eight inches tall, and 27 years of age.
Object Type: Image
Date: October 31, 1861

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri on February 21, 22, and 23, 1864. He describes how local business in Calhoun, Missouri has suffered during wartime, stating that “some of our best citizens” have been forced to stop working or to leave town. He complains that his daily life used to be enjoyable, but now he cannot escape from “the eyes of the curious or idle.” He tells Eugenia that he wants to visit her, but is afraid of potential violence.
Date: February 21, 1864-February 23, 1864

Title: Examination of Lawrence Glenn
Description: This is Lawrence Glenn's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Glenn, who was born in Hungary and describes himself as a 31-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that during the Civil War he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government by "taking musket & and going into the field." The oath, No. 20 in a bound volume, was signed by Glenn in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Circular No. 27
Description: This document, entitled Circular No. 27, is dated May 12, 1865 and is signed by Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis. The Circular informs Provost Marshals that military deserters should be "arrested and disposed of in the same manner as prior to the date of the proclamation of the President except that until further orders no rewards will be paid for their apprehension."
Date: May 12, 1865

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: In a letter dated February 4 and 9, 1863, John A. Bushnell tells Eugenia Bronaugh of Hickory Grove, Missouri that he has returned home to Calhoun, Missouri and that he is safe. He says that he wants to move back into his house, which the military has been using as a hospital. He discusses the movements of Colonel Marvin’s regiment of the Missouri Militia. He also mentions news of recent battles in Vicksburg and Charleston, but says that he does not trust the information he reads in newspapers.
Date: February 4, 1863-February 9, 1863

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

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