Civil War

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
Description: On January 15, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr describes attending a meeting of the Platte County, Missouri Self Defensive Association, where he spoke about how a northern man could not be expected to change his opinion of slavery just because he moved to the south. Starr also told the Association’s members that slavery in Missouri, and especially in Platte County, was not representative of the institution as a whole, because “it is here of a milder type than any where else in the nation.”
Date: January 15, 1855

Title: Slave State Population Statistics
Description: This 1852 document lists population statistics for the slave states, including the number of whites, free blacks, slaves, farms, and proportion of slaves to farms. The document shows that Missouri’s population was comprised of 592,077 whites, 2,544 free blacks, and 87,422 slaves. The document also contains statistics on the number of free and slave families in Missouri, indicating that 26,096 families owned slaves.
Object Type: Document
Date: 1852

Title: Examination of Addison P. Evans
Description: This is Addison P. Evans' 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Evans, a native of Kentucky, states that he has lived in Missouri for eight years. He states that he has given bond to the military authorities, and was enrolled as "disloyal but against my will" in 1862. The oath is No. 205 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From George Applegate to James Applegate
Description: This letter, dated March 3, 1865, is from George Applegate in Lisbon, California to his brother James Applegate in Missouri. He discusses life in California, then curses abolitionists: “All the harm I wish them is that they may indure [sic] all the evils their suicidal course is bringing on our once happy land...” He expresses shock and anger that a black attorney was admitted to the United States Supreme Court.
Date: March 3, 1865

Title: Examination of William Groom
Description: This is William Groom's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Groom, a 51-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 38 years and manifested his loyalty during the war by "staying at home and attending to my own business." The oath is No. 167 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Report of Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs
Description: This report, dated September 29, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs. Tebbs tells Geary that the U.S. Marshal sent him to Topeka to make several arrests. In his first attempt to make an arrest, Tebbs says, the suspect escaped and could not be found; the townspeople then told him that if he tried to arrest anyone else, he would be resisted. Tebbs also informs Geary that Col. Lane was spotted near the Nebraska state line.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1856

Title: Tender of Service of Martin White
Description: In this document, created October 5, 1856, a volunteer company of mounted riflemen in Lykins County, Kansas, tenders its service to the Governor of Kansas Territory. The document includes a list of the company’s officers, including Captain Martin White.
Date: October 5, 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 Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown
Description: This letter is from Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown. Chandler writes from West Point and Kansas City, Missouri, and Mapleton, Kansas on September 25 and 28, and October 1 and 6, 1861. Chandler, a steward at a military hospital, describes caring for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Dry Creek and the Sacking of Osceola. Chandler shares his fears about the future: "The condition of the State of Missouri is indeed most gloomy, and if the war continues a year longer the territory will be turned into a desert."
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 25, 1861-October 6, 1861

Title: From E.F. Slaughter to Eliza Colgan
Description: On October 7, 1864, E.F. Slaughter writes from Hickmans Mill, Missouri to Mrs. Eliza Colgan. Slaughter says that prices for goods are rising and "farmers can't keep up with the merchant." He reports that the railroad is complete "from Independence to Kansas City and next spring will be run through to St. Louis…If we only had peace we might enjoy the sight of such improvements." He also mentions that "there was a great revival of religion in the army."
Date: October 7, 1864

Title: Resolutions Presented to the Missouri State Convention
Description: This document includes several resolutions presented to the Missouri State Convention held in Jefferson City, Missouri during February and March 1861. Mr. Linton suggests that “there exists no adequate cause why Missouri should secede from the Union,” while Mr. Hendrick declares that the secession of other states “is unauthorized in law and without adequate cause in fact.” Mr. Orr resolves “that we have the best government in the world and intend to keep it.” The signature of Secretary Samuel A. Lowe attests that the document is a true copy.
Object Type: Government Document

Title: Sale of Slave
Description: This document declares the sale of four slaves—Ritter, Bird, Fanny, and John—to Stephen Bedford for $182.50. It was signed and dated by Marion M. Biggerstaff of Clinton County, Missouri on July 5, 1857.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: July 5, 1857

Title: Examination of Henry Hill
Description: This is Henry Hill's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hill, a 62-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Philadelphia and remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 36 in a bound volume, was signed by Hill in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Llewellyn Fritzlin
Description: This is Llewellyn Fritzlin's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Fritzlin, a 23-year-old Missouri native, states that he left the state during the war, but "I did not leave to keep out of the service[.] I had exemption papers." He also says he was not required to give bond during the war. The oath is No. 250 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of William B. Pence
Description: This is William B. Pence's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Pence, 30, states that he resides in Clay County, Missouri. He says he was enrolled by the military authorities as "Disloyal against my will" in 1862, and required to give bond. The oath is No. 210 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of George Hughes
Description: This is George Hughes's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hughes describes himself as a 40-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri. He states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War, but expresses concern that requiring voters to make an oath of loyalty is "contrary to the Constitution of the U.S." The oath, labeled No. 48 in a bound volume, was signed by Hughes, a professor at William Jewell College, in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: In this January 20, 1856 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes that Missourians launched an attack near Leavenworth on Election Day and tried to confiscate the ballot boxes. Fitch predicts an imminent war, and laments: “How long O Lord must we suffer thus. I hope you will raise an army in the East and March through Missouri and Proclaim liberty to the slave.” Included is a copy of a September 15, 1855 broadside published by John Speer that challenges the Bogus Legislature.
Date: January 20, 1856

Title: Peter Hill
Description: This carte de visite depicts Peter Hill, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865 by Hasie & Benton of Helena, Arkansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: Platte County Court House, Platte City, Missouri
Description: A drawing of the Platte County Court House in Platte City, Missouri, included in an 1877 plat book of Platte County, Missouri.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1877

Title: John W. Geary and Staff in Atlanta
Description: Photograph of John W. Geary with a group of Union Army officers, circa 1864.
Object Type: Image

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

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