Civil War

Title: Fort Union
Description: Camp Union at 10th and Central Streets in Kansas City, Missouri.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1861

Title: From P. McClanahan to A. Comingo
Description: On December 20, 1863, P. McClanahan writes from Independence, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo in Lexington, Missouri. McClanahan requests authorization to add names to the military enrollment lists since they are incorrect. He says he is glad Maj. Gen. Schofield "is not removed," and hopes he will be retained. McClanahan also asks Comingo to authorize William Rodewald to recruit blacks for the service.
Date: December 20, 1863

Title: Kansas City, Missouri
Description: This bird's eye view of Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri was created by A. Ruger in 1869. A drawing of Kansas City in 1855 is shown in the bottom left corner of the image.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1869

Title: Certificate of Property Last Pertaining to Co. "F" 8th Cavalry Regiment Missouri State Militia
Description: In this military document, Captain James J. Akard certifies the transfer of a bugle last pertaining to Company "F", 8th Cavalry Regiment, Missouri State Militia.
Date: September 12, 1864

Title: Sworn Statement of George W. Harris
Description: This affidavit was sworn by George W. Harris before Edmund Bartlett, J.B.C.C., in Bates County, Missouri on July 12, 1858. Harris states that on July 8, he and William Pape were threatened and robbed by several men accusing them of being part of James Montgomery’s company. The outlaws took Harris and Pape to Papinville, Missouri and subsequently shot both men, injuring Harris in the arm before he escaped. Harris believes that the outlaws killed Pape although he admits he did not actually witness the murder.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: July 12, 1858

Title: Unidentified Civil War Soldier or Guerrilla
Description: Charcoal portrait of unidentified Civil War soldier or guerrilla in uniform with cloak. Drawing is signed by the artist with "93" immediately below the signature. Person in this drawing is from another drawing in this collection (MVO-101F).
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Proceedings of the Citizens of Tecumseh
Description: This document details the proceedings of a meeting of Tecumseh, Kansas citizens held at the Tecumseh courthouse on November 26, 1856. The attendees appointed 12 men to serve as delegates at an upcoming convention in Leavenworth. They also voted on and approved several resolutions, including a commitment to establishing peace in Kansas, and an agreement to support Gov. John W. Geary. The document is dated November 29, 1856 and is signed by 18 citizens.
Object Type: Document
Date: November 29, 1856

Title: Discharge of Nathaniel B. Mitchell
Description: These are the official discharge papers for Nathaniel B. Mitchell, who served as a private under Confederate Captain John S. Percival in the Missouri 2nd Infantry from June to December 1861. Mitchell enlisted at Camp Holloway in Jackson County, Missouri, and was discharged in Osceola, Missouri. The document, dated December 11, 1861, notes that Mitchell was discharged after completing his six-month term of service.
Date: December 11, 1861

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 photographer F.A. Olds of Covington, Indiana. 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: Receipt of Clothing for Military Duty, 1862
Description: This military document shows that "the undersigned Non-commissioned Officers, Artificers, Musicians and Privates... do hereby acknowledge to have received of Capt. David D. Stockton, the several articles of Clothing" that are listed along with the name and signature of every individual in the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A". This disbursement of clothing was done under witness of Colonel Joseph J. Gravely.
Date: January 2, 1862

Title: From John W. Geary to F.J. Marshall
Description: This dispatch, dated September 16, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. John W. Geary in Lecompton, Kansas, to Gen. F.J. Marshall, 1st Division, Northern Kansas Militia. Geary received Marshall’s dispatch about the threatened invasion of Gen. Lane’s troops and his proposal to station regiments of the Kansas Militia along the northern Kansas line. Geary replies that if such an invasion occurs, he will first employ U.S. troops to combat it, and then call upon Kansas Militia troops if necessary.
Date: September 16, 1856

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
Description: On February 26, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr states that after the Self Defensive Association ordered all free blacks to leave the city within 30 days, the local citizens armed themselves to prevent the order being carried out. Ten days later, the citizens forced “a mulatto barber, who was in the habit of gambling & drinking with white men,” to leave the city; “To this no one made any objection for he was generally considered a bad citizen.” Starr adds that the community has turned against Gen. Stringfellow, who was accused of calling all servants “whores.”
Date: February 26, 1855

Title: Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, 1862
Description: This Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation to take effect on Janurary 1st, 1863, only granted freedom to slaves residing in states in active rebellion. The document is so conditional that Union captured counties or cities of seceded states such as New Orleans were not subject to this Proclamation.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 22, 1862

Title: From P. Naughton to A. Comingo
Description: On December 15, 1863, Capt. P. Naughton, 10th Missouri Cavalry, writes from the Recruiting Station in St. Louis to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri. Naughton states that he has been authorized by Col. Alexander to ask Comingo to "enlist all those men who would like to join my regiment, and furnish them Transportation here."
Date: December 15, 1863

Title: Henry Barnes, Henry Boothe, Fox Winne, and N.D. Horton
Description: This 1863 black and white photograph depicts four soldiers: Henry Barnes, Henry Boothe, Fox Winne, and N.D. Horton. All four were enrolled in Company G, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1863

Title: Unidentified Guerrilla
Description: Charcoal portrait of man in typical guerrilla overshirt, wearing a hat with a plume, and holding two crossed pistols. Drawing is signed by the artist with "93" immediately below the signature.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Soldier, Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This carte de visite depicts an unidentified member of the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: From E.B. Alexander to William Fowler
Description: On August 7, 1863, Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis, writes to Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal for the 7th District of Missouri, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Alexander copies the text of a communication he received from the Provost Marshal General, stating that Deputy Provost Marshals are not in the U.S. service and are therefore eligible for the draft.
Date: August 7, 1863

Title: Statement of C.W. Babcock
Description: This is C.W. Babcock’s sworn statement to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Dated October 11, 1856, the statement claims that a man named Castleman, posing as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, unlawfully arrested Babcock in Topeka, forcibly moved him to Lecompton, and held him there for three hours.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 11, 1856

Title: Quarterly Return of Quartermaster's Stores, 1863
Description: This military document is a return of quartermaster's stores for Company "A" 8th Cavalry Regiment Missouri State Militia under command of Captain James J. Akard for the second quarter of 1863.
Date: 1863

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

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