Civil War

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On October 17, 1864 John A. Bushnell writes from Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. John hints that he cannot “write every thing which I know would interest you” because Eugenia is “'staying at a suspicious house' and not considered faithful to the household of the chosen.” He adds that it has been difficult to get reliable news of the war, and warns Eugenia that “the hated rebels” nearby are in possession of “some captured letters and ambrotypes too.”
Date: October 17, 1864

Title: From Abelard Guthrie to James Henry Lane
Description: This letter, dated November 21, 1864, is from Abelard Guthrie in Quindaro, Kansas to James Henry Lane. Guthrie reports on the proceedings of a Supreme Court case to determine if Kansas has the right to tax land assigned to the Shawnee Indians. Guthrie argues that if the court exempts these areas from taxation, it will deprive "the counties of Douglass, Johnson, and Wyandot of about sixty thousand dollars of taxes which they sorely need."
Date: November 21, 1864

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: This dispatch, dated September 16, 1856, is from Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke to Gov. John W. Geary. Cooke states that after returning to camp near Lecompton, he discovered that 101 prisoners who were taken at the Battle of Hickory Point are now being held at the camp. Cooke asks Geary to send a “proper civil officer” to take the prisoners into custody.
Date: September 16, 1856

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 1862 to September 1863. Topics addressed in the correspondence include appointments to various military positions; information about new recruits; and special orders. Participants in the correspondence include Col. B.L.E. Bonneville, Lt. Thomas D. McClure, and Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble.
Date: December 1862-September 1863

Title: Ordnance and Ordnance Store Receipts
Description: This military document is a collection of Ordnance and Ordnance Store Receipts for the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment that shows transfers of weapons and ammunition in between Captain James J. Akard and Lieutenant J. P. Tracy at Springfield, Missouri.
Date: January 12, 1865

Title: From Charles Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on January 12, 1861 by Charles Adair in Hudson, Ohio, to his father Samuel Lyle Adair. Charles reports that his uncle plans to move to the “oil springs" with his wife. Charles says that he received a letter from his mother, Florella Brown Adair, who is in Grafton, Ohio. He writes about the textbooks he is using in school and tells his father there is a college in Hudson.
Date: January 12, 1861

Title: From Lisbon Applegate to William Heryford, Jr.
Description: This letter, dated November 25, 1864, is from Lisbon Applegate in Keytesville, Chariton County, Missouri, to William Heryford, Jr. He informs Heryford that his hogs are “left in a bad fix” because “the negro boy Cyrus who was left by you to attend to them was this week taken away by the soldiers (his master having gone off with Price).” Applegate also reports the death of Heryford’s uncle and the shooting of a mutual friend, John R. Hyde.
Date: November 25, 1864

Title: John McNeil
Description: Portrait of Colonel John McNeil, "The Butcher of Palmyra," who on October 18, 1862, ordered the execution of 10 Confederate prisoners of war in retaliation for the kidnappig of pro-Union carpenter, Andrew Allsman.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Robert M. Stewart to G.A. Parsons
Description: This dispatch, dated May 31, 1858, is from Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart to Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons. Stewart relays information that “a marauding party of armed men” from Kansas has invaded Bates and Cass Counties in Missouri and are threatening to commit arson and murder. Stewart orders Parsons to investigate the matter and decide what steps should be taken to protect Missouri citizens. He authorizes Parsons to organize a volunteer force if necessary.
Date: May 31, 1858

Title: Union Prison Collapse Marker
Description: Photograph of the historical marker noting the site of the Union Prison collapse in Kansas City, Missouri. The Union Prison, located at 1425 Grand Avenue, held female relatives and associates of proslavery Missouri bushwhackers. Five women, including the sister of guerilla William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson, died as a result of the collapse on August 14, 1863.
Object Type: Image
Date: June 24, 2015

Title: Missouri Militia Division of Sub Districts
Description: In this military document, Colonel Hosea G. Mullings lists the eight divisions of the 5th Sub District, 2nd Military District of the Missouri Militia. He specifies what counties or townships of counties belong to each division as well as the names of those charged with superintending the organization of their command for each division.
Date: June 14, 1865

Title: Slave Bill of Sale
Description: This slave bill of sale, dated March 31, 1860, is signed by Lafayette County sheriff John P. Bowman. Bowman attests that he sold a female slave and a slave boy named John to Nathaniel Mitchell at auction on November 7, 1859. Mitchell paid $400 for the female slave and $150 for John.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: March 31, 1860

Title: Examination of B.A. Bailey
Description: This is B.A. Bailey's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bailey describes himself as a 22-year-old lifelong resident of Liberty, Missouri. He states that he joined the army to fight for the Union during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 28 in a bound volume, was signed by Bailey on September 29, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1866

Title: Examination of John A.S. Majors
Description: This is John A.S. Majors's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Majors, a 46-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky. In response to the question, "Have you during the late rebellion been truly and loyally on the side of the Government of the United States and against all its enemies?" Majors replies, "I guess so." The oath, labeled No. 45 in a bound volume, was signed by Majors on September 29, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1866

Title: Andrew Downing
Description: This sepia carte de visite depicts Lieut. Andrew Downing, who served in Company D, Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph, ca. 1861-1865, was produced by Armstead & White of Corinth, Mississippi.
Object Type: Image

Title: Battle of Pea Ridge
Description: Chromolithograph print shows an attack by Confederate cavalry and infantry, with Native American troops, against a line of Union cannon and infantry at Pea Ridge in Arkansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Andrew Brownlow to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On August 1, 1862, Andrew Brownlow writes from Sugar Creek Grove, Buchanan County, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Brownlow describes the "troubled" state of affairs in Buchanan County, predicting that recent outrages "will make desperate men out of good citizens." He accuses Gen. Loan of "playing in to the hands of the Kansas thieves" and predicts that unless Gamble "does something to protect the people on the Border all there property will…be taken to Kansas."
Date: August 1, 1862

Title: Wakarusa Treaty (Draft)
Description: This document is a draft of the Wakarusa Treaty, signed by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon, Charles Robinson, and James H. Lane on December 8, 1855, ending the Wakarusa War. The signers declare that they "have no knowledge of the previous--present or prospective existence of any organization in [Kansas] Territory for the resistance of the laws." They agree to “aid the Governor in securing a posse” to execute the laws, provided that accused individuals are arrested with “legal process” and receive a hearing before a U.S. District Court judge.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: December 8, 1855

Title: From James Griffing to Augusta
Description: This letter, dated June 8, 1855, was sent to Augusta by James Griffing at Walnut Cabin. James discusses frontier life and news of friends in the area, and says that he plans to dispose of his current claim and secure one near Topeka, Kansas. He reassures Augusta that Kansas remains safe despite a violent episode of election fraud perpetrated by “a gang of drunken, worthless villains.”
Date: June 8, 1855

Title: Stephen A. Douglas
Description: A Portrait of Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

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

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