Civil War

Title: From S.H. Holmes to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated December 19, 1863, is from S.H. Holmes in Liberty, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Holmes requests the authority to remove from conscription rolls the names of anyone physically unsuitable for military service.
Date: December 19, 1863

Title: From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Description: This letter, dated January 20, 1861, was sent by Calvin Iserman in Independence, Missouri, to his brother William. Calvin writes that Independence is “in favor of secession,” and predicts “there is going to be a civil war.” He fears being driven from Missouri along with other “Eastern men,” adding that those who voted for Lincoln are also under threat. Calvin describes a foiled “abolitionist” raid on a Missouri plantation (possibly Walker’s Raid of December 10, 1860), in which all the attackers were killed.
Date: January 20, 1861

Title: Franz Sigel
Description: Portrait of Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel, officer of the Federal Army.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1861 - 1865

Title: Petition for a Provision Train to Leavenworth
Description: This petition, dated September 18, 1856, requests that Kansas Gov. John W. Geary send a provision train to Leavenworth. It states: “Hundreds of our citizens are suffering – almost starving for supplies that could be easily obtained by your aid in three days. It seems impossible to wait until next week, and we hope you will give our case your earliest possible attention.” The petition is signed by ten citizens of Leavenworth, Kansas.
Object Type: Petition
Date: September 18, 1856

Title: Thomas Coleman (Cole) Younger
Description: Charcoal portrait of Cole Younger dressed in suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Cole Younger was active in several Civil War battles and a member of Quantrill's guerrillas when they raided Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and was part of the Baxter Springs massacre, October 6, 1863. After the war, he joined with Frank and Jesse James in several robberies. After the Northfield, Minnesota, bank robbery on September 7, 1876, he was arrested and sent to prison at Stillwater, Minnesota. He was granted a full pardon in 1903. He died March 21, 1916, at Lee's Summit, Missouri, and is buried in the Lee's Summit Cemetery.
Object Type: Image

Title: Robert James Walker
Description: Portrait of Robert J. Walker, painted by William Garl Browne ten years after Walker's death.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1879

Title: John H. Surratt, in His Canada Jacket
Description: Carte de visite portrait of John H. Surratt, son of convicted Lincoln conspirator Mary Surratt.
Object Type: Image

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

Title: From D.A.W. Morehouse to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on February 21, 1859 by D.A.W. Morehouse in Papinsville, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Morehouse shares “startling news” brought from Lawrence, Kansas by U.S. Deputy Marshal A.J. Russes. While held prisoner in Lawrence for ten days, Russes learned that “depredations” would again be committed in the border counties of Missouri, and that James Lane, commanding a force of 1,000 men, planned to enter Platte County, Missouri to free two prisoners held there for kidnapping slaves in the state.
Date: February 21, 1859

Title: Examination of Alonzo Baker
Description: This is Alonzo Baker's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Baker, a 29-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has resided in Missouri for 29 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 158 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From J.F. Snyder to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch is from J.F. Snyder to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Snyder writes from the headquarters of the 6th Division, Missouri Militia, in Polk County, Missouri on December 12, 1860. He reports that he followed Stewart’s orders and “made thorough organization of the militia” in Bates, Vernon, and Barton Counties, but states that they have neither arms nor ammunition. Snyder warns Stewart that if the militia is not armed, they will continue to be “at the mercy of the outlaws of Kansas.”
Date: December 12, 1860

Title: Examination of Mich Moran
Description: This is Mich Moran's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Moran, a 50-year-old native of Ireland, states that he has resided in Missouri for 12 years and served in the State Guard under Capt. Duncan during the war. He says he was required to give bond, although "I considered myself loyal." The oath is No. 234 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: The Residence of A. Comingo, Independence, Missouri
Description: A drawing of A. Comingo's residence in Independnce, Missouri, included in an 1877 plat book of Jackson County, Missouri as originally published by Brink, McDonough & Company.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1877

Title: Examination of A.K. Reddish
Description: This is A.K. Reddish's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Reddish, a 33-year-old Kentucky native, states that he "was in Kansas most of the time during the Rebellion." The oath is No. 244 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of R.L. Raymond
Description: This is R.L. Raymond's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Raymond, a 28-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 10 years and was likely enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 204 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Robert H. Donaldson
Description: This is Robert H. Donaldson's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Donaldson, a 37-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 30 years and manifested his loyalty during the war by staying at home and attending to his business. The oath is No. 221 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Constitution Hall, Topeka, Kansas
Description: An illustration depicting the building where the Topeka Constitutional Convention met in 1855. Delegates assembled at Topeka on October 23, 1855, to draft a constitution. The document was approved on December 15 by a vote of 1,731 to 46. The proslavery--"Law and Order"--party did not participate in the voting on the document. Although Congress rejected this constitution and the request for admission to the Union, the Topeka government kept operating even though its legislature was closed down by U. S. troops on July 4, 1856. This building housed the Kansas legislature in 1864-1869 while the east wing of the state capitol was being built.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1855

Title: 1857 Election Ballots
Description: These are ballots that were cast in the December 21, 1857 election in Kansas Territory. Citizens voted to either ratify the Lecompton Constitution with slavery or to ratify it without slavery. Free State supporters boycotted the election and the pro-slavery vote prevailed.
Object Type: Ballots
Date: December 21, 1857

Title: Baxter Mitchell
Description: Charcoal portrait of Baxter Mitchell dressed in suit coat, vest,shirt, and cravat. Little is known about Baxter Mitchell, who may also be Baker Mitchell, except that he took part in Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863.
Object Type: Image

Title: 1858 Election Ballots
Description: These are ballots that were cast in the January 4, 1858 election in Kansas Territory. Citizens voted to either ratify or reject the Lecompton Constitution. They also voted for State officers and a Congressional representative. The majority of voters rejected the Constitution and elected Free State politicians.
Object Type: Ballots
Date: January 4, 1858

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

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