Civil War

Title: Examination of Benjamin Gillis
Description: This is Benjamin Gillis's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Gillis, who was born in Germany, describes himself as a 32-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri. He states that he "entered the service" and fought for the Union during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 39 in a bound volume, was signed by Gillis in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written between February 28 and March 8, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that she plans to go to Oberlin, Ohio the next day and then travel to Xenia, Ohio the following week. She says that Marian’s ill health is slowly improving; Marian “feels that she has been sorely afflicted but trusts that it has been for her spiritual good & advancement in the Christian life.” Florella also refers to Lincoln's recent inauguration.
Date: February 28, 1861-March 8, 1861

Title: From Samuel Medary's Private Secretary to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated May 18, 1859, is from the private secretary of Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. The secretary requests a copy of a letter that Medary wrote to Stewart on January 9 or 10, 1859.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: May 18, 1859

Title: Invoices of Quartermaster Property
Description: This military document is a collection of two invoices of quartermaster's stores, one invoice from Captain S. L. Brown on August 15, 1862 and one from Captain W. C. Human on April 1, 1863. These supplies that include paper and pens were given to Captain James J. Akard for use by the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A".
Date: 1862-1863

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written ca. November 1862 by Florella Brown Adair to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes about the activities of friends in the area, including paying taxes; she does not know how much their taxes will be, but suggests that Samuel send at least $10.00 to pay them. Florella adds that she is very anxious to hear from their son Charles and asks Samuel to notify her if he gets word from Charles.

Title: Examination of Joseph Louis
Description: This is Joseph Louis's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Louis, an 86-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, originally from Virginia, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, No. 14 in a bound volume, was signed by Louis in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: "Corner Stone" Speech
Description: This is the text of a speech that Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, delivered on March 21, 1861 in Savannah, Georgia. In his discourse, commonly known as the “Cornerstone Speech,” Stephens defends the pro-slavery stance of the Confederate constitution. The cornerstone of the Confederacy, he declares, “rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery—subordination to the superior race—is his natural and normal condition.”
Object Type: Speech
Date: March 21, 1861

Title: List of Stores of Expenditure
Description: These List of Stores of Expenditure for the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A" show the transfer of nails and horse shoes from Captain Julius Glade to Captain David D. Stockton.
Date: 1862

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On July 29, 1863, John A. Bushnell writes a letter to Eugenia Bronaugh in Calhoun, Missouri, informing her that he has arrived in St. Louis. He had planned to apply for exemption from military service during his trip to St. Louis, but has discovered that he must apply to the Board of Enrollment in his home district. He says he hopes to familiarize himself with news of the war, which has been difficult to do in Calhoun: “as now is a critical period of the times I can perhaps inform myself better here than at home.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 29, 1863

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: Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Daily Schedule
Description: By order of Major Edward B. Eno, Lt. William S. Gibbs lists the daily schedule for Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry.
Date: April 9, 1863

Title: From T.W. Trego to Dear Sister Alice
Description: This letter, dated September 24, 1862, is from T.W. Trego of Chicago to his sister-in-law Alice in Kansas. He decries the “anxieties of the War” and praises Alice and other women in Kansas for their bravery: “we think very, very often of your exposed situation and believe you must be perfect heroines.” He also commends President Lincoln for announcing that he will issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Date: September 24, 1862

Title: Report of the Secretary of War
Description: This is Executive Document No. 50, 2nd Session, 33rd Congress, presented to the Senate on February 14, 1855 by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The report contains copies of correspondence “respecting a claim advanced by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the military reservation at Fort Leavenworth; together with the result of his investigation of the alleged interference of certain army officers…with the rights of the Delaware Indians.”
Object Type: Government Document
Date: February 14, 1855

Title: Territory of Kansas vs. Charles Robinson
Description: These are legal documents filed in the 1857 case of the Territory of Kansas vs. Charles Robinson for the charge of usurpation of office. They include the official indictment, witness subpoenas, a motion to quash the charges, and a summary of grand jury testimony. Also included is a warrant for the arrest of Charles Robinson; addressed to the Sheriff of Douglas County, Kansas, it reads: “You are hereby commanded to arrest Charles Robinson, and have his body before the Judge of the First District Court . . . to answer an indictment found against him for unlawfully assuming and taking upon himself the Office of Governor of the Territory of Kansas.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: 1857

Title: Humphrey Smith
Description: This carte de visite depicts Humphrey Smith, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Description: This letter, dated July 4, 1856, is from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to the editor of the Hopkinton (MA) Patriot. Fitch states that the Free State Legislature was supposed to convene that day in Topeka, but Colonel Sumner arrived with armed troops and, under orders from Washington, commanded everyone to leave. Fitch declares that “unless the North awakes and men (not fools) are placed in the Presidential chair this fall, Civil War must follow.” He also discusses a group of women who, in response to local rum selling, "took possession of the Liquor, which they spilled without mercy." He signs the letter “Yours for Free men, Free speech, Free Kansas, and Fre-mont.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 4, 1856

Title: From William Nelson to Kate Newland
Description: William Nelson, a Union soldier, writes a letter from Fort Riley, Kansas to Kate Newland on June 1, 1862. Nelson regrets that his regiment is stationed in Kansas, and admits that “My career as a soldier certainly does not seem destined to be a brilliant one.” He writes that he would prefer to serve in the South, despite rumors of rampant illness there, because he feels that his place is “where the danger is most threatening.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 1, 1862

Title: From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated June 16, 1863, was written by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in St. Louis, Missouri, to Major General James L. McDowell. Carney plans to travel to Washington to ask Secretary of War Edwin Stanton for approval to raise a regiment of U.S. cavalry to defend Kansas. Carney states that this step, authorized by Major General Schofield, will relieve Kansas from having to pay for its own defense. He advises McDowell to begin planning for the prospective new regiment.
Date: June 16, 1863

Title: Release From Arrest
Description: This document exonerates ten men who were charged with conspiracy to assassinate military officers at a post in Brunswick, Missouri. The document is dated November 29, 1862 and is signed by Brig. Gen. Richard C. Vaughan at the 6th Military District Headquarters in Lexington, Missouri. Vaughan states, “I have examined all the testimony . . . there is no foundation in truth for the charge against them.”
Date: November 29, 1862

Title: 1860 Presidential Election Returns from Holt County, Missouri
Description: This document presents the election returns from Holt County, Missouri for the Presidential election held on November 6, 1860: Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson received 453 votes; John Bell and Edward Everett received 348 votes; Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin received 202 votes; and John C. Breckenridge and Joseph Lane received 171 votes. On November 9, James Scott, Clerk of the Holt County Court, certifies the results and notes that Thomas Thoroughman received 313 votes for Circuit Attorney with no opposition.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 6, 1860

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

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