Civil War

Title: From Powell Clayton to John Halderman
Description: Powell Clayton writes a letter from Pine Bluff, Arkansas to Gen. John Halderman on October 21, 1864. He says that he is not convinced by Gen. Magruder’s threats to attack Pine Bluff; he believes that Magruder is attempting to detract attention from Gen. Price’s movements in Missouri. Clayton expresses hope that slavery will be abolished and that Lincoln will win the upcoming presidential election. He declares, “it is the duty of all Patriots, independent of past party predilections, to vote for Lincoln and Johnson.”
Date: October 21, 1864

Title: Battle of Shiloh
Description: Thure de Thulstrup's painting of the Battle of Shiloh, the bloodiest battle in U.S. history.
Object Type: Image

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: This letter, dated September 24, 1864, was written by John A. Bushnell in Calhoun, Missouri, to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. John assures Eugenia that he is well and writes of his plans to travel to Clinton, Missouri. He adds that “the scare of raiders has about passed away.” John implies that he cannot write down all he wishes to say to Eugenia, in case his letter falls “into rude hands.”
Date: September 24, 1864

Title: John Conover and James M. Graham
Description: This is a copy of a tintype photograph taken near Stevenson, Alabama in August 1863. It depicts John Conover and James M. Graham, both captains in the Eighth Kansas Volunteer Infantry in the Twentieth Army Corps, First Division, Third Brigade. Conover was captain of Company E and Graham was captain of Company C.
Object Type: Image
Date: August 1863

Title: Examination of James C. Murray
Description: This is James C. Murray's Oath of Loyalty to the United States, labeled No. 26 in a bound volume. Murray, a 27-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, did not sign the oath.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: The First Battle of Bull Run, Va., Sunday Afternoon, July 21, 1861
Description: Illustration of the aftermath of the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On December 15, 1864, Abishai Stowell writes from Fort Smith, Arkansas to his sister. Stowell declares that "the day of restoration has already dawned & soon the sun of peace (not copperhead peace) will shine again on this once happy land of ours as in times of old (only slavery will be abolished & suffering beyond description will be ended)."
Date: December 15, 1864

Title: Examination of Ira Peters
Description: This is Ira Peters's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Peters, a 66-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 40 years, persuaded the enemies of the government "who had taken up arms to lay them down," and has "always been on the Federal side." In 1862, the military authorities enrolled him as "loyal." The oath is No. 176 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: William C. Human
Description: Captain William C. Human was in Company C of the Missouri State Militia, 8th Regiment Cavalry.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Bazil C. Sanders
Description: This sepia carte de visite depicts Bazil C. Sanders, who served as 1st Lieut. of Company O, Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced by Howard & Hall of Corinth, Mississippi ca. 1863.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of William Dougherty
Description: This is William Dougherty's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Dougherty, a 47-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for eight years. He says that he went to Kentucky on business for one month during the war, and upon hearing of the Federal defeat at Bull Run in 1862, "I expressed myself that it was disastrous to the Govt." The oath is No. 215 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Invoices for Quartermasters Stores for 1863
Description: This military document is a collection of Quartermasters Stores Invoices for the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A" that shows the transfer of various items such as wagon grease, paper, and mules in between Captain David D. Stockton, Captain William C. Human, and Lieutenant James J. Akard.
Date: 1863

Title: Pass for W.L. Culver
Description: This document from the Office of the Provost Marshal in St. Joseph, Missouri grants permission to W.L. Culver to leave the city limits. It is signed December 13, 1861 by S. Hatch, Provost Marshal. The reverse side of the document shows a printed oath, signed by Culver, that declares loyalty to both the federal government and the provisional government of Missouri. It describes Culver as a 26 year old man with “red whiskers”.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: December 13, 1861

Title: Application of Horace Kingsbury
Description: This is Horace Kingsbury’s application for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slave, Albert Cavanaugh. The application, dated November 8, 1866, includes an oath of allegiance to the United States, a statement that Kingsbury lawfully purchased his slave, a power of attorney transfer to Isaac C. Dodge, and the signatures of two witnesses and a notary public in Cooper County, Missouri. A note in pencil on the seventh page indicates that the application was rejected. Also included is Albert Cavanaugh’s enlistment form, signed and dated January 11, 1864.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: January 11, 1864 and November 8, 1866

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On August 1, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from camp in Springfield, Missouri to his sister. Stowell reports that "the times seem to be peaceable in this section there is no fighting except a little brush with bushwhackers now & then." He says that Gen. Blunt "had a fight with the Rebels in the Cherokee Nation & defeated them." Stowell predicts that the war will end within three months because "the North is just beginning to open their eyes & see the true state of affairs."
Date: August 1, 1863

Title: Examination of James Vermillion
Description: This is James Vermillion's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Vermillion, a 77-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Scotland and that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 108 in a bound volume, was signed by Vermillion in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: On December 11, 1863, Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis, writes to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri, in Lexington, Missouri. Alexander instructs Comingo to remit a voucher to "for all postage or express charges paid out for recruiting service." Alexander will then return the money to Comingo.
Date: December 11, 1863

Title: Daniel Woodson
Description: A Portrait of Daniel Woodson, 1824-1894, who briefly served as acting governor of Kansas Territory at five separate times from 1855 to 1857.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1855-1857

Title: Missouri State Militia Regulations
Description: Major W. Dean Colman outlines general regulations for those enlisted in the Missouri State Militia. Colman comments that these regulations are "the formation of military success and which go to make a true soldier, who may be justly proud of his profession, of his Companions, and of himself;"
Date: December 25, 1861

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

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