Civil War

Title: Examination of Andrew C. Davidson
Description: This is Andrew C. Davidson's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Davidson, a 45-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 35 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 216 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Franklin G. Adams
Description: Portrait of Franklin G. Adams, the election judge who presided over the 1858 vote on the Lecompton Constitution, circa 1876-1883.
Object Type: Image

Title: Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans at the Battle of Murfreesboro
Description: Currier & Ives lithograph depicting a romanticized General Rosecrans at the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River), January 2, 1863. Rosecrans gained fame during the Civil War as victor at several Western Theater battles. Rosecrans military career effectively ended, however, following his defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, after which General Grant relieved him of his command.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Thomas J. Kidd
Description: This is Thomas J. Kidd's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Kidd, a 56-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri since 1849. During the war, he was required to give bond, but "Col. Penick said my case was a light one but that I was an influential man and he would require a light bond for fear I might do something." The oath is No. 219 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Battle of Fredericksburg
Description: Currier & Ives hand-colored lithograph of the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1862

Title: From A. Comingo to Joseph H. McGee
Description: This is a copy of a dispatch from Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri, to Maj. Joseph H. McGee in Lexington, Missouri. On November 18, 1863, Comingo asks McGee to provide a military escort for James Zeiler, Enrolling Officer for the 6th district, 1st sub-district of Missouri. In his response at the bottom of the page, also dated November 18, McGee states that he has only one squadron on duty at his post and cannot provide an escort.
Date: November 18, 1863

Title: From Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Description: This letter was written on August 24 and 27, 1863 by Samuel R. Ayres in Moneka, Kansas, to Lyman Langdon. Ayres writes that “along our Missouri border we are subject to almost constant raids from the Bushwhackers over the line who rob our citizens burn their houses and murder prominent men.” Ayres offers a description of Quantrill’s recent raid on Lawrence, Kansas, calling it “an act of barbarity but seldom if ever equaled by the most savage tribes.” Ayres says that he and other local citizens are organizing to defend Mound City, Kansas from guerrilla attacks.
Date: August 24, 1863-August 27, 1863

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On April 22, 1865, Abishai Stowell writes from Lewisburg, Arkansas to his sister. Stowell, a member of Co. B, 2nd Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, reports that "the prospect is good for me to go home in a few days for the war is just about ended." He says the assassination of President Lincoln "has caused a great deal of excitement here[,] the Union people feel the loss to be one that can never be repaid while the Secesh are overjoyed with the news."
Object Type: Letter
Date: April 22, 1865

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

Title: Soldier, Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This sepia carte de visite depicts an unidentified officer of the Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph, ca. 1861-1865, was produced by A.C. Nichols of Leavenworth, Kansas.
Object Type: Image

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

Title: Presentation of Flag to Col. John D. Stevenson
Description: In this ca. 1862 ambrotype, Union Col. John D. Stevenson is presented with an American flag outside a brick building in Lexington, Missouri. A crowd of soldiers and citizens observes the ceremony.
Object Type: Image

Title: From A. Cox to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated October 27, 1863, is from A.F. Cox to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Cox acknowledges receipt of Comingo's recent letter, which relieved him of his duties as Deputy Provost Marshal of Platte County, Missouri.
Date: October 27, 1863

Title: From J.L. Bennett to Alex M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated April 24, 1865, was written by J.L. Bennett in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Lt. Alex M. Bedford, a prisoner of war. Bennett states that he recently met with Gen. Craig and Maj. Bruce in St. Joseph, and that Maj. Bruce telegraphed Washington to request Bedford’s release. He advises Bedford to write to Gen. Hickcock in Washington and say that he is “tired of the war & willing to take the oath and return home.” Bennett instructs Bedford to let him know when he is released, and that he will make arrangements for him to meet his family in St. Joseph.
Date: April 24, 1865

Title: John Brown's Sharps Rifle
Description: Photograph of John Brown's personal Sharps rifle, which he carried during his Kansas campaign of 1856.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Examination of Porter Groom
Description: This is Porter Groom's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Groom, a 23-year-old Missouri native, states that he manifested his loyalty during the war by "staying at home and attending to my business." The oath is No. 227 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Charles R. Street to Alex M. Bedford
Description: On July 24, 1865, Charles R. Street writes from Huntington, New York to Alex M. Bedford in Savannah, Missouri. Street says he was glad to hear that Bedford returned from military prison to his family. He writes about the difficult loss of his wife and “the loss of my country” to abolitionists: “I have no hopes of the old Government, we must submit to a new order of things.” Street also admits that “there is a terrible bitterness of feeling” in Huntington, New York on the subject of politics.
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 24, 1865

Title: From John W. Geary to Israel Donalson
Description: Kansas Gov. John W. Geary writes a letter from Lecompton, Kansas to U.S. Marshal Israel Donalson on November 24, 1856. Geary inquires about a rumor that a large number of prisoners who were in Donalson’s custody have escaped. He asks Donalson how many prisoners escaped, what their names are, and what steps have been taken to find them.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 24, 1856

Title: Gen. W.S. Harney
Description: Portrait of General William S. Harney.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Sara Robinson to Charles Robinson
Description: Sara Robinson writes a letter to her husband, Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson, on May 11, 1862. She discusses officer appointments in a Kansas military regiment, and reports that some regiments have been ordered to leave for New Mexico soon. She also discusses their finances, expresses concern for her ill husband's health, and seeks his permission to let her visit him.
Date: May 11, 1862

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

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