Civil War

Title: Examination of Lawrence Glenn
Description: This is Lawrence Glenn's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Glenn, who was born in Hungary and describes himself as a 31-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that during the Civil War he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government by "taking musket & and going into the field." The oath, No. 20 in a bound volume, was signed by Glenn in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Circular No. 27
Description: This document, entitled Circular No. 27, is dated May 12, 1865 and is signed by Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis. The Circular informs Provost Marshals that military deserters should be "arrested and disposed of in the same manner as prior to the date of the proclamation of the President except that until further orders no rewards will be paid for their apprehension."
Date: May 12, 1865

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: In a letter dated February 4 and 9, 1863, John A. Bushnell tells Eugenia Bronaugh of Hickory Grove, Missouri that he has returned home to Calhoun, Missouri and that he is safe. He says that he wants to move back into his house, which the military has been using as a hospital. He discusses the movements of Colonel Marvin’s regiment of the Missouri Militia. He also mentions news of recent battles in Vicksburg and Charleston, but says that he does not trust the information he reads in newspapers.
Date: February 4, 1863-February 9, 1863

Title: Examination of Joseph Field
Description: This is Joseph Field's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Field, a 67-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 28 years and was never enrolled by the military authorities in 1862. The oath is No. 169 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Battle of Lookout Mountain
Description: Kurz & Allison lithograph of the Battle of Lookout Mountain, the second major battle of the Chattanooga Campaign.
Object Type: Image

Title: Application of George N. Baker
Description: This is George N. Baker’s application for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slave, Lewis Turner. The application, dated November 14, 1866, includes an oath of allegiance to the United States and a statement that Baker lawfully purchased both Turner and another slave, George Bell. The application is signed by four witnesses and a notary public in Lafayette County, Missouri. A note in pencil on the first page indicates that the application was rejected.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 14, 1866-December 5, 1866

Title: Henry W. Halleck
Description: Portrait of Union Major General Henry W. Halleck, facing right.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1860-1865

Title: William Gregg
Description: Charcoal portrait drawing of a bearded Captain William Gregg in jacket. Gregg was one of the first to join William Quantrill's gang in December 1861 and one of the first to leave (December 1863) when Quantrill began losing control of the bushwhackers. That same month Gregg joined General Joseph O. Shelby's brigade and was made a First Lieutenant in command of Company I. After the war, Gregg lived in Kansas City and became a deputy sheriff for Jackson County. He died at the age of 78 on April 22, 1916, in Kansas City and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.
Object Type: Image

Title: Receipt of Clothing for Military Duty, 1862
Description: This military document shows that "the Non-commissioned Officers, Artificers, Musicians and Privates of Co. "A", 8th Regt. Cav., Mo. S. Militia do hereby acknowledge to have received of the several articles of Clothing" that are listed along with the names of those enrolled in this company.
Date: 1862

Title: View Looking Up Kansas River Towards Genl. Dietzlers House, 323 Miles West of St. Louis, MO
Description: Photograph taken on the banks of the Kansas River from 1867.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1867

Title: Special Orders
Description: This order, issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas E. Ewing, commands John Poyntz, a resident of Cass County, Missouri, to leave the state until the end of the war. The document is written on official letterhead from the Headquarters of the District of the Border in Kansas City, Missouri. It is signed by Charles S. Hills, Captain and Acting Assistant Provost Marshal for the District of the Border, and dated September 19, 1863.
Date: September 19, 1863

Title: Examination of Jefferson Slide
Description: This is Jefferson Slide's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Slide, a 48-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Canada and remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. He claims that he "felt a little sorry for Old Mulligan" when Gen. Sterling Price captured Gen. Mulligan's army at Lexington, Missouri. The oath, labeled No. 53 in a bound volume, was signed by Slide in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Alexander Franklin (Frank) James
Description: Charcoal portrait of Frank James dressed in what appears to be a Confederate cavalry uniform. Frank James, the older brother of Jesse, first joined the Missouri State Guard, but later became a member of Quantrill's guerrillas. Frank took part in many Civil War battles and skirmishes, including the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and the Centralia massacre. He surrendered at Samuel's Depot, Kentucky, at the end of the war. He was a member of the James-Younger gang and participated in numerous robberies, and although tried for some of these, was acquitted. He died of a stroke February 15, 1915. He is buried in the Hill family private cemetery near Kansas City.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Gettysburg Address
Description: This is a facsimile of President Lincoln’s handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln delivered the famous speech on November 19, 1863 at the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In his address, Lincoln memorializes the Battle of Gettysburg and declares that the Declaration of Independence guarantees the liberty and equality of all people. He concludes by proclaiming that the “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Object Type: Speech
Date: November 19, 1863

Title: 1860 Presidential Election Returns from Mercer County, Missouri
Description: This document presents the election returns from Mercer County, Missouri for the Presidential election held on November 6, 1860: Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson received 682 votes; John Bell and Edward Everett received 491 votes; John C. Breckenridge and Joseph Lane received 169 votes; and Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin received 80 votes. On November 10, R.R. Ballew, Clerk of the Mercer County Court, certified the results.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 10, 1860

Title: From James Boyer to Unknown
Description: On December 2, 1863, James Boyer, Deputy Provost Marshal for Chariton County, Missouri, writes a letter from Brunswick, Missouri to an unknown recipient. Boyer tells his correspondent he is grateful "for your kind offer of 95 cents on the dollar for my vouchers." He adds that he is "anxiously looking for the authority spoken of by you for recruiting."
Date: December 2, 1863

Title: From Elizabeth S.C. Earl to Dear Brother
Description: This letter, dated September 22, 1863, is from Elizabeth S.C. Earl to her brother. Writing from Lawrence, Kansas, Earl describes Quantrill's Raid. She writes that Quantrill and 300 of his men invaded Lawrence at dawn and travelled from house to house knocking on doors: "when the men opened the door, they would shoot them down, and then rush in, and set fire to the house, threatening death to the women." Earl tells her brother, "You know nothing of the Horrors of this war."
Date: September 22, 1863

Title: Examination of Elisha Estes
Description: This is Elisha Estes's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Estes, who was born in Virginia and describes himself as a 53-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that during the Civil War he "staid at home and furnished soldiers something to eat." The oath, No. 17 in a bound volume, was signed by Estes in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Sue Brawner to All at Home
Description: This letter of July 24, 1859 is from Sue Brawner in Linneus, Missouri to “all at home.” She describes a recent trip from Lexington, Missouri to Linneus via the city of Brunswick. Along the way she and her traveling companions visited relatives. Sue writes of staying with Tom, a relative in Linneus who owns several slaves: “They have a black girl as large as I am.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 24, 1859

Title: James J. Akard
Description: James J. Akard was born July 7, 1838, in Polk County, Missouri. He was captain of Company A, Eighth Missouri State Militia Cavalry during the Civil War. After the war he was elected to the state legislature and held other important Polk County positions including sheriff, collector and clerk of the county court. He died in 1919.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

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

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