Civil War

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: In this January 20, 1856 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes that Missourians launched an attack near Leavenworth on Election Day and tried to confiscate the ballot boxes. Fitch predicts an imminent war, and laments: “How long O Lord must we suffer thus. I hope you will raise an army in the East and March through Missouri and Proclaim liberty to the slave.” Included is a copy of a September 15, 1855 broadside published by John Speer that challenges the Bogus Legislature.
Date: January 20, 1856

Title: Peter Hill
Description: This carte de visite depicts Peter Hill, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865 by Hasie & Benton of Helena, Arkansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: Platte County Court House, Platte City, Missouri
Description: A drawing of the Platte County Court House in Platte City, Missouri, included in an 1877 plat book of Platte County, Missouri.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1877

Title: Examination of William J. Bishop
Description: This is William J. Bishop's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bishop, who was born in New York, describes himself as a 52-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri. He states that he demonstrated his loyalty to the Union during the Civil War "by doing military duty for the govt." The oath, labeled No. 44 in a bound volume, was signed by Bishop on September 29, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1866

Title: John W. Geary and Staff in Atlanta
Description: Photograph of John W. Geary with a group of Union Army officers, circa 1864.
Object Type: Image

Title: The Life of John Brown, no. 16
Description: Photograph of "The Life of John Brown, No. 16" by Jacob Lawrence.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1941

Title: From Lewis Stafford to Kate Newland
Description: This letter, dated September 28, 29, and 30, 1861 is from Lewis Stafford in Chillicothe, Missouri to Kate Newland. Stafford reports on the recent movement of his regiment, the 1st Kansas Infantry, from Rolla to Chillicothe, Missouri. He eagerly anticipates fighting the Secessionists and giving them “an awful thrashing . . . But I shudder to think of the brave men who will fall victims to the rage of the ruthless enemy.”
Date: September 28, 1861-September 30, 1861

Title: Invoices of Quartermaster's Stores
Description: This military document is a collection of Quartermaster Property Invoices for the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A" that shows the transfer of various items such as mule collars and wagons in between Lieutenant T. E. Gray, Captain James J. Akard, and Captain R. B. Owen.
Date: 1863 - 1865

Title: From R.R. Boone to Dear Father
Description: R.R. Boone writes a letter from Buchanan County, Missouri to his father on September 12, 1858. Boone reacts to news of guerrilla warfare in Kansas, proclaiming "I am a great mind some times to gather my Rifle and gow & skalp some of these infernal theaving abolitionist." He criticizes both political parties and voices anger that the government has not put a stop to the violence in Kansas.
Date: September 12, 1858

Title: Circular No. 23
Description: This document, entitled Circular No. 23, is dated April 22, 1865 and is signed by Col. E.B. Alexander in St. Louis. The Circular instructs Provost Marshals to discontinue all printing, publishing, and advertising connected with the business of their offices, and to close all accounts existing for the same purpose.
Date: April 22, 1865

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On October 31, 1863, Alex M. Bedford writes from Johnson’s Island, near Sandusky City, Ohio, to his wife Mary E. Bedford. Alex advises Mary not to return home until she is sure it’s safe. Alex describes an agreement made with M. Jeff Thompson about paying to send longer letters, which “suits us first rate.” He recalls his experience the previous year as a wounded prisoner of war in Alabama, where he recovered at the home of a kind family who "seem like my relations."
Date: October 31, 1863

Title: Inventory and Inspection Report of Unserviceable Ordnance Stores
Description: This military document is an inventory and inspection report of unserviceable ordnance and ordnance stores for which Captain James J. Akard, Company "A" 8th Cavalry Regiment, Missouri State Militia was responsible for. The inventory which includes rifles and revolvers was examined by John W. Goldston, Lieutenant and Assistant Inspector.
Date: January 11, 1865

Title: Special Order No. 10
Description: This January 10, 1865 document, titled "Special Order No. 10," is ordered by Maj. Gen. Dodge and signed by Asst. Adj. Gen. J.W. Barnes in St. Louis. The order states that all courts of record must notify the appropriate Provost Marshal "of all persons who declare their intentions to become Citizens or who take out papers of citizenship," so they can be enrolled in the draft.
Date: January 10, 1865

Title: Letters and Telegrams Sent (Provost Marshal's Office, 6th District Missouri)
Description: This notebook contains copies of letters and telegrams sent from the Provost Marshal's Office, 6th District of Missouri, in Lexington, Missouri, between June 24, 1863 and May 19, 1864. Capt. A. Comingo was appointed Provost Marshal of the 6th District of Missouri in June 1863 and corresponded frequently with Missouri Provost Marshal General E.B. Alexander and U.S. Provost Marshal General James B. Fry. Topics addressed include the appointment of deputy provost marshals, military enrollment, recruitment of black soldiers, and the threat of attack by bushwhackers and guerrillas.
Date: June 24, 1863-May 19, 1864

Title: View of Manhattan, Kansas
Description: A civil war drawing by John Gaddis of the 12th Regt. Wisconsin Volunteers on their way to Ft. Riley, Kansas, near Manhattan, Kansas.
Object Type: Image
Date: April 24, 1862

Title: Archibald Clements (Arch or Little Archie)
Description: Charcoal portrait drawing of Archibald Clements (sometimes spelled Clement) with a cigar in his mouth, dressed in a suit with a cravat and holding a pistol. Little Arch, or Archie, at age 17 became William ("Bloody Bill") Anderson's lieutenant. It is said that in one short year Clements eclipsed the record of every known guerrilla by killing 54 men. He was part of William C. Quantrill's famous raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and a major player in the Centralia, Missouri, massacre. After the Civil War he took up robbing banks until he was killed December 13, 1866, in Lexington, Missouri, at age 19.
Object Type: Image

Title: An Act to Organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas
Description: This is a copy of “An Act to Organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas,” otherwise known as the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The act, proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas, allowed Kansas to determine through popular sovereignty whether or not to legalize slavery. Despite much dissent in the House and Senate, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed and was signed into law by President Franklin Pierce on May 30, 1854.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: May 30, 1854

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 July 29, 1858. He informs Stewart that he has received his commission as District Inspector and will report to Bates County to await further orders.
Date: July 29, 1858

Title: Examination of James W. Mosby
Description: This is James W. Mosby's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Mosby, a 29-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War, but he states, "I dont know as I did anything either way" to oppose the enemies of the government. The oath, labeled No. 117 in a bound volume, was signed by Mosby in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Harrison Trow
Description: Charcoal portrait of Harrison Trow in suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Harrison Trow served under Quantrill and was at the Lawrence massacre, August 21, 1863, and Centralia, September 27, 1864, as well as the Battle of Independence, August 11, 1862. After the war, Trow lived in Blue Springs, Missouri, until 1901 when he moved to Texas where he died February 24, 1925. He identified the body of Jesse James after James was shot.
Object Type: Image

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

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