Civil War

Title: From Thomas P. Akers to Hamilton Gamble
Description: On September 12, 1862, Thomas P. Akers writes from Kansas City, Missouri to Missouri Governor Hamilton Gamble in St. Louis. Akers, a former Missouri Congressmen who opposed secession, states that when he returned to Lexington, Missouri after a year's absence, his wife and children were forcibly removed from their home and his father-in-law was arrested and imprisoned under false charges. Fearing arrest, Akers seeks Gamble's permission to peacefully resolve his affairs in Lexington before leaving the state.
Date: September 12, 1862

Title: From Israel B. Donalson to John W. Geary
Description: U.S. Marshal Israel B. Donalson writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 24, 1856. He asks Geary to send troops to Shawnee County to aid him in making arrests of approximately 20 people. Donalson says that some of the suspects are 100 miles away, and he estimates that it will take eight to ten days to find them and bring them back.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 24, 1856

Title: Examination of A.R. Patrick
Description: This is A.R. Patrick's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Patrick, 33, states that he has resided in Missouri for 29 years and manifested his loyalty during the war by helping "in the Court House at one time." He says that upon hearing of the Federal defeat at Bull Run in 1861, "I remarked that it was a terrible thing." The oath is No. 206 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of James McKernin
Description: This is James McKernin's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. McKernin, a 50-year-old native of Ireland, states that he has resided in Missouri for 16 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 151 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Augustus Wattles
Description: A photograph of Augustus Wattles, abolitionist and founder of the Free-State town of Moneka, in Linn County, Kansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri
Description: The Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri was printed in 1861 by W.G. Cheeney in Jefferson City, Missouri. It includes petitions and letters to Gov. Robert M. Stewart about the guerrilla attacks on Missouri led by James Montgomery and Charles Jennison. The appendix also includes Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost’s report on the South-West Expedition, affidavits relating to Jennison’s murder of Russell Hindes, and proceedings from the Southern Kansas Convention.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1861

Title: Map Depicting Land Surveying Activity in Kansas and Nebraska
Description: This black-and-white map, ca. 1854-1861, depicts land surveying activity in eastern Kansas and Nebraska Territories.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1854-1861

Title: From E.F. Slaughter to Eliza Colgan
Description: On February 25, 1863, E.F. Slaughter writes from Hickmans Mill, Missouri to Mrs. Eliza Colgan. Slaughter writes about his crops and livestock and mentions that Jackson County, Missouri "gets thinner settled all the time." He describes being taken prisoner by the Confederates, and declares, "Our country is in an awful condition."
Object Type: Letter
Date: February 25, 1863

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On April 16, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from camp in Springfield, Missouri, to his sister. Stowell says there is no war news of interest; "all is peaceable here now." He states the soldiers will receive four months' pay tomorrow, "which settles up to the 1st of last month leaving 1 1/2 month due yet." Stowell expresses frustration that James, possibly his brother, refuses to help his parents at home.
Date: April 16, 1863

Title: New York Draft Riots
Description: Two engravings of the 1863 New York Draft Riots, which appeared in The Illustrated London News of August 15, 1863. The illustrations depicts the "Destruction of the Couloured Orphan Asylum" and the "Conflict between the Military and the Rioters in First-Avenue".
Object Type: Image
Date: August 15, 1863

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: On December 29, 1854, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to an unknown recipient. He writes about attending a meeting of the Platte County, Missouri Self Defensive Association, which he began describing in a previous letter. Starr recounts that the Association accused him of several offenses, including allowing a slave to ride in his buggy on July 4. Starr explains how the situation came about and notes that many of the Association’s members often ride with their own slaves in their buggys.
Date: December 29, 1854

Title: From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Relatives
Description: This letter, dated August 24, 1862, is from Mrs. Silliman of Warrensburg, Missouri to her “dear relatives.” She complains that since the war began, Warrensburg has transformed from a small, quiet town into “a thoroughfare for soldiers, jayhawkers, bush whackers . . . assassins & marauders.” She says that her son Oscar’s business has been stagnant, and that they might move to Arkansas until the war is over.
Date: August 24, 1862

Title: Harriet Tubman
Description: Harriet Tubman, full-length portrait, standing with hands on back of a chair. Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and then returned to the South 19 times to escort over 300 slaves to freedom.
Object Type: Image

Title: Quarterly Returns of Deceased Soldiers, 1863
Description: This military document is a collection of quarterly returns of deceased soldiers of the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A". These returns are documentation of the third and fourth quarters of 1863.
Date: 1863

Title: Examination of Samuel Hays
Description: This is Samuel Hays's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hays, a 28-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri for seven years and served in the militia for two years during the war. The oath is No. 258 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Benjamin F. Stringfellow
Description: Portrait of Benjamin Stringfellow, attorney and pro-slavery activist. In 1838, Stringfellow settled in Missouri, where he served in the house of representatives, and was attorney general for four years. After moving to Weston, Missouri, he became a member and officer of the Platte County Self-Defensive Association (an aggressive pro-slavery organization). He wrote a pamphlet entitled "Negro Slavery No Evil, or the North and the South." In 1858, Stringfellow moved to Atchison, Kansas Territory, where he helped build the town and was an attorney for the Kansas City, St. Joseph and Council Bluffs Railroad.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regimental Orders No. 3
Description: By order of Major Edward B. Eno, Lt. William S Gibbs instructs the appointment of noncommissioned officers, the creation of a Muster Roll, and the outfit of proper weaponry for dismounted men in these companies.
Date: April 8, 1863

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1862
Description: This military document is a "Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, received at Linn Creek, Mo., of Col. J. W. McClurg, by Lt. Jas. J. Akard, Comdg. Co. "A," 8th Regt. Cav., M.S.M. for the quarter ending on the 30th day of June, '62."
Date: 1862

Title: John McCorkle
Description: Charcoal portrait of John McCorkle in suit coat, shirt, tie, and hat. McCorkle, born December 12, 1838, in Andrew County, Missouri, moved to a farm near Westport around 1846. In April 1861 he enlisted in Company A of the Missouri State Guards, but in August 1862 he became part of Quantrill's guerrillas. In 1865, McCorkle surrendered at Newcastle, Kentucky, along with George Wigginton and a Confederate Captain Stone. They were paroled. Some years later, O. S. Barton helped McCorkle write his memoirs, "Three Years with Quantrell [sic]," published in 1914. McCorkle lived in Howard County, Missouri, until he died in 1918.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on December 21 and 22, 1862 by Florella Brown Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that she has heard various reports concerning their son Charles in the army, and says that although none of them can be trusted, “I cannot help being affected by them especially if I do not know they are not true.” Florella also discusses household matters such as taxes and her plans concerning a cow and calf she loaned to a neighbor.
Date: December 21, 1862-December 22, 1862

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

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