Civil War

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written between December 20 and 29, 1860 by Florella Brown Adair in Hudson and Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella describes her trip from Hudson to Grafton with her daughter Ada. She states that she has collected $21.00 from friends and relatives to send back to Kansas, and that many people feel a “deep interest in Kansas troubles.” Florella adds that “People here are all awake upon the troubles that threaten our country.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 20, 1860-December 29, 1860

Title: Examination of Henry Leitch
Description: This is Henry Leitch's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Leitch, a 28-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Virginia and that he served in the militia during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 96 in a bound volume, was signed by Leitch on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: Plat of Deerfield Township, Vernon County, Missouri
Description: Plat of Deerfield Township, Vernon County, Missouri which includes the settlements of Deerfield, Ellis, and Moundville, Missouri. The Battle of Drywood Creek took place on September 2, 1861 southeast of Deerfield along the Big Drywood Creek.
Date: 1903

Title: Battle of Dug Springs
Description: This sketch, originally published in Harper's Weekly on August 24, 1861, depicts the Battle of Dug Springs (August 2, 1861), near present day Clever, Missouri. Union forces under the command of Nathaniel Lyon were victorious in this first skirmish of the Missouri Campaign of 1861.
Object Type: Image
Date: August 24, 1861

Title: Missouri State Militia General Order No. 2
Description: By order of Major John Cosgrove, 1st Lt. T. E. Gray warns that if the soldiers of the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment 1st Battalion will be punished if they continue their insubordinate habits. Particularly, "Any man found shooting his gun or pistol within one mile of his camp without a permit... will be punished for disobedience of orders[.]"
Date: April 25, 1864

Title: From Charles Adair to Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written on October 21, 1860 by Charles Adair in Hudson, Ohio, to his sister Emma Adair. Charles describes a trip to Cleveland, Ohio, to witness “the inauguration of the Perry statue,” which featured “a great many military companies” and “a sham battle.” He also writes about his schooling and future travel plans.
Date: October 21, 1860

Title: Examination of Thomas Winter
Description: This is Thomas Winter's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Winter, a native of Kentucky, states that he has lived in Missouri for 24 years, and "enrolled in the militia with Col. Penick" during the war. He also says that he was not required to give bond during the war. The unnumbered oath is contained in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Liberty Arsenal
Description: An undated illustration of the United States Arsenal located in Liberty, Clay County, Missouri. This is illustration is found on page 140 of "Clay County, Missouri centennial souvenir, 1822-1922".
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Missouri State Militia Special Order No. 279
Description: By order of Major Robert W. Fyan, H. Mitchell instructs Lieutenant T. A. Wakefield of the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A" to take charge of one hundred men and pursue Sterling Price as his Confederate forces raid central Missouri.
Date: October 10, 1864

Title: From F.W. Smith to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch was sent on November 29, 1860 to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart by Maj. F.W. Smith, at Headquarters, 1st Battalion, 4th Military District, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Smith sends Stewart a report from the Division Inspector regarding the election of officers for the German Rifle Company, Company C, 1st Battalion. Smith says that if Stewart believes the elections were properly conducted, Lt. Schmitz and Lt. Baumer should receive their commissions.
Date: November 29, 1860

Title: Battle of Mobile Bay
Description: Xanthus Russell Smith painting of the Battle of Mobile Bay, which was fought on August 5, 1864, in Mobile Bay, Alabama.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1890

Title: Battle of Pea Ridge
Description: This map of the Battle of Pea Ridge was originally published in Abraham Lincoln: A History, Vol. V, by John G. Nicolay and John Hay.
Object Type: Map
Date: n.d.

Title: Petition from Vernon County Citizens
Description: This petition, dated November 21, 1860, is addressed to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart and signed by 34 citizens of Little Osage, Vernon County, Missouri. The signers assert that they are “imminently in danger of another invasion” from Kansas guerrillas. They claim that they have been victim to numerous attacks over the past three years, and that during one attack, John Brown stole “ten or eleven thousand dollars” of property. The petitioners ask Stewart to station the Missouri Mounted Militia, Company A, in Little Osage for their protection.
Object Type: Petition
Date: November 21, 1860

Title: Examination of Finess Tilford
Description: This is Finess Tilford's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Tilford, a 46-year-old native of Clay County, Missouri, states that he opposed "the enemies of the Government" by advising them "to stay at home and behave themselves." He also says he "took the Union side invariably." The oath is No. 188 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of M.C. Drake
Description: This is M.C. Drake's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Drake, a 58-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 105 in a bound volume, was signed by Drake on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: Discharge of James S. Cunningham
Description: These are the official discharge papers for James S. Cunningham, who served as a private under Captain John B. Coles in Company D of the 8th Regiment of the Missouri Infantry from 1861 to 1864. The document, dated July 1, 1864, describes Cunningham as a 20 year old farmer from Washington, Pennsylvania. He was discharged after completing his term of service.
Date: July 1, 1864

Title: Quantrill's Flag
Description: Small cotton and wool flag dropped during Quantrill's raid on Olathe on September 7, 1862. The flag resembles the Confederate First National Flag, nicknamed the "Stars and Bars," however, the canton displays either a fist or palmetto tree and "Quant" for Quantrill.
Object Type: Image

Title: Siege of Vicksburg
Description: Kurz & Allison lithograph depicting the Siege of Vicksburg, circa 1888.
Object Type: Image

Title: Jillson Hotel, Osawatomie, Kansas
Description: Postcard depicting The Jillson Hotel in Osawatomie, Kansas, where on May 18, 1859, Horace Greeley reorganized the Free-State Party as the Republican Party in Kansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of W.F. Gordon
Description: This is W.F. Gordon's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Gordon, a 35-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "doing all the law required." The oath, labeled No. 77 in a bound volume, was signed by Gordon in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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

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