Civil War

Title: From T.J. Matlock to J.F. Benjamin
Description: This dispatch, dated August 3, 1863, is from T.J. Matlock, Deputy Provost Marshal in St. Louis County, Missouri to Col. J.F. Benjamin, Provost Marshal of the 8th district of Missouri. Matlock writes that he recently arrested a man who was in the "Rebel service" during the Battle of Kirksville, but claimed to have subsequently taken an oath of allegiance to the United States. Matlock states that there is no evidence of the oath, and asks Benjamin whether the man should be released from arrest, adding, "I apprehend many such cases and desire instructions on how to proceed."
Date: August 3, 1863

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description: In a May 26, 1856 letter to his father in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch describes the Sack of Lawrence that had occurred six days earlier on May 21, 1856. He mentions that Governor Shannon has called for protection “for fear we should rise up and exterminate him and the Pro-Slavery party.” He expresses his own fear that the Free State Party will be defeated and that Kansas will become a slave state. He also fears for his personal safety, saying he "shall not dare to stay at my cabin without a rifle or gun at my bedside." He adds that he hopes John C. Fremont will win the upcoming presidential election.
Date: May 26, 1856

Title: From Thornton Grimsley to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated November 23, 1860, is from Thornton Grimsley in St. Louis, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Grimsley writes that he is a member of the Constitutional Guards, a new political organization formed in preparation for city elections in St. Louis. Their object, he states, is to “wipe out black republicanism.” He also offers the services of 700-1,000 men for any military service the state might need.
Date: November 23, 1860

Title: From Joseph Moore to Hugh Fisher
Description: Joseph Moore writes a letter from Marysville, Kansas to Rev. Hugh D. Fisher on August 8, 1863. Moore requests that Fisher send African Americans to work in Marshall County: “I understand you have charge of all the contrabands at Leavenworth, hence I write to you requesting you to send me a stout negro man. Quite a number could get good steady employment here at good wages.”
Date: August 8, 1863

Title: Missouri State Militia General Orders Reinforcing General Responsibilities
Description: This General Order to the Missouri State Militia reminds enlisted men of their basic responsibilities while on duty. These include keeping horses and mules from escaping, staying at an assigned post until relieved, and keeping equipment and camp in good order.
Date: January 12, 1862

Title: Proclamation of Daniel Woodson
Description: This proclamation was issued August 24, 1856 by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas. Woodson declares that Kansas Territory is “infested” with large bodies of armed men organized in military fashion – presumably Gen. James Lane’s troops – who are murdering and detaining citizens, robbing and burning houses, and plundering local militias of arms for the purpose of subverting the territorial government. Woodson proclaims that Kansas Territory is in a state of “open insurrection and rebellion,” and calls upon its citizens to rally in support of their country and its laws and put down the insurrectionists.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: August 24, 1856

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: From James B. Fry to E.B. Alexander
Description: This letter, dated November 7, 1863, is from James B. Fry, Provost Marshal General, to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri. Writing from the War Department in Washington, D.C., Fry tells Alexander the number of volunteers that must be recruited from each Missouri district. To comply with President Lincoln's October 17 proclamation ordering the United States to recruit 300,000 volunteers, the state of Missouri must recruit 13,516 volunteers.
Date: November 7, 1863

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: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This December 1863 military roll lists the names of "colored recruits" enlisted in the 27th sub-district of the 6th congressional district of Missouri in Chariton County. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupation, birthplace, and the names of their owners.
Date: December 1863

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: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This December 1863 military roll lists the names of "colored recruits" enlisted in the 27th sub-district of the 6th congressional district of Missouri in Chariton County. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupations, birthplaces, and the names of their owners.
Date: December 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

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

Error message

In collections

Pages

Pages

Object Type

Local Subject

People

Geographic Subject

Owning Organization