Civil War

Title: From E.B. Alexander to William Fowler
Description: On August 8, 1863, Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis, writes to Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal for the 7th District of Missouri. Alexander reports that four "desperate" horse thieves have escaped from a court house in Iowa and are rumored to be in northern Missouri. He adds that one of the men, Washington Rodgers, is charged with enlisting men for the Confederate side "and is supposed to have been an active guerrilla in northern Missouri."
Date: August 8, 1863

Title: Richard (Dick) Yeager
Description: Charcoal portrait of Richard (Dick) Yeager dressed in suit coat, shirt, and tie. Dick Yeager was a son of James B. Yeager, a judge who served in the state legislature for two years and as presiding judge of the Jackson County Court in 1840. James owned a freight business running the Santa Fe Trail, and before the war, Dick was in charge of one of his father's wagon trains. When his father's farm was raided, Dick joined Quantrill's guerrillas. He was part of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and is also known for a daring raid in the vicinity of Council Grove, Kansas, on May 4, 1863. There are several versions of his death, which occurred around July or August 1864.
Object Type: Image

Title: Andrew (Andy) McGuire
Description: Charcoal portrait of Andrew McGuire in coat over a tab-closing shirt. McGuire was part of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and Centralia, Missouri, September 27, 1864. He surrendered at Samuel's Depot, Kentucky, July 25, 1865. In May 1867, 14 men held up the bank in Richmond, Missouri. A warrant was issued for McGuire's arrest in connection with the robbery. He was arrested in St. Louis and taken to the Richmond city jail. On March 20, 1868, a mob of 15 stormed the jail and lynched McGuire along with James M. Devers.
Object Type: Image

Title: The Battle of Lexington, Missouri
Description: This image depicting the Battle of Lexington appeared in the October 12, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly.
Object Type: Image
Date: October 12, 1861

Title: Abraham Lincoln-Hannibal Hamlin Campaign Button for 1860 Presidential Election
Description: Double-sided campaign button featuring presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln's name and photograph on the front and running mate Hannibal Hamlin's name and photograph on the reverse.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1860

Title: From Florella Brown Adair and Ada Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This undated letter, ca. December 1862, was presumably written by Florella Brown Adair and Ada Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that some local women have formed a benevolent society to raise funds for “buying land or fencing in ground for a general burying ground for the place.” Florella has attended only one of the society’s meetings and is not sure if she will attend their Christmas fundraising event. On the last page of the letter, Florella transcribes a message from her young daughter Ada to “Dear PaPa.”

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: On October 22, 1863, Eugenia Bronaugh writes a letter from Hickory Grove, Missouri to John A. Bushnell, who is away in St. Louis. Referring to herself in the third person, she claims to be a Union devotee. She recounts recent correspondence from her brothers, who fought in the Battle of Helena for the Federal army. She praises their bravery, and relates their descriptions of the “toil and hardships of war”.
Date: October 22, 1863

Title: Colonel Henry Theodore Titus
Description: Portrait of Colonel Henry Theodore Titus, undated.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Missouri State Militia Special Order No. 30
Description: By order of Brigadier General John B. Sanborn, 1st Lt. W. D. Hubbard calls for six particular squadrons of the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment to muster out any amount of enlisted men in excess of the minimum required for organization of a Cavalry Company. Lieutenant Colonel J. D. Brutsche is charged with making sure the order is carried out.
Date: February 1, 1864

Title: Sacking of Lawrence
Description: This print, originally published in O. N. Merrill's 1856 publication of "True history of the Kansas wars, and their origin, progress and incidents", depicts the Sack of Lawrence in 1856 by Douglas County sheriff Samuel J. Jones.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1856

Title: Benjamin W. Grover
Description: This ca. 1861 sepia photograph depicts Benjamin W. Grover, a prominent early citizen of Warrensburg, Missouri. After a career with the railroad, Grover served in the 27th Missouri Infantry, U.S. Volunteers, and died October 30, 1861 from wounds received in the first Battle of Lexington. Grover is believed to have been a friend of General Grant; the coat he is wearing in the photograph may have been given to him by Grant.
Object Type: Image

Title: Benjamin W. Grover
Description: This ca. 1861 tintype depicts Benjamin W. Grover, a prominent early citizen of Warrensburg, Missouri. After a career with the railroad, Grover served in the 27th Missouri Infantry, U.S. Volunteers, and died October 30, 1861 from wounds received in the first Battle of Lexington. Grover is believed to have been a friend of General Grant; the coat he is wearing in the photograph may have been given to him by Grant.
Object Type: Image

Title: Platte River near Platte City, Platte County, Missouri
Description: Present day photograph of the Platte River near Platte City in Platte County, Missouri.
Object Type: Image
Date: October 4, 2006

Title: Invoices of Quartermaster's Stores in 1863
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 horse collars and harnesses in between Lieutenant Stockley Etter, Captain James J. Akard, and Lieutenant T. E. Gray.
Date: 1863

Title: John C. Fremont
Description: Lithograph by Charles G. Crehan of Jules-Émile Saintin's original painting of John C. Fremont, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left
Object Type: Image

Title: From James Boyer to A. Comingo
Description: On December 23, 1863, James Boyer, Deputy Provost Marshal for Chariton County, Missouri writes from Brunswick, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri, in Lexington, Missouri. Boyer informs Comingo that his check on the Treasury at St. Louis has been drawn at Washington, DC in favor of enrolling officer Joseph Standley. Boyer states that he also received two checks drawn at Washington as "payment in full" for services rendered by James Sportsman as enrolling officer for Subdistrict No. 30.
Date: December 23, 1863

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On June 11, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from Mount Gilead, Kansas, to his sister. Stowell states that he is visiting his family and will return to his regiment, the 2nd Kansas Volunteers, in Springfield, Missouri tomorrow. He says they have drawn new horses and arms, and "I suppose we will soon be marching into Dixie land again." Stowell also tells his sister he is not in General Blunt's command.
Date: June 11, 1863

Title: Kansas Colored Volunteers Correspondence
Description: This bound letterbook contains copies of letters exchanged between the Adjutant General’s Office in Fort Scott, Kansas and various correspondents including the War Department in Washington. The letters relate to the recruitment and commission of troops and officers for the Kansas Colored Volunteers. Participants in the correspondence include Major General James G. Blunt, Major General J.M. Schofield, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and Kansas Governor Thomas Carney.
Date: 1863-1864

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated June 4, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner at Headquarters, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Shannon informs Sumner that there are about 300 Free State men in Prairie City, Kansas, “fortified and prepared to fight.” Shannon adds that Capt. Pate and twenty or thirty prisoners are confined there.
Date: June 4, 1856

Title: Report on Loss of Clothing and Equipage
Description: This report, dated March 30, 1865, is signed by Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri, and members of his Enrollment Board. The report attempts to explain "the destruction and loss of Clothing, Camp and Garrison Equipage…that occurred during the rebel raid into this state" in October 1864. Comingo concludes that the loss was "inevitable" under the circumstances. The report includes a copy of a letter sent by Gen. Samuel R. Curtis to Comingo on October 5, 1864.
Date: March 30, 1865

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

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