Civil War

Title: The Capture of Colonel Titus
Description: An illustration of Colonel Henry T. Titus and his Pro-Slavery men being captured by Free-Staters led by Samuel Walker during the Destruction of Fort Titus (background) on August 16, 1856. This image is included in the 1867 publication of "Beyond the Mississippi: From the Great River to the Great Ocean" by Albert D. Richardson.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1867

Title: Constitution Hall, Topeka, Kansas
Description: An illustration depicting the building where the Topeka Constitutional Convention met in 1855. Delegates assembled at Topeka on October 23, 1855, to draft a constitution. The document was approved on December 15 by a vote of 1,731 to 46. The proslavery--"Law and Order"--party did not participate in the voting on the document. Although Congress rejected this constitution and the request for admission to the Union, the Topeka government kept operating even though its legislature was closed down by U. S. troops on July 4, 1856. This building housed the Kansas legislature in 1864-1869 while the east wing of the state capitol was being built.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1855

Title: 1857 Election Ballots
Description: These are ballots that were cast in the December 21, 1857 election in Kansas Territory. Citizens voted to either ratify the Lecompton Constitution with slavery or to ratify it without slavery. Free State supporters boycotted the election and the pro-slavery vote prevailed.
Object Type: Ballots
Date: December 21, 1857

Title: Baxter Mitchell
Description: Charcoal portrait of Baxter Mitchell dressed in suit coat, vest,shirt, and cravat. Little is known about Baxter Mitchell, who may also be Baker Mitchell, except that he took part in Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863.
Object Type: Image

Title: 1858 Election Ballots
Description: These are ballots that were cast in the January 4, 1858 election in Kansas Territory. Citizens voted to either ratify or reject the Lecompton Constitution. They also voted for State officers and a Congressional representative. The majority of voters rejected the Constitution and elected Free State politicians.
Object Type: Ballots
Date: January 4, 1858

Title: Receipt Rolls of Clothing, Camp and Garrison Equipage
Description: This military document is a collection of receipt rolls of clothing, camp, and garrison equipment for the use of the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment Company "A" that shows the transfer of items in between Lieutentant S. B. Shubert, Captain David D. Stockton, Lieutenant James J. Akard, Lieutenant Thomas A. Wakefield, Lieutenant T. E. Gray, and Captain Julius Glade.
Date: 1863-1865

Title: From Mary Jane Peery to My Dear Sister
Description: This letter, dated October 11, 1865, is from Mary Jane Peery to her sister. Peery writes that her husband, the preacher J.T. Peery, has refused to take an Oath of Loyalty to the United States Government. She mentions that Confederate sympathizers have encountered difficulty in Missouri following the Civil War, but declares that "a great many of our preachers . . . say they do not intend to take the oath. The Northerners still hold our church and parsonage in Independence and say they will not give it up."
Date: October 11, 1865

Title: Examination of C.W. Haynes
Description: This is C.W. Haynes's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Haynes, a 23-year-old Missouri native, states that he served in the militia during the war, "guarding your door while you was asleep." The oath is No. 241 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: An Abolition Trick Exposed!
Description: This broadside was written by B.F. Stringfellow in Platte County, Missouri on August 7, 1854. Stringfellow denies H. Miles Moore’s accusation that he declared that all men who labor for a living are slaves. He accuses Moore of being an abolitionist, a Freesoiler, and a “white slave.” The broadside includes statements by people who witnessed an argument between Stringfellow and Moore, and a statement signed by 22 citizens who denied that Stringfellow ever called laborers slaves.
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 2, 1854-August 7, 1854

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father, Mother, and Boys Great and Small
Description: On October 18, 1854, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to “Father, Mother, and boys great and small.” Starr reports that the newly-formed Self Defensive Association of Platte County, Missouri has begun to "rid the country of all pests,” including “Emigrant Aid Societies, Abolitionists and free soilers.” Starr calls the Association a “mob society,” and says they have already arrested two men, ordered all free blacks to leave the area, and established a night patrol to secure slaves and “catch the Abolitionists.” Starr adds that he refused to sign the Association’s resolutions when invited to do so.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 18, 1854

Title: Edward Fitch
Description: This black and white portrait depicts Edward Payson Fitch. He was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts in 1857 and was one of the early settlers in Kansas Territory. On August 21, 1863, he was killed in Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. An intruder shot him in the heart, then burned down his house with his body still inside. His wife and three children escaped.
Object Type: Image

Title: Application of E.M. Wooldridge
Description: This is E.M. Wooldridge’s application for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slave, Fleming Stradford. The application, dated January 29, 1867, includes an oath of allegiance to the United States, a statement that Wooldridge lawfully inherited his slave, and the signatures of four witnesses and a notary public in Pettis County, Missouri. A note in pencil on the seventh page indicates that the application was rejected. Also included is Fleming Stradford’s enlistment form, signed and dated February 22, 1864.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: February 22, 1864-January 29, 1867

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: In a July 20, 1864 letter from Calhoun, Missouri, John A. Bushnell tells Eugenia Bronaugh of Hickory Grove, Missouri, that he plans to travel to Sedalia and St. Louis. He says that he will return within two weeks unless he does not feel safe. He expresses a longing to return to his normal life and his business, for “this life of uncertainty, suspense and danger does not suit me.” He adds that he hopes for peace, but does not feel optimistic.
Date: July 20, 1864

Title: Campaign Banner, Belfast, Maine, 1860
Description: Lincoln and Hamlin cotton campaign banner from the Presidential Campagin of 1860.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1860

Title: Examination of Henry Bunker
Description: This is Henry Bunker's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bunker, who was born in Ohio, describes himself as a 47-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri. He states that he served in the militia during the Civil War and "obeyed all the laws" of the United States. The oath, labeled No. 42 in a bound volume, was signed by Bunker in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Application of William Chancellor
Description: This is William Chancellor’s application for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slave, Henry. The documents, dated November 9 and 10, 1866, include an oath of allegiance to the United States, a power of attorney transfer to Isaac C. Dodge, and a statement that Chancellor lawfully obtained his slave. The application is signed by two witnesses in Howard County, Missouri and by a notary public in Cooper County, Missouri.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 9, 1866-November 10, 1866

Title: Examination of James Flemming
Description: This is James Flemming's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Flemming describes himself as a 75-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Virginia. He states that he "tried to be" loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War and that he spoke out against its enemies. The oath, labeled No. 93 in a bound volume, was signed by Flemmings on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: Examination of William Frick
Description: This is William Frick's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Frick, a 56-year-old native of Germany, states that he has resided in Missouri for 25 years. The oath is No. 154 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of John Robinson
Description: This is John Robinson's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Robinson, a 31-year-old Virginia native, states that he has resided in Missouri for eight years and served in the militia during the war. Upon hearing of the Federal defeat at Bull Run in 1861, Robinson says he "was sorry the Gov't was broken up so." The oath is No. 222 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Abraham Lincoln, Two Weeks Before the Final Lincoln-Douglas Debate in Lincoln's Unsuccessful Bid for the Senate
Description: Photographic print of Abraham Lincoln copied from an ambrotype made by Calvin Jackson, circa 1900-1911. Original ambrotype was taken two weeks before the final Lincoln-Douglas debate in Lincoln's unsuccessful bid for the Senate on October 1, 1858.
Object Type: Image

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

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