Civil War

Title: From William P. Richardson to Wilson Shannon
Description: This dispatch, dated August 20, 1856, was written by Major General William P. Richardson of the Kansas Militia, Northern Division, at Headquarters at Whitehead, Doniphan County, Kansas, to Kansas Governor Wilson Shannon. Richardson tells Shannon that General James Lane has recruited a large military force and intends to enter Kansas. Richardson says he has issued an order to assemble the Northern Division militia at Whitehead and awaits Shannon’s authorization to employ the troops.
Date: August 20, 1856

Title: From Sara Robinson to "My Dear Martha"
Description: This letter, dated October 19, 1862, is from Sara Robinson in Topeka, Kansas to Martha. Sara reports that her husband, Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson, went to Altoona, Pennsylvania to meet "the Governors," but by the time he arrived they had already gone to Washington, D.C. Charles "had no wish to see the Sec. of War or the President, both of whom have treated him & the young state of Kansas so villainously & did not follow them." Sara states that when Charles returned, he went to St. Louis to see Gen. Curtis.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 19, 1862

Title: Examination of John Ferrel
Description: This is John Ferrel's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ferrel, an 81-year-old Virginia native, states that he has resided in Clay County, Missouri for 28 years. The oath is No. 141 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Letters Received (Kansas Provost Marshal's Office)
Description: This notebook is a record of correspondence received by the Kansas Provost Marshal's Office in Leavenworth, Kansas, between 1863 and 1865. Topics addressed include army deserters; American Indians; information about new recruits and substitutions; and special orders from Washington. Participants in the correspondence include Gen. H.S. Halleck; Maj. Gen. John Pope; and Sidney Clarke, Kansas Acting Asst. Provost Marshal General.
Date: 1863-1865

Title: Missouri State Militia Special Order No. 174
Description: By order of Missouri State Militia Major George W. Murphy, Thomas J. Shinn instructs Captain James J. Akard to take his men of the 8th Cavalry Regiment and march to Greenfield, Missouri. Once there, Akard is instructed to report to Captain Calvin S. Moore for further instructions in order to pursue Confederate forces.
Date: June 25, 1864

Title: Examination of Ezekiel Bailey
Description: This is Ezekiel Bailey's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bailey, a 37-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Illinois and that he served as a Union soldier during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 61 in a bound volume, was signed by Bailey in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Excerpt from John Deering's Diary
Description: This excerpt from John Deering’s diary was written between January 5 and June 7, 1858. Deering, who arrived in Kansas Territory from Maine in March 1857, describes daily life in Douglas County, Kansas. Deering records his purchase of a new claim after his own was “taken by Indians,” and his efforts to build a shop in Prairie City, Kansas. On February 27, Deering writes that he attended an election to nominate delegates for the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. On April 23, he notes that he heard Jim Lane and others speak about the constitution.
Object Type: Diary
Date: January 5, 1858-June 7, 1858

Title: Battle of Westport
Description: Newell Convers Wyeth mural of the Battle of Westport, fought on October 23, 1864, which is displayed at the Missouri State Capitol.
Object Type: Image

Title: James Montgomery
Description: Carte de visite portrait of James Montgomery.

Title: From James Montgomery to George L. Stearns
Description: James Montgomery writes a letter from Mound City, Kansas to George L. Stearns on May 8, 1861. He reports that, “We are in a perilous position here, and have not ammunition enough to make a respectable fight.” He says that he has organized a regiment to help defend Kansas against pro-slavery Missourians, whose troops are camped along the border of Linn and Bourbon counties. He mentions that an Osage Indian chief attacked some of these troops, then “tied them with ropes to the Horns of his Saddles and dragged them out of the country.” Montgomery asks for Stearns’s assistance in acquiring arms and declares that, “If we have to fight, we will carry the war out of Kansas.”
Date: May 8, 1861

Title: From The Few That Are Left to John W. Geary
Description: This letter to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary is dated September 18, 1856 and signed by “The few that are left.” The letter asks Geary to send troops to protect the citizens of Cass County, Missouri; Sugar Mound, Kansas; and Fort Scott, Kansas. “This section of the country has just been ravaged by the war parties from Missouri,” the letter says. “The people here are unarmed and defenseless.”
Date: September 18, 1856

Title: Thomas (Tom) Maupin
Description: Charcoal portrait of Thomas (Tom) Maupin wearing a checked shirt covered by a pullover with decorated pockets and decorations around the V neck. Maupin was part of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and the Centralia, Missouri, massacre on September 27, 1864. "Weekly Graphic" of Kirksville, Missouri, April 7, 1882, page 1, relates that Maupin owned several cattle ranches in Texas; other sources say he was killed near Rocheport on May 24, 1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: Battle of Carthage, Missouri
Description: This drawing, based on a sketch made during the battle on July 5, 1861, shows Union troops under Franz Sigel's command firing upon the Confederate position in Carthage, Missouri.
Object Type: Image
Date: August 3, 1861

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On March 26, 1862, Abishai Stowell writes from Springfield, Missouri to his sister, Margaret. Stowell, a member of Co. A, 2nd Regt., Kansas Volunteers, says that he recently went home and reports that their family was mostly in good health. Stowell asks his sister to write to Jim "and try to persuade him to go home…if he will only stay at home till this war is ended."
Object Type: Letter
Date: March 26, 1862

Title: From H.C. Wood to A. Comingo
Description: This dispatch, dated October 9, 1863, is from U.S. Army Capt. H.C. Wood to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Wood states that Comingo's accounts cannot be settled until he sends the "Oaths" of his employees to the Provost Marshal General's Bureau in Washington, D.C.
Date: October 9, 1863

Title: William T. Anderson
Description: Portrait of William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson
Object Type: Image
Date: 1864

Title: Examination of Edmund Haynes
Description: This is Edmund Haynes's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Haynes describes himself as a 48-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 94 in a bound volume, was signed by Haynes on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: James S. Cunningham
Description: This tintype photograph, taken circa 1861-1865, shows James S. Cunningham in the uniform of the 8th Regiment of the Missouri Infantry. Cunningham served as a private in Company D and was a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Object Type: Image

Title: From James B. Fry to E.B. Alexander
Description: On November 7, 1863, James B. Fry, Provost Marshal General in Washington, DC, writes to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis. Fry informs Alexander that the enrollment quota for Missouri under Lincoln's call for three hundred thousand volunteers is 13,516 men. Fry also provides the exact number of men required from each Missouri district.
Date: November 7, 1863

Title: From William H. Doah to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch was sent to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on April 21, 1859 by Capt. William H. Doah, Company B, Missouri Militia at Headquarters, Missouri Militia, in Butler, Bates County, Missouri. Doah reports that some Missouri citizens in “thinly settled neighborhoods” along the state line fear they will be attacked by guerrillas from Kansas. Therefore, Doah plans to “move on the line with my company in seven or eight days or as soon as I get the necessary arms.” Doah requests that “some fifty stand of muskets” be sent to the citizens of West Point, Missouri for their defense.
Date: April 21, 1859

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

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