Civil War

Title: Circular No. 21
Description: This document, entitled Circular No. 21, is dated April 18, 1865 and is signed by Col. E.B. Alexander in St. Louis. Since drafting and recruiting have been discontinued, the Circular instructs Provost Marshals to "make every effort" to reduce their office expenses by terminating rental agreements, discharging unnecessary employees, and eliminating business contracts.
Date: April 18, 1865

Title: Leander Harrison
Description: This carte de visite depicts Leander Harrison, who served in Company A, Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of William H. Corbin
Description: This is William H. Corbin's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Corbin, a 21-year-old Virginia native, states that he has resided in Missouri for 14 years and manifested his loyalty during the war "by obeying the laws and staying at home and behaving myself." The oath is No. 213 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Map of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad
Description: Map of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, which was chartered in 1847 and completed in 1859. Map depicts northern Missouri and parts of Kansas and Illinois, showing rivers, settlements, railroads, and the land grant awarded to the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad.
Object Type: Map, Image

Title: Examination of John Chrisman
Description: This is John Chrisman's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Chrisman, a 40-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 38 in a bound volume, was signed by Chrisman in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated October 20, 1863, is from Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Alexander informs Comingo that the reward for the arrest of military deserters has changed according to recent orders from the War Department.
Date: October 20, 1863

Title: From Daniel R. Anthony to Father
Description: This letter, dated June 10, 1857, was written by Daniel R. Anthony in Leavenworth, Kansas, to his father. Anthony has just arrived in Leavenworth, calling it “the most enterprising city in all Kansas.” Anthony states that land prices are very high but will likely decline during the winter until emigration begins again in the spring. He predicts that insurance will be a "good business" in Leavenworth and discusses various investment options. Anthony reports that he saw Gov. Harney, Sheriff Jones, and Judge Lecompte, who is presiding over the murder trial of Charles Fugett.
Date: June 10, 1857

Title: Col. Jas. A. Mulligan
Description: This black-and-white carte de viste depicts Union Col. Jas. A. Mulligan in military uniform. Mulligan served as colonel of the 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and commanded the Union forces at the first Battle of Lexington.
Object Type: Image

Title: From John F. Youngs to Jenney and Mother
Description: This letter is from Lt. John F. Youngs, Company E, 5th Regiment, to his family. Youngs writes from camp in Fort Scott, Kansas on September 18, 1861 and gives a detailed account of the Battle of Dry Wood Creek. He describes hiding in a ravine and firing on thousands of advancing troops. Since then, "we have been buisy scouting with an occasional scirmish," and says that an infantry company has gone to "break up a secession camp."
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 18, 1861

Title: Jefferson Davis in Prison at Fortress Monroe
Description: This drawing depicts Jefferson Davis in his prison cell at Fortress Monroe, Virginia after the conclusion of the Civil War. Two guards stand in Davis' cell, while the prisoner sits on his bed. Written in the lower, right hand corner: "The casemate, Fortress Monroe, Jeff Davis in prison."
Object Type: Image
Date: 1865

Title: Plat of Centralia, Boone County, Missouri
Description: Plat of Centralia, Boone County, Missouri. On September 27, 1864, 80 guerillas under the command of bushwhacker William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson killed 22 Union soldiers after stopping a train on the North Missouri Railroad in Centralia.
Date: 1898

Title: From Mary Hall to Venitia Hall
Description: Mary Hall—the original recipient of this envelope—used it in 1863 to write a message to her sister Venitia Colcord Page, who was incarcerated at the Union Jail for Women in Kansas City. “Don’t say one word before anyone,” Mary warns, “The guards say they like you…They say very hard things of the others.” Mary gave the message to Venitia, who was married to Major Page, during a prison visit; Venitia escaped or was released before the prison collapsed in August 1863.
Date: 1863

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On October 26, 1864, John A. Bushnell writes from Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. John refers to a fight “at Clinton yesterday,” and adds that several local men have joined the Confederates; John himself has been “sworn and paroled.” John predicts that “bands of men” will soon be “robbing and plundering” on the order of Bushwhackers and other groups. He advises Eugenia to hide her valuables and “any letters you do not want read” in case her house is searched. John writes of hearing rumors about the whereabouts of General Price’s army.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 26, 1864

Title: General Orders, No. 34
Description: Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis issued General Order No. 34 from the Department of the Missouri Headquarters in St. Louis on May 4, 1863. The order details the proceedings of a recent Military Commission in St. Joseph, Missouri, where several citizens were tried for war crimes, including disloyal conduct, violation of the conduct of war, bearing arms against the Government, violation of the Oath of Allegiance, and disturbing the peace of Union men. The order was signed by Assistant Adjutant General A.V. Colburn.
Date: May 4, 1863

Title: The Cradle of the G.O.P.
Description: Lithograph of Pittsburgh's Lafayette Hall, where the first Republic National Convention convened on February 22, 1856. The image depicts the exterior and interior of LaFayette Hall at the time of the first Republican convention.
Object Type: Image
Date: January 29, 1897

Title: From F.L. Pilla to Dear Brother
Description: F.L. Pilla writes a letter to his brother on September 21, 1863. Pilla writes about Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, explaining that Lawrence is seven miles from his home in Eudora, Kansas. On the day of the Raid, he heard a rumor that Quantrill planned to target Eudora, and readied himself for a possible attack. The following day, he visited Lawrence and found "the best part of the City burned down" and "dead bodies laying around in all directions."
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 21, 1863

Title: From William H. Doah to Hon. James Edgar
Description: This letter was written on December 23, 1859 by William H. Doah in Butler, Bates County, Missouri, to Hon. James Edgar. Doah says that he spent $12.20 of his own money on ammunition for his Missouri Militia company “at the time of our threatened troubles on the line.” He seeks Edgar’s help in securing reimbursement from Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Doah states that he has written to Stewart twice but has not received a reply.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 23, 1859

Title: Charles Bluejacket
Description: Photograph of Charles Bluejacket (1816-1897), Kansas member of the Shawnee Tribe. This is found in the 1906 publication of "Transactions of the Kansas Historical Society: Vol. IX.".
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Inventory of Effects of Deceased Soldiers
Description: This is a copy of a United States Army form used to record the inventory of deceased soldiers' belongings during the Civil War. The unfilled form was prepared for soldiers serving under James A. Akard in Company A, Eighth Regiment of the Missouri State Militia.

Title: Susan B. Anthony
Description: Half length portrait of Susan B. Anthony, seated, facing left.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1890-1906

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

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