Civil War

Title: Examination of Bartley Estes
Description: This is Bartley Estes's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Estes, a 71-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, originally from Kentucky, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War and "did all I was called upon by them to do." The oath, No. 7 in a bound volume, was signed by Estes in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: John Thrailkill
Description: Charcoal portrait of John Thrailkill in suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Discrepancies exist concerning John Thrailkill and his participation in the Civil War. He is often confused with James Thrailkill. According to National Archives records, John Thrailkill first joined the Missouri State Guard and later enlisted in the 1st Missouri Cavalry as a private on December 25, 1861. His Civil War career is varied but he did command a number of guerrillas during the battle of Centralia, Missouri, September 27, 1864. At the end of the war, Thrailkill accompanied General Shelby to Mexico, where it appears Thrailkill remained until his death in 1898.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Simeon Collins
Description: This is Simeon Collins's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Collins, a 56-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 36 years and served in the militia during the war. The oath is No. 209 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Lewis Stafford to Kate Newland
Description: Lewis Stafford writes a letter from Camp Washington near Clinton, Missouri to Kate Newland on July 6, 1861. Stafford, a member of the 1st Kansas Infantry, Company E, tells Newland that Union troops recently took possession of a printing press that had printed a secession journal. He says that Clinton used to be a “hot bed of secession” but “secession in this place is now pretty generally squelched out.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 6, 1861

Title: H.D. Fisher
Description: This ca. 1867 black-and-white photograph depicts Rev. H.D. Fisher in military uniform. Fisher, known as “Parson Fisher,” was a Methodist minister who settled in Lawrence, Kansas, and served as chaplain of the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of James Bayer
Description: This unsigned 1866 Oath of Loyalty bears the name of James Bayer. The document is No. 133 in a bound volume of loyalty oaths given by citizens of Liberty Township in Clay County, Missouri between 1866 and 1868.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Kansas Election! Qualification of Voters
Description: This broadside, printed ca. March 1855, includes a copy of an oath that all judges are ordered to take before presiding over an upcoming election in Kansas. The oath, written by Gov. Reeder, states that the judges will keep an accurate record of voters and will not allow non-residents to vote. The unsigned author of the broadside criticizes Reeder’s wording, questions his intentions, and challenges the legality of Reeder’s order for voters to prove their residency.

Title: From William C. Connett, Jr. to James L. Thornberry
Description: This letter, dated April 28, 1855, was written by William C. Connett, Jr. in Sparta, Missouri to James L. Thornberry. William discusses the recent Kansas election and the “overthrow” of the Free Soil party, stating that he would not want to remain in Missouri if Kansas became a free state. He declares that the current political situation would improve if “you people of the free states let us alone in the management of our own domestic affairs.”
Date: April 28, 1855

Title: Civil Rights Bill Passes, 1866
Description: Allyn Cox mural, displayed at the U.S. Capitol, which celebrates the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Madison Miller
Description: This is Madison Miller's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Miller, 55, states that he has lived in Missouri for 27 years, and manifested his loyalty during the war "by taking care of wounded Federal soldiers." When asked what he thought about the Federal loss at Bull Run in 1861, Miller responds, "That our great government would be broken up." The unnumbered oath is contained in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Daniel L. Chandler to James H. Buxton
Description: In a letter dated May 5, 1862, Daniel L. Chandler writes to James H. Buxton. Chandler is encamped on the prairie near Fort Scott, but expects to be ordered to Fort Scott in a few days. He informs James that his mother and brothers have been driven from Arkansas by the "secesh" and are now in Missouri, and that James's brother Thomas is in a "Missouri Union Regt." stationed at Mount Vernon, Missouri. Chandler also discusses James's discharge from the military.
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 5, 1862

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1864
Description: This military document is a return of ordnance and ordnance stores for Company "A" 8th Cavalry Regiment Missouri State Militia under command of Captain James J. Akard for the first quarter of 1864.
Date: April 7, 1864

Title: From E.B. Alexander to William Fowler
Description: On September 1, 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, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Alexander instructs Fowler that deserters from "the Rebel Army" who are drafted will not be forced to serve against the Confederates. Instead, they should be given another military duty or discharged from the service.
Date: September 1, 1863

Title: Oath of Loyalty of George P. Hedrick
Description: This document establishes that George P. Hedrick has taken an oath of loyalty to the United States and to the state of Missouri. Hedrick declares that “I have not, during the present rebellion, willfully taken up arms, or levied war against the United States, nor against the provisional government of the state of Missouri.” The oath is dated October 29, 1862 and is signed by Hedrick and a clerk.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 29, 1862

Title: William O. Mead's Appointment to First Sergeant
Description: By the order of Colonel Joseph J. Gravely, David Hunter informs the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment that William O. Mead is appointed to First Sergeant, in Company "A", of the Eighth Regiment of Cavalry, M.S.M..
Date: April 13, 1863

Title: From Daniel R. Anthony to Dear Sister
Description: Daniel R. Anthony writes a letter from Camp “Johnson” in Morristown, Missouri to his sister on December 26, 1861. He tells her that he is in command of the camp and 1500 troops while Col. Jennison is away in Mound City, Missouri. Anthony says that he and three other commanders have occupied a Secessionist soldier’s house and established it as their headquarters. He reports that he expects to stay there for about two months, and then move south.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 26, 1861

Title: Gen. Joseph Orville Shelby (1830-1897)
Description: Painted portrait of General Joseph Orville Shelby seated in dress coat and holding a saber.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On July 14, 1863, Alex M. Bedford writes from Johnson’s Island, near Sandusky City, Ohio, to his wife Mary E. Bedford. Alex writes of being troubled by Mary’s last letter, in which she “spoke of the death of my nearest & best friends[.] Why cannot the Federal authorities stop it[?]” Alex advises Mary to go to Kentucky to stay with relatives until times get better at home, although he regrets that the children must be taken out of school. He advises Mary to get a permit to visit him with the help of Robert Wilson, W.P. Hall, “or some other Union man of influence.”
Date: July 14, 1863

Title: Mr. John Harris
Description: Carte de visite portrait of Sergeant John Harris, member of the 10th United States Cavalry Regiment. The 10th Cavalry and other black regiments (including the 9th Cavalry, the 24th Infantry, and the 25th Infantry) acquired the nickname of "Buffalo Soldiers" as a result of their exploits during the Indian Wars.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of D.I. Worthington
Description: This is D.I. Worthington's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Worthington, a 22-year-old Ohio native, states that he has resided in Missouri for one year and was never required to give bond. The oath is No. 197 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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

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