Civil War

Title: Examination of John W. Tillery
Description: This is John W. Tillery's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Tillery, a 38-year-old Missouri native, states that he resides in Clay County, Missouri. He says he was required by the military authorities to give bond during the war, "but it was against my consent I told them I was a Loyal man." The oath is No. 165 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Wilson Shannon to Franklin Pierce
Description: This letter, dated June 27, 1856, was written by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in St. Louis to President Franklin Pierce. Shannon informs Pierce that after recent “troubles” in Kansas Territory, the area is no longer threatened by any “illegal military bodies” as far as he knows. Shannon believes that the presence of federal troops helped to restore peace, and states that these troops should be maintained in Kansas to help suppress future conflicts. Shannon is particularly concerned about the threat of civil unrest if the Free State legislature meets, as planned, on July 4, 1856.
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 27, 1856

Title: Plat and drawings of Aubry, Johnson County, Kansas
Description: This page from an 1874 plat book of Johnson County, Kansas includes a map of Aubry, Kansas and drawings of four Aubry Township residencies and stock farms, owned by W. H. Brady, John H. Troutman, J. H. Lusher, and E. F. Thompson.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1874

Title: From C.F. Smith to A. Comingo
Description: On December 10, 1863, C.F. Smith, Enrolling Officer for the 9th subdistrict of Missouri, writes to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri. Smith reiterates that "the enrolling business" in his district was completed on November 28, and that he already sent Comingo a list of 150 names. Smith says that if Comingo has not received his earlier communication, he will provide a second copy.
Date: December 10, 1863

Title: From Samuel H. Robertson to Sterling Price
Description: This letter was written ca. October 7, 1854 by Samuel H. Robertson in Bates County, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Sterling Price. Robertson states that Osage Indians have been crossing the state line into Missouri to steal horses and crops, and asks Price for protection against this “Indian outrage and oppression.” He suggests that Price call some military companies into service for this purpose, and says that the Osage should be prevented from crossing the state line without written permission from their agent.
Object Type: Letter

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, March 31, 1863
Description: This military document is a quarterly return of ordnance and ordnance stores for Company "A" 8th Cavalary Regiment Missouri State Militia under the command of Captain David D. Stockton. This document covers the first quarter of 1863.
Date: March 31, 1863

Title: Camp Blood, near Pilot Knob, Missouri
Description: This sketch by a volunteer correspondent, originally published in Harper’s Weekly on September 21, 1861, depicts Camp Blood, near Pilot Knob, Missouri. Pilot Knob Mountain is shown to the right as it was before heavy ore excavation during and after the Civil War. Camp Blood became Fort Davidson in 1863 when permanent fortification was constructed.
Object Type: Image
Date: September 21, 1861

Title: John Caldwell Calhoun
Description: John C. Calhoun, President of the Lecompton Constitutional Convention.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Newell W. Spicer and Friend Dick
Description: This portrait, taken ca. 1861-1865, depicts Newell W. Spicer and his friend Dick. Both served in the First Kansas Volunteer Infantry.
Object Type: Image

Title: General Orders, No. 2
Description: Col. J.J. Gravely and Lieut. H. Mitchel of the Missouri State Militia issued General Order No. 2 on August 26, 1864. They instruct officers of companies stationed in Springfield, Missouri to prohibit their soldiers from leaving camp without permission. As punishment, "any soldier found absent from his command . . . will be arrested and confined."
Date: August 26, 1864

Title: Examination of Wiley C. Ellis
Description: This is Wiley C. Ellis's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ellis describes himself as a 34-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Tennessee. He states that during the Civil War, he sympathized "with the people on both sides," and maintained his loyalty to the United States Government "by obeying all the laws so far as I was able." The oath, labeled No. 81 in a bound volume, was signed by Ellis in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Abraham Lincoln, Candidate for U.S. President, Before Delivering His Cooper Union Address in New York City
Description: Photograph of presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln prior to his Cooper Union speech, one of the most critical in his successful campaign for the presidency.
Object Type: Image
Date: February 27, 1860

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes from St. Louis, Missouri on August 4, 1864 to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. John worries about tension between the radical and conservative parties, declaring there is “more bitter feeling between them than ever was between the Secesh and Union parties.” John believes it may not be prudent for him to return home, because of “the way I was treated before I left, and the way I have been treated since I left.” He hints that he must censor his letter since “it might be seen by others.”
Date: August 4, 1864

Title: From Lisbon Applegate to William Heryford, Jr.
Description: This letter, dated January 15, 1865, is from Lisbon Applegate in Keytesville, Chariton County, Missouri, to William Heryford, Jr. Applegate reports that he sold Heryford’s hogs, but has not yet sold his cows: “the buyers here are endeavoring to get stock at almost nothing, taking advantage of the disturbances in the country.” He adds that many local citizens plan to leave the area because of the current turmoil.
Date: January 15, 1865

Title: Examination of Milton Singleton
Description: This is Milton R. Singleton's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Singleton, a 48-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and served in the Enrolled Missouri Militia during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 26 in a bound volume, was signed by Singleton in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From W. Leonard Birney to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 9, 1863, is from Sgt. W. Leonard Birney in Plattsburg, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Birney states that he has enclosed vouchers for military expenditures and asks Comingo to verify whether he filled them out correctly.
Date: November 9, 1863

Title: Examination of John Sakey
Description: This is John Sakey's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Sakey, 70, states that he has lived in Missouri since the fall of 1815, and was required to give bond by the military authorities during the war. The oath is No. 226 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: John Doy and Rescue Party
Description: Photograph taken by Amon Gilbert DaLee in Lawrence, Kansas Territory in the summer of 1859 depicting Dr. John Doy, his son Charles, and his rescue party, which freed him from the St. Joseph, MO jail on July 23, 1859, where he was being held on charges of abducting slaves.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1859

Title: William Jenkins
Description: This sepia carte de visite depicts Capt. William Jenkins, who served in Company C, Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph, ca. 1861-1865, was produced by Armstead & White of Corinth, Mississippi.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Elias Stover to William Sayer Blakely
Description: Elias Stover writes a letter from Camp Blair, Kansas on March 25, 1862 to his friend William Sayer Blakely. Three days prior, Stover says, he marched into Missouri along with Maj. Pomeroy and 70 other men from the 2nd Kansas Cavalry Regiment. They ambushed a house where William Quantrill and his men were staying; they killed eight people, took six prisoner, stole horses and arms, and burned down the house, but Quantrill escaped.
Date: March 25, 1862

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

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