Civil War

Title: Run on the Seamen's Savings' Bank During the Panic
Description: Wood engraving of the Panic of 1857 appearing in the October 31, 1857, issue of Harper's Weekly.
Object Type: Image
Date: October 31, 1857

Title: Plat of Osceola, Roscoe, Gerster, and Tiffin, St. Clair County, MO
Description: A plat of the St. Clair County towns of Osceola, Roscoe, Gerster, and Tiffin. This page is included in an 1903 plat book of St. Clair County, Missouri.
Date: 1903

Title: Jesse James
Description: Black and white portrait of Bushwhacker, outlaw, and bank robber Jesse James, circa 1864.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Andrew Robertson
Description: This is Andrew Robertson's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Robertson, a 70-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in North Carolina and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "obeying all the laws and furnishing whatever was required of me." The oath, labeled No. 66 in a bound volume, was signed by Robertson on September 29, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1866

Title: John Ritchie
Description: Carte de visite portrait of John Ritchie, an abolitionist who worked on the Underground Railroad and served as a delegate to the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Certificates of Kansas Soldiers
Description: These papers list the names of soldiers who served in the Wakarusa War for the Kansas Rifles No. 1, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade of Kansas Volunteers. The papers were signed in Lawrence on December 12, 1855 by Capt. William I.R. Blackman, Col. Lyman Allen, Gen. James Henry Lane, and Maj. Gen. Charles Robinson.
Date: December 12, 1855

Title: From Benjamin Reeves to J.F. Benjamin
Description: This letter, dated August 31, 1863, is from Benjamin Reeves to Col. J.F. Benjamin, Provost Marshal of the 8th district of Missouri. Reeves, the Enrolling Officer of Howard County, Missouri, reports that he has had difficulty finding citizens willing to enlist in the military. He also reports that there has been much "excitement" in the area, as Bushwhackers have been "committing outrages every day and night."
Date: August 31, 1863

Title: From Henry E. Maynadier to E.B. Alexander
Description: This dispatch is from Capt. Henry E. Maynadier to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri. Maynadier writes from the Provost Marshal General's Office at the War Department in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 1863. He asks Alexander to forward a message from the Provost Marshal General to Capt. A. Comingo in reference to Circular 101.
Date: December 5, 1863

Title: From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
Description: This letter, dated August 3, 1863, is from R.G. Elliott in Lawrence, Kansas to his sister. He responds to her complaints about Copperheads: "If you could only send them out here we would make them keep quiet." He writes about a political meeting in Leavenworth that ended in threats of violence. He adds that there has been an increase in guerrilla activity near the Kansas-Missouri border, and that the people of Kansas are preparing to defend themselves against attack.
Date: August 3, 1863

Title: From Henry Bugler to A. Comingo
Description: On December 1, 1863, Henry Bugler writes from Independence, Missouri to A. Comingo in Lexington, Missouri. Bugler states that although he received Comingo's letter dated September 18, 1863, he did not receive the warrants that should have been enclosed, and he suggests they may have been destroyed. Bugler says he can still get the money if the warrants can be reproduced, and asks Comingo to prepare an affidavit attesting to their loss.
Date: December 1, 1863

Title: Planters Hotel, Leavenworth, Kansas
Description: The Planters Hotel in Leavenworth, Kansas, where Abraham Lincoln gave a speech denouncing slavery and popular sovereignty on December 5, 1859.
Object Type: Image

Title: From M.E. Bedford to A.M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated June 12, 1864, is from Mary E. Bedford in Savannah, Missouri to her husband, Lieut. Alex M. Bedford. Mary shares news of a mutual acquaintance, and of their home and farm. She reports that a Mr. Leneer was executed in Savannah after serving two years in prison for burning the railroad. She tells her husband that she has sent him clothing, and complains that he has been away from home for nearly three years.
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 12, 1864

Title: From William Murphy to John W. Geary
Description: William Murphy, mayor of Leavenworth, Kansas, writes a letter to Gov. John W. Geary on October 11, 1856. In response to Geary’s inquiry about the death of Addison Rogers, Murphy states that Rogers was not killed in a political skirmish, but was shot by a fellow gambler. Murphy also informs Geary that U.S. Marshal Israel Donalson took M.J. Mitchell into custody and will bring him to Lecompton to stand trial before Judge Samuel Lecompte.
Date: October 11, 1856

Title: Fort Davidson
Description: Modern view of Fort Davidson, where Gen. Thomas Ewing battled with Sterling Price and his Army of Missouri. The crater is still visible on the right side of the photograph, and Pilot Knob can be seen in the background.
Date: September 30, 2006

Title: War in Kansas!
Description: This 1856 broadside announces the commencement of civil war in Kansas. It urges the citizens of Lafayette County, Missouri to gather with their guns and horses in Lexington on August 20, and "put an end to Abolitionism in Kansas." The broadside, signed by twelve men, reports that John Brown, James Henry Lane, and their forces have launched several guerrilla attacks upon Kansas residents, and are now "advancing upon us--the next breath from Kansas may bring to our ears the death shrieks of our Fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, neighbors and friends."
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 1856

Title: George (Bud) Wigginton
Description: Charcoal portrait of George (Bud) Wigginton dressed in suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. George, along with his cousin John McCorkle, joined Quantrill in August of 1862. He fought at Independence, August 11, 1862. He went to Kentucky with Quantrill and fought at Worthville. "John McCorkle and his cousin George Wigginton attached themselves to a regular Confederate command and surrendered to ensure that they received honorable terms" (Pettersen, Paul R. "Quantrill of Missouri." Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 2003, pp. 409-410 [MVSC 973,742 Q12ZP].) After the war, Wigginton lived in Lee's Summit. He received the Southern Cross of Honor from Independence Chapter, U.D.C. in 1913. He died at Boulder, Colorado, on August 21, 1918, and was buried in Lee's Summit cemetery.
Object Type: Image

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie P. Huntoon
Description: This letter, dated January 27-28, 1861, was written by A.J. Huntoon at Johnson House in Lawrence, Kansas, to Lizzie Huntoon. Huntoon reports that he has reached Lawrence from Williamsport, Kansas, after a delay due to severe winter weather. He describes activity in the Kansas Legislature and says that everyone is eager for news of Kansas’ application for statehood; he believes “we will not get to be a state this session.”
Date: January 27, 1861-January 28, 1861

Title: From Dewitt C. Hunter to J.F. Snyder
Description: This letter, dated January 21, 1861, is from Dewitt C. Hunter in Nevada, Missouri to Col. J.F. Snyder. Hunter describes himself as a "secessionist in favor of separate state action and immediate secession." He believes that Missouri is in danger of invasion from Kansas, and he urges Snyder to organize a regiment, procure arms, and prepare to defend the border.
Object Type: Letter
Date: January 21, 1861

Title: From John B. Gray to William Fowler
Description: On September 2, 1863, John B. Gray, Adj. Gen. of Missouri, writes from St. Louis to Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal for the 7th District of Missouri, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Gray provides a list of regiments that were entirely or partially raised in the 7th District. Gray adds that he is compiling a list of the number of men who have volunteered for the service from each district and county in Missouri.
Date: September 2, 1863

Title: Examination of Willis S. Hymer
Description: This is Willis S. Hymer's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hymer, a 45-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "sympathizing with the govt. and serving in the militia." The oath, labeled No. 68 in a bound volume, was signed by Hymer in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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

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