Civil War

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell of Calhoun, Missouri writes a letter on January 10, 1863 to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. He complains that he has not received any newspapers in a week. The only information, he says, that he could possibly share with her would be considered contraband: “but contraband . . . what a word for free America to use under our Constitution, our once free and happy Government, the land of Washington.”
Date: January 10, 1863

Title: The Monitor and Merrimac
Description: Painting of the naval battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) on March 8-9, 1862. The engagment is the first naval battle in history between two Ironclad warships.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Parole for Lisbon Applegate
Description: This document certifies the parole of Private Lisbon Applegate of Company C, Reserve Corps Regiment, Texas Infantry C.S.A, by order of Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby. Applegate, a resident of Chariton County, Missouri, was paroled in Marshall, Texas on June 30, 1865.
Date: June 30, 1865

Title: Edward Payson Fitch, Jr.
Description: This black and white photograph, taken circa 1890, depicts Edward Payson Fitch, Jr., son of Edward and Sarah Fitch. He was born in Lawrence, Kansas in 1863. As a baby, he survived Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, but his family’s house was burned down and his father was killed in the attack.
Object Type: Image

Title: Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This black and white carte de visite, ca. 1861-1865, depicts an unidentified soldier who served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to Alex M. Bedford
Description: On July 17, 1863, Mary E. Bedford writes from Savannah, Missouri to her husband Alex M. Bedford. Mary says that she believes Alex will be exchanged soon, and expresses hope that the war will soon come to an end. She states that she could not retrieve the horse Alex left in Clay County, Missouri, because it was taken as contraband. Mary provides an update about various friends in the area, including several who have left and some who joined the military. She adds that the price of goods is very high and that she may go to Kentucky to stay with relatives.
Date: July 17, 1863

Title: From E.B. Alexander to William Fowler
Description: On July 18, 1864, 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 reports that he received instructions from the Provost Marshal General's Office that black soldiers should now receive the same pay bounties as whites, and therefore may be "accepted as substitutes for whites."
Date: July 18, 1864

Title: Missouri State Militia Special Orders to Inspect Horses
Description: By order of Major E. B. Eno, H. L. Lattrell informs Captain W. C. Human, Captain James J. Akard, and Lt. W. S. Gibbs to inspect every horse in the Battalion to determine if they are fit for service.
Date: June 28, 1863

Title: Hon. John Bullock Clark of MO (General in Confederate Army)
Description: Black and white portrait of Missouri Confederate General General John Bullock Clark, Jr.
Object Type: Image

Title: Petition of a Number of Citizens of Anderson and Coffey Counties Praying for Relief
Description: This petition, dated September 23, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by 31 “law and order citizens” of Anderson and Coffey Counties. The petitioners complain that bands of abolitionist guerrillas have driven them from their homes, robbed them, destroyed their crops, and threatened their lives. The attackers’ objective, the petitioners claim, is “resisting civil authority and trampling underfoot the laws of the Territory.” The petition requests that Geary send troops to protect the citizens and help them return to their homes.
Object Type: Petition
Date: September 23, 1856

Title: Examination of Alexander Innes
Description: This is Alexander Innes's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Innes, a 38-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Scotland and that he fought for the Union at the Siege of Vicksburg. The oath, labeled No. 97 in a bound volume, was signed by Innes in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Petition to Set Aside Election for Delegate
Description: This petition, addressed to Kansas Gov. Andrew Reeder, concerns the November 29, 1854 election for Congressional Delegate. The petitioners argue that a large number of Missouri citizens illegally voted in the Kansas election. They ask Reeder to either cast out the votes from the district where Missourians voted, or to nullify the entire election. The petition is signed by 77 residents of Kansas Territory.
Object Type: Petition
Date: 1854

Title: Examination of Hawley D. Hindman
Description: This is Hawley D. Hindman's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hindman, a 27-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, originally from Ohio, states that during the Civil War, he demonstrated his loyalty to the Government "by entering the service of the U.S." The oath, No. 9 in a bound volume, was signed by Hindman in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Julia Sumner Fitch
Description: This black and white photograph, taken circa 1890, portrays Julia Sumner Fitch. Julia was born to Edward and Sarah Fitch in Lawrence, Kansas in 1858. At the age of five, she survived Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, but her family’s house was burned down and her father was killed in the attack.
Object Type: Image

Title: Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor: 12th & 13th of April, 1861
Description: Lithograph depicting the bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate naval forces at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina on April 12-13, 1861.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Daniel Woodson to Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke near Lecompton. Woodson instructs Cooke to proceed immediately with U.S. troops to Topeka, Kansas and disarm all insurrectionists, burn their fortifications and breastworks, and take as prisoner any man found in arms against the Territorial government. Woodson also directs Cooke to station a detachment of troops near the road leading from the Nebraska line to Topeka, to “intercept all aggressive invaders…that may make their appearance.”
Date: September 1, 1856

Title: From James McCool to Capt. Doah
Description: This letter was written on August 15, 1859 by Capt. James McCool, Company D, Missouri Volunteers, in Papinsville, Missouri, to Capt. Doah. McCool reports that James Montgomery and his associates are “demanding the immediate release of Pickles (alias Wright),” and that Missouri citizens living on the border “demand protection to which they are certainly entitled.” McCool is preparing to start with his company as soon as he can, and requests pistols, side arms, and bullet molds from Doah.
Date: August 15, 1859

Title: From E.B. Alexander to William Fowler
Description: On September 3, 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 not to enroll anyone who is "in the Rebel service." He adds that if any such men have been enrolled, their names must be stricken from the enrollment lists.
Date: September 3, 1863

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his father on September 19, 1855, four days after the Bogus Legislature’s Gag Law has gone into effect. He says he attended a meeting where he and others illegally spoke out against the Gag Law. He adds that Governor Shannon showed up “but refused to speak . . . he is a Dough face, Dough head + a Fool Knave Rascal and all.”
Date: September 19, 1855

Title: Examination of David Bourke
Description: This is David Bourke's Oath of Loyalty to the United States, signed October 13, 1866. Bourke, a 47-year-old native of Ireland, states that he has resided in Missouri for 10 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "disloyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 162 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 13, 1866

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

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