Civil War

Title: From Charles T. Gilman to Albert G. Boone
Description: In this letter, dated September 16 and 17, 1856, Charles T. Gilman informs Col. Albert G. Boone that 20 abolitionists recently launched an attack on the proslavery citizens living near Council Grove, Kansas. Gilman states that the attackers stole horses and mules, wounded a woman, and threatened to burn down houses and force the proslavery men out of Kansas. They also claimed that they would return in four days with 400 men; Gilman tells Boone that the people of Council Grove have been awaiting their arrival and have plenty of arms and ammunition to defend themselves.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 16, 1856-September 17, 1856

Title: Examination of James Malony
Description: This is James Malony's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Malony, a native of Ireland, states that he has lived in Missouri for 15 years. When asked what side he supported during the war, Malony replies, "I was not on either side but my feelings were more for the Govt." The oath is No. 251 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield, Officer of the Federal Army
Description: Black and white portrait of Major General John M. Schofield, officer during the Civil War. Schofield later served as U.S. Secretary of War and Commanding General of the United States Army.
Object Type: Image

Title: Robert John Walker, 1801-1869
Description: Portrait of Robert J. Walker from an 1887 issue of Centry Magazine.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1887

Title: Examination of John G. Wood
Description: This is John G. Wood's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Wood, a 31-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by serving in the army from 1861 to 1865. The oath, labeled No. 34 in a bound volume, was signed by Wood in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: John R. Howe against William Mitchell
Description: Dated November 7, 1859, this document states that its signers will pay a sum of $400 to John P. Bowman, Lafayette County sheriff, for a female slave aged about 42 years. The slave was “sold by said sheriff...in the Probate Court of Lafayette County” as part of a lawsuit brought by John R. Howe against William Mitchell.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 7, 1859

Title: Petition from Jackson County Citizens
Description: This petition, ca. 1860, is addressed to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart and signed by 43 citizens of Jackson County, Missouri. The signers declare their need for protection from the “murderous attacks of Montgomery” and his band of guerrillas. They ask Stewart to authorize Samuel Ralston to raise a company of troops to serve under the command of Col. Frost.
Object Type: Petition

Title: Examination of John N. Estes
Description: This is John N. Estes's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Estes, a 35-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky, and admits that he did not remain loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. In response to the question, "Did you at any time during the rebellion advise, counsel, or urge any person whomsoever to enter into the rebel service?" Estes replies, "I did." The oath, No. 23 in a bound volume, was signed by Estes in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Battle of Chattanooga
Description: L. Prang & Co. lithograph print of the Battle of Chattanooga as painted by Thure de Thulstrup, circa 1880.
Object Type: Image

Title: Inauguration of James Buchanan
Description: First photograph of an inauguration at the Capitol, which was still under construction in 1857. The stone yard in the foreground was covered with boards to provide a platform for the crowd. The life dates of the photographer, John Wood, are unknown, but he was the photographer for the Architect of the Capitol from 1856 to 1861. Mr. Wood then entered the war as a photographer of maps for McClellan. Another print of this image of Buchanan's inauguration in 1857 is in the photography collection of the Architect of the Capitol.
Object Type: Image
Date: March 4, 1857

Title: Examination of Mortaca Scott
Description: This is Mortaca Scott's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Scott, a resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Ohio and served in "the Northern Army" during the Civil War. The oath, No. 21 in a bound volume, was signed by Scott in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This unsigned December 12, 1855 letter, presumably from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts, announces the peaceful end to the Wakarusa War. Fitch declares that “we have gained a complete victory without bloodshed,” and that Governor Shannon has “come round on to our side.” He tells them that he has been discharged from military service, and proclaims, “Peace, Peace! and it was Peace.”
Date: December 12, 1855

Title: Examination of R.C. Collins
Description: This is R.C. Collins's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Collins, a 21-year-old Missouri native, states that he manifested his loyalty during the war by "staying at home and attending to my business and…taking sides with the Gov't." The oath is No. 237 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Clarina Irene Howard Nichols
Description: Engraving of Clarina I.H. Nichols, prominent activist and journalist, from an 1887 publication of the "History of Woman Suffrage".
Object Type: Image
Date: 1887

Title: Examination of M.H. Bartlett
Description: This is M.H. Bartlett's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bartlett, a 41-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, originally from New York, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, No. 8 in a bound volume, was signed by Bartlett in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Robert T. Lincoln
Description: This document attests that Robert T. Lincoln, a 41-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, did not remain loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. Lincoln admits that he served under Gen. Price during the Civil War and he refuses to take an Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Lincoln signed the document in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Jesse Connell
Description: This undated portrait depicts Jesse Connell, a Kentuckian who moved to Leavenworth, Kansas in 1855. Connell, a slave-owner, served as a delegate to the Lecompton Constitutional Convention in 1857, and was later elected to the Senate of the first Kansas State Legislature.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: John Brown
Description: A three-quarter length portrait of John Brown facing left and holding the New York Tribune
Object Type: Image

Title: From Martin White to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 5, 1856, was sent by Martin White in Miami County, Kansas, to Kansas Governor John Geary. White is frustrated by Geary’s lack of response to his previous requests for troops to protect local citizens against John Brown’s raids. White states that has raised a company of 80 men who wish to be mustered into the U.S. service to help with local defense.
Date: October 5, 1856

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes a letter from Hickory Grove, Missouri to John A. Bushnell of Calhoun, Missouri on October 15, 1863. She says that she went to the post office to pick up a letter from him and the officer on duty refused to give it to her because it had been determined to be disloyal. Eugenia argues that, “You meant no disloyalty, it is far from you to do anything against our government—the government which has and is protecting us.” Nevertheless, she warns him to “weigh every word” he writes.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 15, 1863

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

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