Civil War

Title: Preston Brooks attacks Charles Sumner
Description: A lithograph cartoon depicting Preston Brooks' attack on Charles Sumner in the U.S. Senate chamber.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1856

Title: Examination of John S. Reynolds
Description: This is John S. Reynolds's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Reynolds, a 29-year-old native of Clay County, Missouri, states that he manifested his loyalty during the war by staying at home, and was enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 187 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From John Stillman Brown to John L. Rupur
Description: On September 1, 1863, John Stillman Brown writes a letter to John L. Rupur about Quantrill's August 21 Raid on Lawrence. He lists the names of friends who were killed in the raid, and describes watching the bushwhackers from a hill west of Lawrence "as they went to their work of death, burning and plunder." He also mentions seeing "the brave" Gen. James Henry Lane.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 1, 1863

Title: Riley Street, Easton, Kansas
Description: The main street in Easton, Leavenworth County, Kansas, circa early 1900's.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: From William G. Blackwood to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on September 1, 1858 by William G. Blackwood in St. Louis to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart in Jefferson City, Missouri. Blackwood states that Frank Blair published a letter in the St. Louis Democrat accusing Stewart of issuing pardons to criminals in exchange for votes in a recent election. Blackwood says that the accusation is an attempt “to bring ‘Bleeding Kansas,’ with all her agonizing ‘shrieks’ into Missouri.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 1, 1858

Title: James Henry Lane, United States Senator from Kansas
Description: Portrait of James Henry Lane, Republican Senator from Lawrence.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Edward Pickett
Description: This is Edward Pickett's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Pickett, a native of North Carolina, states that he has lived in Clay County, Missouri for 37 years. He declines to answer the question regarding his loyalty during the war. The oath is No. 255 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Consolidated 6th and 7th Arkansas Regiments Battle Flag
Description: "Hardee" Corps battle flag of the consolidated 6th and 7th Arkansas regiments under the command of Confederate General William J. Hardee.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Josiah Miller to Dear Father and Mother
Description: This letter, dated January 25, 1856, is from Josiah Miller in Lawrence, Kansas to his parents living in a Southern state. Miller tells his parents about a recent election for Kansas state officers that ended in a skirmish between Free State men and proslavery men, including some from Missouri. He predicts that "this slavery question" will result in civil war, and urges his parents to move to a free state.
Object Type: Letter
Date: January 25, 1856

Title: Washington, District of Columbia. Execution of the Conspirators: View of the Scaffold
Description: Photograph of the conspirators Surratt, Powell, Herold, and Atzerodt before their hanging on July 7, 1865.
Object Type: Image
Date: July 7, 1865

Title: From Silas Reed to Mrs. Abner Stone
Description: This letter, dated August 16, 1854, is from Silas Reed in Missouri to Mrs. Abner Stone. He mentions the conflict over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and says that he hopes New Englanders will "resolve that Kansas shall be on the side of freedom" and immigrate there to help the cause. He tells Mrs. Stone that thirty men from Massachusetts have already arrived in Kansas to start a free colony, and adds, "If I were a young man I would go there at once."
Date: August 16, 1854

Title: From Lizzie Deavenport to Mrs. Colgan
Description: On February 22, 1865, Lizzie Deavenport writes from Hick Mill, Missouri, to Mrs. Colgan. Lizzie says that W.H. was slightly wounded during a fight in Independence, Missouri. She shares news of various friends and family members, and tells Mrs. Colgan, "your home place does not look like it did when you was there. there is not but one hole window in your house…your house has been [mighty] abused."
Date: February 22, 1865

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes to John Bushnell from Hickory Grove, Missouri on May 30, 1865. She describes a severe thunderstorm, and says the shrubbery in her garden is “destroyed since the war.” Eugenia says her relatives in Saline County, Missouri wish they could relocate from their home because it reminds them of “evils committed in the name of ‘Liberty.’” Eugenia herself also longs to relocate to escape unfaithful friends and memories of “the cruelties of war.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 30, 1865

Title: From James Montgomery to George L. Stearns
Description: This letter, dated March 11, 1861, was written by James Montgomery in Mound City, Kansas, to George L. Stearns. Montgomery offers his opinion of sending fugitive slaves to Canada: “it will cost less to protect them here…and, besides, the principle is much better.” He believes that “Kansas is truly a free state, and ever shall be. A fugitive can travel as safely here, in Southern Kansas, as he can in Canada.” Montgomery adds that a free African-American was recently kidnapped by the Missouri Militia, because his guns had not been kept in firing condition.
Date: March 11, 1861

Title: From Unknown to John Ament
Description: This letter, dated September 29, 1855, was sent by an unknown writer to John Ament. The writer proposes to buy John’s interest in the land and slaves on his father’s estate for $500 or 550 acres of land warrants. To defend his offer, he describes the estate land as “poor…and worn out,” and worth no more than $500. He adds that several of the estate’s slaves are too old or sick to be “worth much.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 29, 1855

Title: From George W. Dietzler to Charles Robinson
Description: George W. Dietzler writes on April 16, 1861 from Lawrence, Kansas, to Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson. Dietzler declares that “Old Abe has decided ‘to put his foot down firmly’ against the ‘Confederate government,’” and suggests that Robinson offer 1000 or more Kansas troops to support Lincoln. He writes, “We must be ready for war—all Lawrence will enlist at short notice. Heaven grant that peace may not be restored until the disease is effectively & permanently cured.”
Date: April 16, 1861

Title: Emancipation of Eliza Jane
Description: These documents include the bill of sale and the letter of emancipation for a slave, Eliza Jane. The bill of sale, signed and dated December 5, 1844 by Alexander Duncan, confers Eliza Jane and two other slaves to Jeremiah and Nancy Smith of Nodaway County, Missouri for the sum of $550. The letter of emancipation is signed and dated August 31, 1863 by Jeremiah and Nancy Smith. It states that the Smiths “forever set FREE a certain Woman of color, named Eliza Jane, aged twenty-five years.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: December 5, 1844 and August 31, 1863

Title: Florella Brown Adair
Description: Florella Brown Adair was the wife of Samuel Lyle Adair and the half-sister of abolitionist, John Brown. She settled near Osawatomie, Kansas Territory, with her husband, who was a Congregational minister. She and her husband were free state supporters. The identification on the photograph indicates it is an enlargement of a small photograph taken in 1862.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1862

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Brother
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his brother from Lawrence, Kansas, on November 8, 1857. He says he is happy about the results of the recent election in Kansas Territory, despite the Pro-Slavery ticket having won in Leavenworth “by stupendous frauds.” He mentions attending a meeting in Lecompton to support Governor Robert Walker’s attempt to throw out fraudulent votes from Johnson and McGee counties.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 8, 1857

Title: Examination of Benjamin White
Description: This 1866 loyalty examination document bears the name Benjamin White. White, a 27-year-old Missouri native, states that he resides in Clay County, Missouri and admits, "I have sympathized with the Rebellion and do not wish to take the Oath of Loyalty." The document is contained 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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