Civil War

Title: John Brown, 1800-1859, Memorial Frame
Description: Memorial portrait of Abolitionist John Brown. Frame includes the words, "The Just man shall be in eternal remembrance -- Gave his life for the liberation of the slave."
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of William F. Ford
Description: This is William F. Ford's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ford, a 50-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 14 years, and was not required to give bond during the war. The oath is No. 247 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Battle of Pea Ridge
Description: Currier & Ives lithograph depicting the Battle of Pea Ridge, circa 1862.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of John A. Denny
Description: This is John A. Denny's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Denny, a 58-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in North Carolina and that he served in the Home Guards during the Civil War. He says that he "was struck with astonishment and surprise" when he heard that Gen. Price captured Gen. Mulligan's army at Lexington, Missouri. The oath, labeled No. 71 in a bound volume, was signed by Denny in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Sacking of Lawrence
Description: Depiction of the ruins of Free State Hotel following the Sacking of Lawrence on May 21, 1856. Douglas County's own sheriff, Samuel J. Jones, led a posse of 800 proslavery settlers in the sacking of the town of Lawrence, Kansas. The Free-State Hotel and two newspaper print shops were destroyed, and one of the attackers was killed by falling masonry.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1856

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: This dispatch, dated October 10, 1856, is from Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Cooke, stationed at a camp near the Nemaha River, reports that he and Deputy Marshal Colonel Preston have arrested and disarmed a party of immigrants, including two officers and 61 privates. He informs Geary that he is sending the prisoners with military escort to appear before him in Lecompton.
Date: October 10, 1856

Title: James Buchanan
Description: Bust portrait of James Buchanan, facing right
Object Type: Image
Date: 1850-1870

Title: From William H. Doah to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on November 25, 1859 by William H. Doah in Tipton, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Doah states that he sent a letter to Stewart on September 7, 1859, requesting reimbursement for $12.20 he spent on ammunition for Company B, Missouri Militia. Since he did not receive a reply to his letter, Doah again asks Stewart for reimbursement.
Date: November 25, 1859

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: This dispatch, dated October 15, 1856, is from Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Cooke reports that a large body of men led by Col. Eldridge and Gen. Pomeroy recently approached his camp near Lecompton. Cooke states that he and Col. Preston searched their wagons and found arms and ammunition, then arrested the men and arranged for them to be taken by military escort to the Governor.
Date: October 15, 1856

Title: Examination of David Ramsey
Description: This is David Ramsey's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ramsey, a 21-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Ireland and that he served in the United States military during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 73 in a bound volume, was signed by Ramsey in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Daniel Woodson to A.M. Coffey
Description: This order, dated August 30, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Major General A.M. Coffey, Kansas Militia, Southern Division. Woodson directs Coffey to move his division in the direction of Lawrence, Kansas in response to the threat of guerrilla violence from James Lane’s forces. Woodson writes that since Lane’s reinforcements are “constantly coming in on the north side…he should be routed at the earliest practicable period.”
Date: August 30, 1856

Title: To Arms! To Arms! Confederate Enlistment Poster, 1862
Description: Recruiting poster for the Confederate States of America, Floyd County, Virginia, February 22, 1862.
Object Type: Image
Date: February 22, 1862

Title: From Robert M. Stewart to Samuel Medary
Description: This letter, dated April 8, 1859, is from Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart to Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary. Stewart states that he has ordered Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons to patrol the state line in Cass, Bates, and Vernon Counties, to protect Missouri citizens and repel attacks from bands of Kansas guerrillas. He adds that the Missouri General Assembly has given him authority to use $30,000 for protection of the state border. Stewart asks for Medary’s cooperation in preventing violence.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: April 8, 1859

Title: Examination of William H. Budd
Description: This is William H. Budd's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Budd, who was born in New York, describes himself as a 58-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri. He states that during the Civil War, he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government through "my faith & works." The oath, labeled No. 41, in a bound volume, was signed by Budd in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From R.A. Boggess to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on May 22, 1858 by R.A. Boggess in Harrisonville, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart in Jefferson City, Missouri. In this letter of introduction for S.G. Allen, Boggess informs Stewart that Allen will present him with a paper concerning “matters of very great importance…to the section of country in which we live.” Boggess refers Stewart to Allen for additional information, since “he is thoroughly acquainted with the minutia.”
Date: May 22, 1858

Title: From Daniel Woodson to A.M. Coffey
Description: This order, dated August 21, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Major General A.M. Coffey, Kansas Militia, Southern Division. Woodson orders Coffey to proceed with his division to Palmyra, Kansas in response to ongoing guerrilla raids. Woodson emphasizes that the militia must protect all peaceable citizens and their property regardless of their political views. He adds that no houses may be destroyed unless they are proven to be used as forts or arsenals against the territorial government.
Date: August 21, 1856

Title: Thirty-six star flag
Description: Image of a United States flag with 36 stars and 13 stripes. This flag design came about in July 1865 and lasted for two years.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1864 - 1867

Title: Examination of Robert S. Adkins
Description: This is Robert S. Adkins's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Adkins, a 34-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 30 years. He says he was enrolled by the military authorities as "disloyal but against my protest" in 1862, and was required to give bond. The oath is No. 211 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Topeka, Kansas
Description: Bird's eye view of the city of Topeka, the capital of Kansas, in 1869.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1869

Title: "Auction & Negro Sales," Whitehall Street
Description: Black and white photograph of an Atlanta, Georgia, slave market taken my George N. Barnard, official photographer of the Chief Engineer's Office, while Sherman's army occupied the city before the famous "March to the Sea" during the Savannah Campaign.
Object Type: Image

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

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