Civil War

Title: The Kansas Herald of Freedom
Description: An 1859 issue of the Herald of Freedom. The Herald of Freedom, a prominent Free-State newspaper, was first published in Lawrence, Kansas on October 21, 1854. The press was destroyed in the May 1856 Sacking of Lawrence, but it returned to print in November 1856.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: March 26, 1859

Title: From A.F. Cox to A. Comingo
Description: On December 14, 1863, A.F. Cox writes from Weston, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri. Cox discusses the progress of enrollment in Platte County, noting that many names are missing from the published enrollment lists. He asks Comingo to give William Wells a special appointment as an enrollment officer for the county.
Date: December 14, 1863

Title: USS Housatonic
Description: Illustration of the USS Housatonic prior to its sinking by the Confederate submarine, H.L. Hunley on February 17, 1864.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: From Emma Adair to Florella Brown Adair
Description: On May 10, 11, and 21, 1862, Emma Adair writes from Oberlin, Ohio, to her mother Florella Brown Adair. Emma writes that her school term ends on May 27, and that she believes there will be a place for her next term. She says that a report came by telegram “that Richmond was taken, but there was not much confidence put in it.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 10, 1862-May 21, 1862

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1863
Description: This military document is a return of ordnance and ordnance stores for Company "A" 8th Cavalry Regiment Missouri State Militia under command of Captain James J. Akard for the fourth quarter of 1863.
Date: January 13, 1864

Title: From Daniel Woodson to H.H. Sibley
Description: This dispatch, dated July 4, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson in camp with the 1st Cavalry at Topeka, Kansas, to Major H.H. Sibley, 2nd Dragoons. Woodson instructs Sibley to march his command down to the vicinity of Topeka and encamp for the day just above the town.
Date: July 4, 1856

Title: Missouri State Militia General Orders Outlining Delegation of Responsibilities
Description: This General Order to the Missouri State Militia describes in detail the delegation of responsibilities amongst commissioned and non-commissioned officers. Some of these responsibilities include making sure privates "wash their feet at least once a week; that they wash their hands and faces daily; that they brush or comb their heads, and keep their hair and whiskers neatly trimmed; ..."
Date: January 8, 1862

Title: Examination of Russell Shouse
Description: This is Russell Shouse's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Shouse states that he is a Kentucky native who has resided in Clay County, Missouri for 12 months. The oath is No. 137 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Battle of Gettysburg
Description: Thure de Thulstrup's painting of the Battle of Gettysburg, circa 1887.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Manoah Miles to A. Comingo
Description: On March 13, 1864, Manoah Miles, Enrolling Officer for the 37th and 38th subdistricts, 6th District Missouri, writes from Ridgely, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal, 6th District Missouri. Miles sends a list of soldiers recruited in Preston, Missouri between August and October 1863; the list includes nine recruits under the age of 20. Miles adds that he will begin enrolling slaves in his districts, but says he may not have time to complete the work in six days.
Date: March 13, 1864

Title: Examination of Emanuel Messick
Description: This is Emanuel Messick's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Messick, a 31-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 11 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "disloyal" in 1862. He says that he was required to give bond without his consent: "I was asked if I sympathized with the South and I answered I did and I was put under bond for that." The oath is No. 201 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From H.C. Wood to A. Comingo
Description: This dispatch, dated November 10, 1863, is from U.S. Army Capt. H.C. Wood to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Writing from the Provost Marshal General's Bureau in Washington, D.C., Wood states that Comingo's account for postage expenses from the previous month cannot be paid until he submits duplicate sub-vouchers signed by the Postmaster.
Date: November 10, 1863

Title: Monument to the Eighth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This photograph depicts a monument to the Eighth Kansas Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. John A. Martin, of Willich's Brigade, Wood's Division, Granger's Corps. It consists of a bronze sculpture of a Union Soldier and a plaque that describes a November 25, 1863 battle between Col. Martin's regiment and Gen. Bragg's Army of Tennessee. The monument is located on Missionary Ridge at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. The photograph was taken by Schmedling of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Object Type: Image

Title: Unidentified Man
Description: Charcoal portrait of unidentified man with suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Drawing is signed by the artist with "93" immediately below the signature.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: John Pope
Description: Photograph of General John Pope, circa 1855-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Ben Loan to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On September 28, 1862, Brig. Gen. Ben Loan writes from Headquarters, Central Division of Missouri, in Jefferson City, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Loan reports that he sent Capt. Hout's company to Sedalia, Missouri and ordered Col. Spedden to take command at Warrensburg, Missouri. He tells Gamble that "the condition of our citizens on the western border is most deplorable," and that the Missouri militia has suffered "persecution and outrage at the hands of the guerrillas."
Date: September 28, 1862

Title: Thaddeus Stevens
Description: Portrait of Thaddeus Stevens, Representative from Pennsylvania and a leader of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: From James Griffing to My Dear Wife
Description: This letter, dated October 23, 1864, was written by James Griffing in camp at Kansas City, Missouri, to his wife. James provides an account of “a tremendous battle about five miles south of this” (presumably the Battle of Westport), which he heard about via dispatches from the battlefield. James includes an assessment of the Union casualties from regimental surgeon Dr. Hidden: “he thought but few cases would prove fatal.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 23, 1864

Title: Examination of Darwin J. Adkins
Description: This is Darwin J. Adkins's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Murray, a 45-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he served in the militia during the Civil War. Upon hearing that Gen. Sterling Price had captured Gen. Mulligan and his army at Lexington, Missouri, Adkins "was badly scared over it." The oath, labeled No. 99 in a bound volume, was signed by Murray on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

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

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

Error message

In collections

Pages

Pages

Object Type

Local Subject

People

Geographic Subject

Owning Organization