Civil War

Title: Missouri Militia Order to Organize Platoons and Companies for Polk and Cedar Counties
Description: Missouri Militia Colonel Hosea G. Mullings orders that residents of Polk and Cedar Counties in Missouri enrolled in military duty to be organized into companies and platoons. Mullings provides specifications of rank and number for a platoon and company.
Date: June 3, 1865

Title: From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Description: In this letter of October 3, 1858, Calvin Iserman writes from Independence, Missouri to his brother William. Calvin wants to leave Independence, where non-slaveholders are “counted just nobody at all," and “a poor man, and mechanic is looked upon as no better than a slave.” He declares that “any man East that upholds Slavery…should be made to live in a Slave State all of his life time.” Calvin plans to go to Kansas Territory and “take a look around.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 3, 1858

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: On December 31, 1863, Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis, writes to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri, in Lexington, Missouri. Alexander informs Comingo that "Recruiting Agents appointed by the Provost Marshal General have nothing to do with the Enlistment of slaves." He refers Comingo to Col. J. Broadhead, in the Department of the Provost Marshal General, for information on that subject.
Date: December 31, 1863

Title: From S.B. Wait to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated October 1, 1863, is from S.B. Wait, Deputy Provost Marshal of Carroll County, Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Wait states that he is sending Comingo the military roll for the 25th sub-district. He asks, on behalf of the enrolling officers, for information about their pay, and he informs Comingo that there has been considerable "ill will" towards the enrolling officers in his community.
Date: October 1, 1863

Title: Petition of Sundry Citizens of Pottawatomie Creek
Description: This petition, dated September 19, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by 32 Kansas citizens living near the Pottawatomie, Sugar, and Middle Creeks and the Osage River. The petitioners describe several recent guerrilla attacks in their region, including the Battle of Osawatomie, and ask for Geary to take action. They complain that the attacks, launched by Missourians and “guided by a few desperate men in our midst,” have succeeded in “sacking and burning houses and in robbing and plundering and menacing the lives of our citizens.”
Object Type: Petition
Date: September 19, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: In a May 18, 1856 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas announces that “the blow has been struck, the war has begun.” He reports that two men have been killed near Lawrence and that several, including Governor Robinson, have been captured. He expresses concern that Kansas does not have adequate resources for defense, and he appeals for support: “Tell every one who has the least interest in Kansas that now we want help-–men money and arms.”

Title: From Thomas Carney to E.M. Stanton
Description: This telegram, dated May 9, 1863, is from Kansas Gov. Thomas Carney to E.M. Stanton, U.S. Secretary of War. Carney, writing from Leavenworth, Kansas, requests permission from Stanton to raise a regiment of Home Guards for border protection, as well as two or more “Negro Regiments for General service.” Carney adds that “A portion of the State will be depopulated unless protection given.”
Object Type: Telegram
Date: May 9, 1863

Title: P.W. Shannon
Description: This carte de visite depicts P.W. Shannon, who served in Company A, Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: Petersburg, Va. Bomb-Proof Shelter in Federal Lines
Description: Black and white photograph of a Union fortification at the Siege of Petersburg.
Object Type: Image

Title: Anderson Morton's Appointment to Second Sergeant
Description: Colonel Joseph W. McClurg informs the Missouri State Militia 8th Cavalry Regiment that Anderson Morton is appointed to Second Sergeant, in Company "A", of the Eighth Regiment of Cavalry, M.S.M..
Date: June 23, 1862

Title: Siege of Atlanta
Description: L. Prang & Co. lithograph print of the Siege of Atlanta as painted by Thure de Thulstrup, circa 1888.
Object Type: Image

Title: The Burning of Osceola, Missouri
Description: An illustration of James Lane's Sacking of Osceola on September 22, 1861, as published in "The Border Outlaws" (1880) by James W. Buel.
Object Type: Image

Title: Petition from Citizens of Vernon County, Missouri
Description: This petition was sent to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on March 28, 1859 by 43 citizens of Vernon County, Missouri. The petitioners request military protection from a threatened attack by Kansas guerrillas. They state that the guerrillas are assembling near the Little Osage River under the command of James Montgomery, and that “the notorious Brown” has again made an appearance in Kansas. The petitioners believe that "it is the full intention of those lawless men to invade the State and rob and murder the inhabitants.”
Object Type: Petition
Date: March 28, 1859

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1865
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 second quarter of 1865.
Date: May 26, 1865

Title: From James D. Eads to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated November 26, 1860, is from James D. Eads of Warrensburg, Missouri to Robert M. Stewart, Governor of Missouri. Eads offers Stewart the services of a company of volunteers “to march to our frontier for the protection of our citizens.”
Date: November 26, 1860

Title: From James M. Boyer to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 23, 1863, is from James M. Boyer, Deputy Provost Marshal of Chariton County, Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Boyer asks Comingo to clarify policies on intercepting "rebel correspondence." He also asks if he will be protected under the law in cases of mistaking innocent letters for contraband.
Date: November 23, 1863

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie Huntoon
Description: A.J. Huntoon writes a letter from Shawnee County, Kansas to his wife Lizzie in New Hampshire. The letter, dated December 30, 1860-January 4, 1861, describes Huntoon’s daily life in Kansas Territory. He also reports to his wife that he plans to travel to Lecompton the following week “to witness the convening of our territorial legislature.”
Date: December 30, 1860-January 4, 1861

Title: Statement of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores
Description: This military document is a half completed statement of ordnance and ordnance stores for Company "A", 8th Cavalry Regiment, Missouri State Militia. Soldiers are listed on the statement along with articles charged to them, but no commanding officer signed or certified the document.
Date: 1863-1865

Title: From John W. Pattison to Unknown
Description: In this letter, John W. Pattison asks for a reply to his previous letter and requests any amount of money the letter recipient may have collected concerning John Bloomer.
Date: October 4, 1863

Title: From James A. Holmes to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 2, 1856, was written by James A. Holmes on behalf of the people of Osawatomie, Kansas, to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Holmes states that on August 30, 1856, a band of 410 Border Ruffians led by Martin White attacked Osawatomie, killing two men and injuring a third before plundering and burning the town. Holmes seeks permission for the citizens of Osawatomie to organize in self-defense against another attack by White.
Date: October 2, 1856

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

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