Civil War

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written March 11, 16, and 17, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella writes of her recent visit to Oberlin, Ohio, where she spoke to many friends about donating money for their church in Osawatomie, Kansas. At one friend’s home, she was asked to give an account of the Battle of Osawatomie. Florella reports that she will leave for Xenia, Ohio soon with Charles and Ada.
Date: March 11, 1861-March 17, 1861

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: This is an excerpt from a letter written on December 1, 1854 by Frederick Starr to an unknown recipient. Starr describes a recent “outrage on the ballot box” during elections in Kansas, when “Some 1200 or 1400 Missourians armed with bowie-knives & revolvers took the polls.” Starr says that many free-soilers were unable to reach the polls at all, and declares that “Big times are coming.” He adds that circumstances in Weston, Missouri “look dark.”
Date: December 1, 1854

Title: Examination of T.J. Carson
Description: This is T.J. Carson's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Carson, a 34-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "staying at home and attending to my business." The oath, labeled No. 118 in a bound volume, was signed by Carson on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: From R.C. Ewing to George R. Smith
Description: On June 18, 1856, R.C. Ewing writes from Lexington, Missouri to Gen. George R. Smith. Ewing warns Smith that his opinions regarding Kansas "are doing you…damage in Saline, Lafayette, and Jackson" counties in Missouri because "those who control matters here, say they are afraid of the effect of compromising anything on the Slavery question." Ewing predicts that these three counties will oppose Smith's nomination.
Date: June 18, 1856

Title: St. Louis Riot
Description: Illustration of the St. Louis Riot
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Examination of B.B. Petty
Description: This is B.B. Petty's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Petty, a 40-year-old Virginia native, states that he has resided in Missouri for 15 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "disloyal" in 1862. He declares that he is willing to take the Oath of Loyalty "with the proviso that I did sympathize with my relatives and friends that were engaged in Rebellion." The oath is No. 161 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Lincoln-Douglas Debates Commemorative Stamp
Description: 1958 U.S. postage stamp commemorating the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. Courtesy of the U.S. Government, Post Office Department.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1958

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Mrs. Brown
Description: This letter, dated September 5, 1863 is from Leigh R. Webber in Natchez, Mississippi to Mrs. Brown. Webber claims that in Natchez, "Nearly everybody has protection papers though they are avowed rebels of the deepest dye…It is an unendurable wrong and insult to the Union soldiers and foolish and wicked leniency to traitors for the Government and its generals thus to manage the war." Webber also expresses sadness about Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence: "It exceeds in atrocity our worst fears."
Date: September 5, 1863

Title: From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description: This letter, dated September 30, 1862, is from Joseph H. Trego, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his wife Alice. Trego, writing from Helena, Arkansas, says that he was sick the previous week, and that several of the soldiers in his regiment are severely ill: “There are three lying in the hospital now awaiting coffins. We will all be thankful if we ever get out of this place.” He adds that he was pleased to learn of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Date: September 30, 1862

Title: D. Abrams
Description: This carte de visite depicts D. Abrams, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: Requisition for Missouri Defense Bonds $100 Note
Description: This is an example of a Requisition for Missouri Defense Bonds $100 note depicting Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the Missouri state seal on the front. The back of the note, ca. 1861-1865, features an ornate green design.
Object Type: Currency

Title: Special Orders, No. 70 and No. 4
Description: These orders were issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas E. Ewing in 1863. Special Order No. 70, dated September 5, 1863 and signed by Maj. Preston B. Plumb, commands Dr. Joseph Chew and his family, residents of Kansas City, Missouri, to leave the area “during the rebellion.” Special Order No. 4, dated October 20, 1863 and signed by Lt. Col. R.T. Van Horn, revokes the banishment of Chew and his family, and authorizes them to reside in Clay, Platte, Ray, or Carroll Counties, Missouri.
Date: September 5, 1863 and October 20, 1863

Title: Battle of Osawatomie
Description: In this excerpt of a ca. 1856-1861 document, Orville Chester Brown describes the August 30, 1856 Battle of Osawatomie. In the middle of the night, Brown states, John Reid led his men towards Osawatomie. At dawn they marched into the town armed with bayonets, and the men of the town “flew to arms – whilst the women in their night clothes bearing their children in their arms fled to the woods.” Brown's house was burned down in the battle and his son was taken prisoner.
Object Type: Document

Title: Battle of Wilson's Creek
Description: Kurz & Allison lithograph of the Battle of Wilson's Creek, circa 1893.
Object Type: Image

Title: From P. McClanahan to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 23, 1863, is from P. McClanahan in Independence, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. McClanahan writes that Gen. Ewing has ordered citizens to return to their homes, but "no one with any sense or discretion would accept . . . in my opinion this last order is no better than the famous Order No 11." He also tells Comingo that Red Crenshaw's house was burned down.
Date: November 23, 1863

Title: Application of John M. Davis
Description: This is John M. Davis’s application for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slave, Forest Mauphin. Mauphin served in the 65th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops, Company K. The application, dated January 1, 1867, includes an oath of allegiance to the United States, a statement that Davis lawfully purchased his slave, and the signatures of four witnesses and a notary public in Chariton County, Missouri. Attached is the August 8, 1850 bill declaring the sale of Forest Mauphin to John M. Davis for $300.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: August 8, 1850-January 1, 1867

Title: From Hosea G. Mullings to James J. Akard
Description: Missouri Militia Colonel Hosea G. Mullings offers to make James J. Akard a Colonel of the Polk and Cedar County division of the Missouri Militia.
Date: May 18, 1865

Title: Examination of Robert Walker
Description: This is Robert Walker's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Walker describes himself as a 64-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "staying at home and attending to my business and advising my boys not to go South." The oath, labeled No. 125 in a bound volume, was signed by Walker in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From C.F. Smith to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated October 4, 1863, is from C.F. Smith, Enrolling Officer in Jackson County, Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Smith states that he is enclosing his latest military rolls. He tells Comingo he has had difficulty enlisting men, due to dangerous conditions and the "unsettled state of the country."
Date: October 4, 1863

Title: Examination of Albert Lincoln
Description: This is Albert Lincoln's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Lincoln, a 47-year-old Missouri native, states that he served in the Clay County militia during the war. The oath is No. 143 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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