Civil War

Title: Battle of Chattanooga
Description: L. Prang & Co. lithograph print of the Battle of Chattanooga as painted by Thure de Thulstrup, circa 1880.
Object Type: Image

Title: Inauguration of James Buchanan
Description: First photograph of an inauguration at the Capitol, which was still under construction in 1857. The stone yard in the foreground was covered with boards to provide a platform for the crowd. The life dates of the photographer, John Wood, are unknown, but he was the photographer for the Architect of the Capitol from 1856 to 1861. Mr. Wood then entered the war as a photographer of maps for McClellan. Another print of this image of Buchanan's inauguration in 1857 is in the photography collection of the Architect of the Capitol.
Object Type: Image
Date: March 4, 1857

Title: Examination of Mortaca Scott
Description: This is Mortaca Scott's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Scott, a resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Ohio and served in "the Northern Army" during the Civil War. The oath, No. 21 in a bound volume, was signed by Scott in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Letters Sent (Provost Marshal's Office, 7th District Missouri)
Description: This notebook contains copies of letters sent from the Provost Marshal's Office, 7th District of Missouri, in St. Joseph, Missouri, between July 15, 1863 and June 30, 1864. The correspondence, written by Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal of the 7th District, addresses such topics as military enrollment and recruitment of free blacks, army deserters, and management of the draft. Correspondents include Missouri Provost Marshal General E.B. Alexander and U.S. Provost Marshal General James B. Fry.
Date: July 15, 1863-June 30, 1864

Title: From W.A. King to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 9, 1863, is from W.A. King in Liberty, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. King states that he obeyed a military commander's orders to publish a notice urging all citizens to enlist. He reports to Comingo the expenses he paid for printing and requests reimbursement.
Date: November 9, 1863

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This unsigned December 12, 1855 letter, presumably from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts, announces the peaceful end to the Wakarusa War. Fitch declares that “we have gained a complete victory without bloodshed,” and that Governor Shannon has “come round on to our side.” He tells them that he has been discharged from military service, and proclaims, “Peace, Peace! and it was Peace.”
Date: December 12, 1855

Title: Examination of R.C. Collins
Description: This is R.C. Collins's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Collins, a 21-year-old Missouri native, states that he manifested his loyalty during the war by "staying at home and attending to my business and…taking sides with the Gov't." The oath is No. 237 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Clarina Irene Howard Nichols
Description: Engraving of Clarina I.H. Nichols, prominent activist and journalist, from an 1887 publication of the "History of Woman Suffrage".
Object Type: Image
Date: 1887

Title: Examination of M.H. Bartlett
Description: This is M.H. Bartlett's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bartlett, a 41-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, originally from New York, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, No. 8 in a bound volume, was signed by Bartlett in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Robert T. Lincoln
Description: This document attests that Robert T. Lincoln, a 41-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, did not remain loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. Lincoln admits that he served under Gen. Price during the Civil War and he refuses to take an Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Lincoln signed the document in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Jesse Connell
Description: This undated portrait depicts Jesse Connell, a Kentuckian who moved to Leavenworth, Kansas in 1855. Connell, a slave-owner, served as a delegate to the Lecompton Constitutional Convention in 1857, and was later elected to the Senate of the first Kansas State Legislature.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This undated letter was written ca. December 1862 by Florella Brown Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella expresses distress over reports regarding “the great battle of the 6 of this month.” She states that their son Charles is among the missing, and does not know if he is dead or has been taken prisoner. Florella says that her friends “seemed to sympathize & hoped it might not be so bad, or that it was not true, as many reports are exagerated.”

Title: John Brown
Description: A three-quarter length portrait of John Brown facing left and holding the New York Tribune
Object Type: Image

Title: From Daniel R. Anthony to Dear Father
Description: Daniel R. Anthony writes a letter from Leavenworth, Kansas to his father on November 5, 1861. He states that he will command his regiment on a trip to Sedalia, Missouri to bring oxen and wagons to Gen. Fremont’s army, while Col. Jennison stays behind in Kansas. At the end of the letter, Anthony lists the equipment his regiment needs, including saddles, clothing, sabres, rifles, and revolvers.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 5, 1861

Title: From Martin White to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 5, 1856, was sent by Martin White in Miami County, Kansas, to Kansas Governor John Geary. White is frustrated by Geary’s lack of response to his previous requests for troops to protect local citizens against John Brown’s raids. White states that has raised a company of 80 men who wish to be mustered into the U.S. service to help with local defense.
Date: October 5, 1856

Title: Quarterly Ordnance Office Survey Reports
Description: This military document is a collection of three quarterly ordnance office survey reports from 1864 filled out by Captain James J. Akard of Company "A", 8th Cavalry Regiment, Missouri State Militia. These circulars ask questions to the commanding officer of a company or regiment concerning the equipment issued to Union cavalry units.
Date: 1864

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes a letter from Hickory Grove, Missouri to John A. Bushnell of Calhoun, Missouri on October 15, 1863. She says that she went to the post office to pick up a letter from him and the officer on duty refused to give it to her because it had been determined to be disloyal. Eugenia argues that, “You meant no disloyalty, it is far from you to do anything against our government—the government which has and is protecting us.” Nevertheless, she warns him to “weigh every word” he writes.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 15, 1863

Title: From B. Hoonsley to George R. Smith
Description: On December 11, 1855, B. Hoonsley writes from Big Creek to Gen. George R. Smith. Hoonsley says that "all is confusion here," and reports a rumor that there is still fighting in Lawrence, Kansas, although "it may all be false." He adds that the destruction of Lawrence was predicted months ago by several men. Hoonsley informs Smith that he and two other men are "marked objects" and suggests that "the legislation ought to take immediate…action."
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 11, 1855

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

Title: Dividing the National Map
Description: Satirical illustration parodying the four candidates of the 1860 presidential election. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas tear at the western part of the country, John C. Breckinridge tears at the southern part of the map, while John Bell attempts to glue the map back together with a comically small jar of glue.
Object Type: Image

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

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