Civil War

Title: From Robert M. Stewart to J.W. Denver
Description: This letter, dated August 7, 1858, is from Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart to Kansas Gov. J.W. Denver. Stewart informs Denver that Missouri citizens living near the state line in Cass and Bates Counties are in constant danger of attacks by “marauding parties” from Kansas. Therefore, Stewart writes, he plans to station troops along the border to protect his citizens. Stewart asks Denver to cooperate and to do everything in his power to prevent further invasions.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: August 7, 1858

Title: Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence
Description: This print, originally published in Harper's Weekly on September 5, 1863, shows Quantrill and his rebel guerrillas killing the citizens of Lawrence, Kansas, and setting fire to the buildings.
Object Type: Image
Date: September 5, 1863

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated August 25, 1859 is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons relays a rumor that Kansas guerrillas are threatening to invade the border counties of Missouri, including Bates and Vernon Counties, in retaliation for the arrest of a man named “Pickles.” Parsons suggests that Stewart send an officer to the Kansas line to “watch the movements of the enemy.”
Date: August 25, 1859

Title: Allen H. Parmer
Description: Charcoal portrait of Allen Parmer (sometimes spelled Palmer) with pullover trimmed shirt worn over a checked shirt with tie. Allen Parmer took part in the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, the Centralia massacre September 27, 1864, and numerous other skirmishes. In 1870 he married Jesse James' sister Susan. The Parmers lived mostly in Texas after the Civil War. He died in Wichita Falls, Texas, October 25, 1927.
Object Type: Image

Title: Richard (Dick) Burns
Description: Charcoal portrait drawing of Dick Burns in suit, vest, shirt, and hat. Burns enlisted in 1861 and served under Quantrill. He took part in the Lawrence massacre on August 21, 1863. After the war he was a member of the James-Younger Gang and participated in the Richmond, Missouri, bank robbery on May 23, 1867. The Richmond posse found Burns "sleeping in a farmhouse within two miles of Richmond. He was taken outside and strung up on a convenient elm" (Drago, Harry Sinclair, "Road Agents and Train Robbers," p. 158 [MVSC 364.16 D75R]). Other authors say he was killed later by an axe that split open his head.
Object Type: Image

Title: Unidentified Man
Description: Charcoal portrait drawing of unidentified man with long flowing mustache, dressed in suit coat and shirt. Drawing is signed by the artist.
Object Type: Image

Title: The Western Dispatch.
Description: This is the August 17, 1856 evening issue of the Western Dispatch, printed in Independence, Missouri. The newspaper announces that war is "being waged by the Abolitionists," and reports that James Henry Lane, John Brown, and their forces have robbed several Kansas residents and driven them into Missouri. The paper also mentions that Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon requested aid from the U.S. military, but was refused. A last minute extra, printed at the bottom of the paper, states that Lane and his men have captured Lecompton.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: August 17, 1856

Title: From D.M. Frost to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated November 28, 1860, is from Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost to Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Frost writes from Camp Stewart, Headquarters of the South-West Expedition, informing Stewart that troops from St. Louis and Jefferson City have joined his forces. He also relays information that James Montgomery has killed two Missouri citizens and is presently at Fort Scott, Kansas, “holding a Court by his own authority” and “condemning persons whom he has arrested to be hung.”
Date: November 28, 1860

Title: Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri
Description: This 1864 pamphlet, entitled “Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri,” was written by Major J.M. Bassett, former Provost Marshal-General of the Northwest District of Missouri. Bassett provides a “glance at the history of the Rebellion in Northwest Missouri,” admitting “it may be that my hatred for rebels is too intense, my sympathy for loyal men too strong, to make every sentence I write acceptable to all.” The pamphlet, which features several black-and-white illustrations, was published by the Press of Wynkcop, Hallenbeck, and Thomas in New York, with proceeds from its sale given to The Ladies’ Aid Society of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Date: 1864

Title: From D.M. Frost to Robert M. Stewart
Description: Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost writes a dispatch from Camp Daniel Boone to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on December 8, 1860. He states that James Montgomery and his forces have dispersed throughout Kansas Territory, and thus Frost and his troops will be unable to find and conquer them. Frost explains that he wants to leave some troops in Bates and Vernon Counties to patrol the area. If Missouri does not remain on the defense, Frost warns, “anarchy and murder will reign triumphant.”
Date: December 8, 1860

Title: James (Jim) Younger
Description: Charcoal portrait of Jim Younger in suit coat, shirt, and tie. Jim Younger, brother to Robert (Bob) and Thomas Coleman (Cole), joined Quantrill's group in 1863. He was part of the Centralia, Missouri, massacre, September 27, 1864. He went with Quantrill to Kentucky near the end of the war and was captured about April 1865. After the war he moved to Texas and in 1870 and 1871 was deputy sherrif of Dallas County, Texas. He later joined the James-Younger gang and was part of the Northfield, Minnesota, bank robbery on September 7, 1876. He was arrested with his brothers and sent to prison at Stillwater, Minnesota. Jim was paroled in 1901 and committed suicide in Minnesota on October 19, 1902. He's buried at the Lee's Summit, Missouri, Cemetery.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Ben J. Newsom to Robert M. Stewart
Description: Ben J. Newsom sends a telegram from Kansas City, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on December 30, 1858. He relays a request from Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary for an officer to visit the Kansas-Missouri border near Fort Scott, capture any armed men and hold them in Missouri. He adds that this will “aid in preventing the escape of Montgomery” and warns that Missouri citizens should not cross into Kansas Territory.
Object Type: Telegram
Date: December 30, 1858

Title: Resolutions from a Meeting of the Marble City Guards
Description: This document records the resolutions adopted at a meeting of the Marble City Guards in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on November 27, 1860. The officers and members of the guard volunteer to “march to the defence of the Commonwealth, whenever the Executive of the State deems our service necessary.” The document is signed by E.P. Albert, Secretary of the Marble City Guards.
Object Type: Document
Date: November 27, 1860

Title: Unidentified Civil War Soldiers or Guerrillas
Description: Charcoal portrait of two men dressed in cloaks, uniforms, and hats with plumes and holding pistols. Drawing is signed by the artist with "93" immediately below the signature. Each of these has his own portrait (taken from this one) in this same collection by the same artist (MVO-99F and MVO-100F).
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Quantrill's Raid
Description: An illustration entitled, "The War in Kansas-Fearful Massacre at Lawrence by Quantrell's Guerillas", originally published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.
Object Type: Image
Date: September 12, 1863

Title: From Thomas R. Mitchell to J.T. Sweringen
Description: This letter is from Thomas R. Mitchell to J.T. Sweringen. Mitchell writes from Huntsville, Missouri on June 20, 1857, to inform Sweringen that Mrs. Ralston has safely arrived in town: "She found no difficulty in getting along amongst the 'border ruffians.'" He also expresses his concern that crops in Missouri are scarce this season.
Date: June 20, 1857

Title: From Charles Kribben to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on August 25, 1858 by Charles Kribben in St. Louis to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Kribben writes that he disagrees with Stewart’s decision to send troops to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri: “Think of the expense & the hue & cry of our opponents!...The step to send troops there now will make a noise in the world; it may give our enemies a hold again on the Kansas question.”
Date: August 25, 1858

Title: From H.A. Haroman to G.A. Parsons
Description: H.A. Haroman writes a letter to Gen. G.A. Parsons on November 23, 1860, reporting on the “Great State of alarm” in Bates County, Missouri. He states that James Montgomery and his band of Jayhawkers have garrisoned Fort Stone and are constructing more forts. Haroman also says that Montgomery has publicly announced his intention to set up headquarters in Vernon County, Missouri. Haroman asks Parsons to supply arms and ammunition for Bates County's defense.
Date: November 23, 1860

Title: Edward Payson Fitch, Jr.
Description: This black and white photograph, taken circa 1890, depicts Edward Payson Fitch, Jr., son of Edward and Sarah Fitch. He was born in Lawrence, Kansas in 1863. As a baby, he survived Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, but his family’s house was burned down and his father was killed in the attack.
Object Type: Image

Title: Julia Sumner Fitch
Description: This black and white photograph, taken circa 1890, portrays Julia Sumner Fitch. Julia was born to Edward and Sarah Fitch in Lawrence, Kansas in 1858. At the age of five, she survived Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, but her family’s house was burned down and her father was killed in the attack.
Object Type: Image

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

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