Civil War

Title: From H.D. Palmer to Isaac Feback
Description: This letter, dated December 20, 1862, was written by H.D. Palmer in Independence, Missouri, to Isaac Feback. Palmer thanks Feback for his kindness, lamenting that he has few friends left who can rise above “political prejudice” as Feback has done. Palmer says he has done everything “to keep down jayhawking & protect my Union friends,” but has been betrayed by those friends and the militia who took his livestock without proper payment. Palmer notes that the oath of allegiance is meaningless unless it offers government protection for those who take it.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 20, 1862

Title: From Samuel Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Description: Samuel Ayres writes a letter from Centreville, Linn County, Kansas, to Lyman Langdon on January 7, 1859. The letter includes a copy of a December 30, 1858 article from the Lawrence Republican titled “Who is Responsible?” The article argues that the guerrilla violence in Linn and Bourbon Counties is not the fault of the Free State supporters, as many have argued, but is rather the fault of the proslavery Democrats. The article also explains how Captain Montgomery has tried to defend Free Staters: “his practice has been to warn an offender to leave in a given time . . . If he does not leave at that time, a company of men called ‘jay-hawkers’ goes and takes a part of his property . . . and otherwise frightens him, thus compelling him to leave.” Ayres ends the letter with the news that he has been instructed to put Linn County under martial law.
Date: January 7, 1859

Title: From James W. Denver to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on August 18, 1858 by Kansas Gov. James W. Denver in Lecompton, Kansas, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Denver writes that he disagrees with Stewart's decision to "station an armed force along the borders” in response to "the unsettled state of affairs" in southeastern Kansas. Denver asserts that after he sent U.S. and volunteer troops to the “troubled districts,” peace has been fully restored, and that “the only marauders now in this Territory are organized bands of horse thieves, such as are too common in all new countries.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 18, 1858

Title: Peyton Long
Description: Charcoal portrait of Peyton Long in suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Peyton Long enlisted May 1861 in Captain Tom McCarty's company of John T. Hughes regiment, of the Confederacy, but in January 1862, he joined Silas Gordon and in the summer of 1863, Quantrill. It's reported that Long killed more men during the Lawrence, Kansas, massacre on August 21, 1863, than any other raider. Long was killed in Meade County, Kentucky, during a skirmish around April 30, 1864. The "Liberty Tribune" (June 21, 1901) said he was killed in 1865.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: From John C. Gage to Dear Friends
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1862, was written by John C. Gage in Kansas City, Missouri to friends in Pelham, New Hampshire. John states that Confederate forces camped nearby have retreated to Arkansas, leaving the area vulnerable to guerrilla attacks. The biggest threat comes from Jim Lane’s brigade under Jennison, which is “raising and arming negroes in Kansas to plunder good citizens in Missouri.” Of Jennison, John declares, “He ought to be killed and I would esteem it the best act of my life to do it.”
Date: September 1, 1862

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William P. Richardson
Description: This order, dated August 30, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Major General William P. Richardson, Kansas Militia, Northern Division. Woodson orders Richardson to occupy the area between Leavenworth and Lawrence to prevent General James Lane’s escape with his forces. Woodson states that he has ordered Major General Coffey, Kansas Militia, Southern Division, to proceed to or near Lawrence.
Date: August 30, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to Franklin Pierce
Description: This letter, dated June 27, 1856, was written by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in St. Louis to President Franklin Pierce. Shannon informs Pierce that after recent “troubles” in Kansas Territory, the area is no longer threatened by any “illegal military bodies” as far as he knows. Shannon believes that the presence of federal troops helped to restore peace, and states that these troops should be maintained in Kansas to help suppress future conflicts. Shannon is particularly concerned about the threat of civil unrest if the Free State legislature meets, as planned, on July 4, 1856.
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 27, 1856

Title: From Elias Stover to William Sayer Blakely
Description: Elias Stover writes a letter from Camp Blair, Kansas on March 25, 1862 to his friend William Sayer Blakely. Three days prior, Stover says, he marched into Missouri along with Maj. Pomeroy and 70 other men from the 2nd Kansas Cavalry Regiment. They ambushed a house where William Quantrill and his men were staying; they killed eight people, took six prisoner, stole horses and arms, and burned down the house, but Quantrill escaped.
Date: March 25, 1862

Title: From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
Description: This letter, written on the letterhead of Headquarters, Department of the Missouri and dated August 29, 1863, was sent by John M. Schofield in St. Louis to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Topeka, Kansas. Writing in the aftermath of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, Major General Schofield states his hope that President Lincoln will appoint a Court of Inquiry to investigate the raid. Schofield refers to a meeting proposed for September 8, 1863 in Paola, Kansas, in which participants plan to enter Missouri “to recover their stolen property.” Schofield emphasizes the need to preempt this potentially violent meeting.
Date: August 29, 1863

Title: Documents Relating to United States vs. John Brown, Jr.
Description: These documents from May and June 1856 relate to the case United States versus John Brown Jr. and others for subverting the U.S. government. Included among the documents is a warrant for Brown’s arrest, signed by Judge S.G. Cato on May 28, 1856. Also included are two witness subpoenas, dated June 14, 1856; one is signed by Judge Cato, the other by Charles P. Bullock.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: May 28, 1856 and June 14, 1856

Title: From Hamilton R. Gamble to Abraham Lincoln
Description: On May 2, 1863, Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble writes from St. Louis to President Lincoln. Gamble informs Lincoln about "the perpetration of murders and arsons and other outrages committed by persons connected with the Army…and whose crimes you have the power to restrain." He asks Lincoln to put a stop to the "butcheries" occurring in Missouri's western counties, and suggests that Lincoln replace Gen. Curtis as commander of the district in favor of someone who is "too brave to be cruel."
Object Type: Government Document
Date: May 2, 1863

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated December 8, 1860, is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons reports that a “band of marauders of Kansas Territory” murdered a Missouri citizen for capturing a fugitive slave. The 300 mounted and armed marauders, under the command of James Montgomery and Charles Jennison, have also captured slaves and threatened the lives of Missouri citizens. Parsons asks Stewart to send troops to the border to protect citizens “threatened with arson plunder and death.”
Date: December 8, 1860

Title: From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description: This letter, dated September 7 and 8, 1862, is from Joseph H. Trego in Helena, Arkansas to his wife Alice. Trego, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, reports that he and several of his fellow soldiers are ill, that his regiment is “badly managed,” and that he has considered leaving the regiment. He predicts that “much fighting must necessarily be done this coming winter and we are likely to be called upon to do our full share.”
Date: September 7, 1862-September 8, 1862

Title: Findings of the Grand Jury in Relation to the Herald of Freedom, Kansas Free State, and Free State Hotel
Description: This document describes the findings of the Grand Jury, 1st District Court, Douglas County, Kansas, regarding the Herald of Freedom and Kansas Free State newspapers, and the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas. Concluding that the two newspapers are guilty of publishing “inflammatory and seditious” reports, and that the Free State Hotel is clearly intended to be a military stronghold, the Grand Jury recommends the newspapers’ “abatement,” and the hotel’s removal. The document, ca. 1854-1860, is signed by Owen C. Stewart, Grand Jury foreman.
Object Type: Legal Document

Title: From David M. Fox to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated November 27, 1860, is from David M. Fox in Fredericktown, Missouri to Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Fox complains about violent guerrilla attacks launched by James Montgomery and John Brown. He claims that the people in his town have neither arms nor militia for defense, and he asks Stewart to send somebody to organize a militia. Fox also complains that the election of President Lincoln has “thrown a gloom over our people.”
Date: November 27, 1860

Title: From Robert M. Stewart to D.M. Frost
Description: This dispatch, dated December 10, 1860, is from Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart to Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost at Camp Daniel Boone. Stewart orders Frost to station 200 men on the Kansas-Missouri border to protect Missouri citizens from the “wanton and murderous attacks of the outlaws and bandits.” The order is signed by Stewart and Lt. Col. John T. Tracy.
Date: December 10, 1860

Title: From Edmund G. Ross to My Dear Wife
Description: Edmund G. Ross, a captain in the 11th Kansas Cavalry, writes a letter to his wife on June 15, 1864. He informs her that he has just arrived in Olathe from Lawrence, Kansas, and has heard rumors of “a great scare along the border” of Kansas and Missouri. Ross predicts that Kansas troops will soon cross into Missouri to fight the Bushwhackers.
Date: June 15, 1864

Title: Petition from Leavenworth Women
Description: This petition, written ca. September 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by 16 women in Leavenworth, Kansas. The petitioners complain that they have been driven from their homes by a group of armed men. They say that some of their husbands have been imprisoned or extradited, “leaving us unprotected in the midst of a scene of general robbery and all too frequently of murder.” They also claim that the mayor of Leavenworth and other city officials were aware of the raids and failed to stop them. The petitioners ask Geary for his assistance.
Object Type: Petition

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On January 26, 1865, Alex M. Bedford writes from Hilton Head, South Carolina, to his wife, Mary E. Bedford, in Savannah, Andrew County, Missouri. Alex writes, “I must get out of prison or I will soon go to my long home[.] I am leaner in flesh than I ever was…I am so weak I reel as I walk & nearly lossed my eyesight.” He asks Mary to verify that it is safe for him to return home, and inquires whether James Bohart has returned yet.
Date: January 26, 1865

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore
Description: This letter, dated September 3, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson at Lecompton, Kansas to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore on behalf of the Kansas State Central Committee. Woodson refers to Gen. James Lane’s recent raid on Franklin, Kansas and several other areas of the Territory. He reminds Hutchinson and Moore about the proclamation issued August 25, 1856, declaring Kansas to be in a state of insurrection, and also cites the recent general order issued to Gen. Richardson and Gen. Coffey forbidding the burning of houses under any circumstances.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 3, 1856

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

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