Civil War

Title: From John Brown, Jr. to My Dear Friend
Description: This letter, dated July 18, 1862, is from John Brown, Jr., a former member of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his friend Parker Pillsbury. Last winter, Brown writes, he and his regiment helped to free more than 2,000 slaves. Now, he says, the commander of the regiment, Lieut. Col. Daniel R. Anthony, is under arrest. Brown includes a copy of a letter he received from another friend, Arthur T. Reeve, concerning Brig. Gen. Mitchell's arrest of Anthony. Brown writes: “His arrest for such a cause is in the estimation of every true man a greater honor than to have won a battle.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 26, 1862-July 18, 1862

Title: Examination of James Gates
Description: This is James Gates's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Gates, a 21-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. The oath, labeled No. 75 in a bound volume, was signed by Gates in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On June 6, 1863, Alex M. Bedford writes from Johnson’s Island, near Sandusky City, to his wife Mary E. Bedford. Alex reports that he and Mary’s brother are in good health, and that they have been moved from Indianapolis to Johnson’s Island. Alex asks Mary to send him several items of clothing, and states that he recently sent her $60.00 to be given to Sister Mary of St. Joseph, Missouri. He explains that he is only permitted to write a one-page letter to her.
Date: June 6, 1863

Title: Examination of William Bailey
Description: This unsigned Oath of Loyalty comes from a bound volume of oaths sworn between 1866-1888 by Clay County, Missouri voters. The document bears the name of William Bailey, a 22-year-old resident of Clay County who was born in Illinois.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of H.C. Everett
Description: This is H.C. Everett's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Everett, a 39-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he obeyed all the laws of the United States during the Civil War, and sympathized with both parties in the War because "I had friends in both." The oath, labeled No. 69 in a bound volume, was signed by Everett on September 29, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1866

Title: From George Collamore to G.L. Stearns
Description: This letter was written on October 23, 1861 by George Collamore in Lawrence, Kansas to G.L. Stearns. Collamore writes that Kansas cannot expect a good harvest next year because so many men have volunteered for the service and left the state. He says that “large numbers of fugitives from Missouri…are daily arriving,” and many of them lack clothing for the winter. Collamore adds that “slavery is fast disappearing in Missouri,” and may be completely abolished within six months.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 23, 1861

Title: From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Brother
Description: This letter, dated August 24, 1862, is from Mrs. Silliman to her brother. She describes the “horror” of life in Warrensburg, Missouri, which has been invaded by both Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, and is now “swarming with runaway slaves.” She complains about her health and says that the black girl who was caring for her was lured away to Kansas by soldiers. She also describes how her son Oscar avoided military service: “he was exempted from drafting, as not being ‘able bodied,’ caused by an internal injury.”
Date: August 24, 1862

Title: Examination of Larkin Bradford
Description: This is Larkin Bradford's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bradford, a 52-year-old Tennessee native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 18 years and manifested his loyalty during the war by "attending to my own business and letting everything else alone." Bradford declares that he cannot recall his feelings about the Federal defeat at Bull Run in 1861, and describes the question as "irrelevant." The oath is No. 179 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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: Examination of W.H. Ellis
Description: This is W.H. Ellis's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ellis, a 35-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Tennessee and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "taking care of my family the best I could." The oath, labeled No. 120 in a bound volume, was signed by Ellis in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of William Galvin
Description: This is William Galvin's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Galvin, a resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Ireland and that he aided the United States Government during the Civil War by serving in the militia. The oath, labeled No. 57 in a bound volume, was signed by Galvin in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of William A. King
Description: This is William A. King's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. King, a 34-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he demonstrated his loyalty to the Union during the Civil War by "risking my life as a Provost Marshall." The oath, labeled No. 46 in a bound volume, was signed by King in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of M.A. Miller
Description: This is M.A. Miller's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Miller, a 22-year-old native of Liberty, Missouri, states that he sympathized with the southern side during the war. The unnumbered oath is contained in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Unknown to A. Comingo
Description: In this letter to A. Comingo, sent December 3, 1863 from Harrodsburg, the writer asks Comingo to send several items he left in Independence, Missouri to Lexington, Kentucky. The writer says that since "all is now quiet at Independence--and…there are no [soldiers] there," Comingo should be able to send the articles he requests.
Date: December 3, 1863

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: 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: Examination of William Wade
Description: This is William Wade's Oath of Loyalty to the United States, signed October 13, 1866. Wade, a 54-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 35 years and was never enrolled by the military authorities in 1862. The oath is No. 171 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 13, 1866

Title: Examination of Kemp S. Wills
Description: This is Kemp S. Wills's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Wills, a 32-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states 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. 70 in a bound volume, was signed by Wills in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his parents from Lawrence, Kansas on May 5, 1861. He tells them that if Missouri secedes, Kansas will have to fight. He asks how people in Massachusetts feel about the war, and expresses hope that the “Yankees” will go to battle with the South and not stop until slavery is eradicated. “War is terrible,” he says, “but sometimes it is necessary for the good of the whole world.”
Date: May 5, 1861

Title: Examination of William S. Garvey
Description: This is William S. Garvey's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Garvey describes himself as a 46-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that he enrolled in the militia "and took up arms" during the Civil War. Garvey states that he left the state "to get me a wife but not to avoid service." The oath, labeled No. 112 in a bound volume, was signed by Garvey in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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

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