Civil War

Title: Governor Wilson Shannon (1802–1877)
Description: Wilson Shannon, a former governor of Ohio, was appointed Kansas territorial governor by President Franklin Pierce. In contrast to his predecessor, Andrew H. Reeder, Shannon was outspoken in his proslavery stance and even failed to defend the town of Lawrence from a proslavery raid in May 1856. The "Bleeding Kansas" era began during Shannon's term in office, as the Pottawatomie Massacre and other threats of violence emerged. Admitting failure, Shannon left the territory on June 23, 1856 and his resignation was tendered on August 18, 1856. Still, Shannon's 9.5 month tenure was the longest of any of Kansas Territory's embattled governors.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: From William N. Taylor to Sir
Description: This letter of July 3, 1860 is from William N. Taylor, sheriff of Raymond Hinds County, Mississippi; the recipient is presumably a slaveowner. In the letter, Sheriff Taylor indicates he is holding a male slave in his jail who “says that he belongs to you and that he Ranaway from you in Missouri.” Taylor writes, “If he be your property you will please…take him away after paying charges, etc.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 3, 1860

Title: Memorial to John Brown at Quindaro Townsite, Kansas City, Kansas
Description: Lifesize marble statue of John Brown, which was dedicated on June, 1911, at Western University campus in Quindaro Townsite, Kansas City, Kansas.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1911

Title: Samuel Ryan Curtis
Description: Black and white portrait of General Samuel Ryan Curtis standing, as published in a photographic album by E & H.T. Anthony. One of the first Republicans elected to Congress representing Iowa's 1st congressional district, Curtis resigned his seat in 1861 to join the Union Army. Curtis commanded Union forces to several victories during the Civil War, including at the Battle of Pea Ridge and the Battle of Westport.
Object Type: Image

Title: Correspondence of the Kansas Territory Executive Department
Description: This group of documents, dated between 1855 and 1856, comprises correspondence and other papers relating to the construction of the capital building at Lecompton, Kansas. Kansas Governors Reeder, Geary, and Shannon participated in the correspondence, which includes the appointment of Owen C. Stewart as Superintendent of Construction on October 20, 1855, and a contract for construction dated December 27, 1855.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1855-1856

Title: From John C. Gage to Dear Friends
Description: This letter, dated December 8, 1862, was written by John C. Gage in Kansas City, Missouri to friends in Pelham, New Hampshire. Declaring that the “guerrillas” have gone, John describes how his community has been altered by the war: “It is the common course of things for anybody to get killed. Even their own families hardly seem to mourn for them.” He adds that those injured in battle are often seen “about the streets with their crutches.”
Date: December 8, 1862

Title: From D.A.W. Morehouse to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on June 28, 1858 by D.A.W. Morehouse in Papinsville, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart in Jefferson City, Missouri. Morehouse tells Stewart about the organization of a company of mounted dragoons in Papinsville, and lists the company’s officers. Morehouse requests that Stewart issue the appropriate commissions and supply them with arms: “It is actually necessary that we should be armed and equipped to sustain civil order. Our lives and property and our families cannot otherwise be protected.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 28, 1858

Title: Examination of John S. Thomason
Description: This is John S. Thomason's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Thomason, a 38-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 95 in a bound volume, was signed by Thomason on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: General Orders, No. 39
Description: Brig. Gen. James Totten and Maj. Lucien J. Barnes of the Missouri State Militia issued General Order No. 39 on September 1, 1862 in Springfield, Missouri. The order warns the militia's officers to stop "preventing their men from entering the volunteer service . . . by so doing they render themselves liable to arrest under the Presidents order for 'discouraging enlistments.'"
Date: September 1, 1862

Title: Meriwether Jeff Thompson
Description: Carte de visite of Meriwether Jeff Thompson, Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard, posing in uniform with cavalry saber. Thompson participated in several notable Civil War battles, including the Battle of Fredericktown, Battle of Westport, and Battle of Mine Creek.
Object Type: Image

Title: Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1811-1896
Description: Portrait of abolitionist and author, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe's novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," galvanized anti-slavery sentiment in the North, while provoking widespread anger in the South.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of W.W. Dougherty
Description: This is W.W. Dougherty's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Dougherty, who was born in Indiana, describes himself as a 47-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri. He claims that he had "no particular sympathy" with either side during the Civil War. Upon hearing that Gen. Sterling Price had captured Gen. Mulligan and his army at Lexington, Missouri, Dougherty "felt that there was a big mess on hand." The oath, labeled No. 49 in a bound volume, was signed by Dougherty in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated February 9, 1864, was written by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Topeka, Kansas to Major General James L. McDowell. Carney orders McDowell to organize and assume command of the Topeka militia for the purpose of protecting the city and its vicinity from guerrilla attacks. Carney states that he will promptly grant any necessary assistance in securing the public safety.
Object Type: Letter
Date: February 9, 1864

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: On December 10, 1863, Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General in St. Louis, writes to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri, in Lexington, Missouri. Alexander states that he received a telegram from Provost Marshal General James B. Fry dated December 9, 1863: "Awards for bringing recruits may be paid to the recruiting agent, or to any other person as you and the authorities deem best."
Date: December 10, 1863

Title: William Napoleon (Babe) Hudspeth
Description: Charcoal portrait drawing of William "Babe" Hudspeth in suit, vest, and tie. Hudspeth was one of four brothers from eastern Jackson County that rode with Quantrill and Bill Anderson. He participated in the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, (August 21, 1863) and the Centralia, Missouri, massacre (September 1864). After the Civil War he lived on his farm in Jackson County and bred horses. He died in 1907. (from "Babe Hudspeth: Missouri Guerrilla" by John Sickles in "Military Images," Jan/Feb 2007, Vol. 28, #4, pp. 30-33.")
Object Type: Image

Title: From James S. Hackney to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on June 11, 1858 by James S. Hackney at “Noland House” in Independence, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Hackney reports that Col. Blakely and Gen. Parsons are in the process of organizing several military companies in Cass and Vernon Counties in Missouri. According to Hackney, Col. Blakely has “seen over 100 men who have been driven from the Territory by Montgomery’s band. He says ‘I’ll tell you times are hot down here—the people are boiling over with rage.’”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 11, 1858

Title: From Jesse Newell to John W. Geary
Description: In this September 20, 1856 letter to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary, Jesse Newell complains that he was driven from his house by a band of guerrillas. He claims that they destroyed his property and threatened to hang him, his son Robert, and his brother-in-law. He adds that his neighbors are not safe either, and that his neighborhood is “pested” with guerrillas.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 20, 1856

Title: From J.W. Black to A. Comingo
Description: On December 14, 1863, J.W. Black, Deputy Provost Marshal for Ray County, Missouri, writes from Richmond, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri, in Lexington, Missouri. Black thanks Comingo for securing his new appointment as Recruiting Agent. He says he assumes Comingo is "annoyed very much with persons from our side of the river applying to you to be stricken from the enrollment list," and reports that he has already prevented many men from doing so.
Date: December 14, 1863

Title: John Ross
Description: Charcoal portrait of John Ross in suit coat, shirt, and string tie. Ross was one of Quantrill's guerrillas and took part in the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863. He was with Quantrill when Quantrill was mortally wounded in Kentucky. Ross, along with 14 others of Quantrill's band, surrendered to the U.S. Army at Samuel's Depot, Kentucky, July 25, 1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: Battle of Boonville Political Cartoon
Description: This black-and-white cartoon, ca. June 1861, mockingly depicts Confederate General Sterling Price “taken with a Violent Diarrhea” at the beginning of the Battle of Boonville. Price is depicted in military uniform with his pants down, saying “I didn’t think the Smell of Gun-powder would have such an effect on my Bowels.” A note below the cartoon refers readers to the daily papers from June 20, 1861.
Object Type: Image

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

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