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Title: A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand
Description: This is a copy of Abraham Lincoln's speech, "A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand", delivered on June 16, 1858 at the Republican State Convention in Springfield, Illinois. This speech is preserved here in its entirety with original italics as part of a 1936 publication that includes an introduction by Douglas C. McMurtrie.
Object Type: Speech
Date: June 16, 1858

Title: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This December 1863 military roll lists the names of "colored recruits" enlisted in the 30th sub-district of the 6th congressional district of Missouri in Chariton County. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupations, birthplaces, and the names of their owners.
Date: December 1863

Title: The Kansas War & Other Matters
Description: This poem was written in 1863 by S.S. Wiciszg, a soldier serving near Hardeeville, South Carolina. Wiciszg describes himself as "a soldier just from Lawrence" and decries the violence and guerrilla warfare in Kansas during the border wars. The poem condemns the Border Ruffians and the Doniphan Tigers. It also criticizes the political climate, and mentions the Free Soilers, Wilson Shannon, Horace Greely, and Arthur Tappan.
Object Type: Document
Date: 1863

Title: From Frederick Starr to My Dear Father
Description: On March 19, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr transcribes a recent article from the local newspaper “Liberty Platform,” in which he is accused of being a “political priest” in charge of a “gang” of abolitionists. Starr believes the article makes unjust and false statements about him, but admits “it may be the impression which has fixed itself upon the minds of the fire eating part of the community. If so I would not have it otherwise.” The article also describes the nomination of Gen. Whitfield as the Kansas Territory delegate to Congress.
Date: March 19, 1855

Title: Claim of Rias Lewis against Jonah Moore
Description: This is the legal claim of Rias Lewis, “a free man of color,” against Jonah Moore for $40 in unpaid wages. The claim is dated September 26, 1854 and is signed by a justice of the peace, a public administrator, and two witnesses in Chariton County, Missouri. A note on the back indicates that the debt was settled in court on August 10, 1855. Attached to the claim is the original agreement for Lewis to work for Moore, signed by both parties and dated February 12, 1850.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: February 12, 1850-August 10, 1855

Title: William D. Matthews
Description: Sepia carte de visite of William Dominick Matthews, Captain of the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, posing in uniform with cavalry saber.
Object Type: Image

Title: From P. McClanahan to A. Comingo
Description: On December 23, 1863, P. McClanahan writes from Independence, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo in Lexington, Missouri. McClanahan discusses various financial matters and informs Comingo that William Rodewald should begin enlisting black men in the service as soon as possible: "Some five negroes passed through here last night which he would have got had he had his papers--There is a recruiting Officer here now from the State of Kansas and unless Rodewald gets his documents soon I fear it will be [too] late."
Date: December 23, 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: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This February 1864 military roll lists the names of "colored recruits" enlisted in the 27th sub-district of the 6th congressional district of Missouri in Chariton County. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupation, birthplace, and the names of their owners.
Date: February 1864

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

Title: Statement of the Citizens of Bates Co. Concerning Border Troubles
Description: This statement, dated June 5, 1858, was written by Joseph Clymer and signed by Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons and 11 citizens of West Point in Bates County, Missouri. The statement describes the invasion of West Point and the robberies and attacks on Missouri citizens committed by James Montgomery and his band. The citizens state that Montgomery’s men have threatened to destroy West Point, and that a number of citizens have fled their homes in fear. The citizens request assistance from the Missouri government.
Date: June 5, 1858

Title: New England Emigrant Aid Company Sign
Description: Sign advertising the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Object Type: Image

Title: Slave Bill of Sale
Description: This slave bill of sale, dated March 31, 1860, is signed by Lafayette County sheriff John P. Bowman. Bowman attests that he sold a female slave and a slave boy named John to Nathaniel Mitchell at auction on November 7, 1859. Mitchell paid $400 for the female slave and $150 for John.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: March 31, 1860

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown
Description: This letter, dated November 27, 1862, is from Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown. Webber writes from Tennessee, where he is camped with Grant's army. He describes daily life in the camp, including drills and dress parades, and states that "we have seen more of the 'Pomp and circumstance of war' than in our whole period of service before." He predicts his regiment will leave soon to meet Price's army and anticipates a battle.
Date: November 27, 1862

Title: John C. Caldwell vs. Richard H. Porter
Description: These documents, created between 1855 and 1857, relate to the Jackson County, Missouri court case John C. Caldwell vs. Richard H. Porter. On January 1, 1855, Caldwell purchased a slave named Eliza for $800 from slave dealer Clifton R. Barnes with plans to sell her for a profit in Louisiana. Caldwell later discovered that Eliza was “unsound both in body and mind” and accused Barnes of “fraud and wilfull misrepresentation.” Caldwell took Eliza back to Missouri but Barnes refused to rescind the sales contract.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: 1855-1857

Title: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This March 1864 military roll lists the names of "colored recruits" enlisted in the 27th sub-district of the 6th congressional district of Missouri in Chariton County. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupation, birthplace, and the names of their owners.
Date: March 1864

Title: The Underground Railroad
Description: Charles T. Webber's depiction of abolitionists helping runaway slaves on their journey to freedom.
Object Type: Image

Title: Rebel Negro Pickets as Seen Through a Field-Glass
Description: Harper's Weekly illustration depicting African American soldiers in the Confederate States Army, January 10, 1863.
Object Type: Image
Date: January 10, 1863

Title: From D.R. Anthony to Dear Sister
Description: D.R. Anthony writes a letter from Leavenworth, Kansas to his sister on September 10 and 11, 1858. He reports the results of a recent municipal election, which put into office three Democrats, two Whigs, and fourteen Republicans. He expresses dismay about local Irish-Americans voting Democrat and their desire to establish a “Free white state for white men.” Anthony decries the rampant racism of the times, as well as “the ignorance and prejudice of the Irish.” He tells his sister that his antislavery stance has earned him “the reputation of being one of the most radical men in Kansas.”
Date: September 10, 1858-September 11, 1858

Title: John Ritchie
Description: Carte de visite portrait of John Ritchie, an abolitionist who worked on the Underground Railroad and served as a delegate to the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

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

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