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Title: Memorandum of Losses to Federal Troops, 1861-1863
Description: This table, written between 1861 and 1863, summarizes property losses sustained by Daniel A. DeWitt of Jackson County, Missouri during the war. Raided six times, DeWitt kept a careful record of each item lost to Union forces, listing its description and value and the name of the commanding officer responsible for the raid. Clothing, horses, livestock, farm equipment, and crops were among the items taken; the final raid, including the loss of “house and contents,” occurred on August 25, 1863 when DeWitt’s farm was burned out.
Object Type: Document
Date: 1861-1863

Title: Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This sepia carte de visite, ca. 1861-1865, depicts an unidentified soldier who served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Charles W. Zuck to A. Comingo
Description: On March 21, 1864, Charles W. Zuck writes from Carrollton, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri in Lexington, Missouri. Zuck reports that 58 "colored recruits" were enlisted in Carroll County, Missouri during January and February 1864. He adds that he does not yet know the number of white recruits enlisted.
Date: March 21, 1864

Title: Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This sepia carte de visite, ca. 1861-1865, depicts an unidentified soldier who served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The carte de visite was produced by R.H. Kimball & Company of Leavenworth, Kansas. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: William Gordon and Robert Henderson
Description: This black and white portrait, ca. 1861-1865, depicts Capt. William Gordon (on the left) and Capt. Robert Henderson (on the right). Gordon served in Company F, Sixth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and Henderson served in Company G, Sixth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.
Object Type: Image

Title: From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
Description: This letter, dated September 3, 1863, is from Major General John M. Schofield to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney. Schofield thanks Carney for offering the assistance of the Kansas Militia in protecting Lawrence and other border towns from Missouri rebels. Many of Schofield’s troops, he says, have left to fight with the regiments of Generals Grant, Steele, and Blunt. Schofield expresses a desire to avenge Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, and he hopes that the extra troops will be able to “destroy the guerrilla bands which have so long savaged the border.”
Date: September 3, 1863

Title: General Orders, No. 15
Description: This is Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis’s General Order No. 15, signed and dated October 23, 1864 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The order revokes General Order No. 54, which had established Martial Law north of the Kaw River. Curtis states that the enemy has moved south and that the area is no longer in danger. He adds that he is “glad to relieve the People from this burden.”
Date: October 23, 1864

Title: Applications of John Herndon
Description: These are John Herndon’s applications for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slaves, Harrison Small and Reubin Herndon. The applications, dated November 19, 1866, include oaths of allegiance to the United States, a power of attorney transfer to Isaac C. Dodge, statements that John Herndon (of Howard County, Missouri) lawfully acquired his slaves, and the signatures of two witnesses and a notary public in Cooper County, Missouri. A note in pencil on the tenth page indicates that the application was rejected. Also included is Harrison Small’s enlistment form, signed and dated November 29, 1863.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 29, 1863 and November 19, 1866

Title: From Abishai Stowell to Margaret Torrence
Description: On October 14, 1864, Abishai Stowell writes from Fort Smith, Arkansas to his sister Margaret. Stowell, a member of Co. A, 2nd Kansas Volunteers, tells Margaret that her recent letter "was the third letter that I have got for over 8 months and I have written at least forty since that time." He adds that he hastens to answer her letter, "for soldiers don't know at what hour they may be called on to leave camp or how long they will have to stay away."
Date: October 14, 1864

Title: From James Beatty to William Fowler
Description: On August 29, 1864, James Beatty, Deputy Provost Marshal for the 20th Missouri subdistrict, writes from Milan, Missouri to Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal for the 7th District of Missouri, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Beatty reports that Wesley Griffith of Taylor, Missouri claims that the township is "entitled to many more credits for soldiers furnished" than appear in the draft documents. Beatty also states that he sent a soldier back to his regiment because his sick furlough had expired.
Date: August 29, 1864

Title: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This March 1864 military roll lists the names of "colored troops" enlisted in the 6th district, 28th sub-district in Chariton County, Missouri. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupations, birthplaces, and the names of their owners.
Date: March 1864

Title: Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley
Description: Two black-and-white portraits—displayed in a single wooden frame—depict Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley in military uniform. The men’s birth and death dates are listed: William lived from 1842-1863 and Channing from 1844-1863. A note indicates that both men served under Confederate General Joseph Shelby; William was a color bearer.
Object Type: Image

Title: Proceedings of the Lafayette County Board
Description: This is a series of proceedings of the County Board of Lafayette County, Missouri, dated August 14 – October 2, 1862, and signed by R.C. Vaughan, Secretary. In each of the proceedings, the Board compiles a list of disloyal citizens residing in the neighborhoods where soldiers or loyal citizens were murdered. The Board members agree to charge all of the disloyal citizens 7-10% of the value of their estates.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: August 14, 1862-October 2, 1862

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Beloved Wife and Boy
Description: This letter, dated September 15, 1861, is from A.J. Huntoon to his wife Lizzie and son Prentice. He writes from Mapleton, Bourbon County, Kansas, where he is assisting at a military hospital for General Lane’s Brigade. He reports that his regiment, the 5th Kansas Cavalry volunteers, recently arrived at Mapleton from Fort Lincoln along with Wier’s, Montgomery’s, and Jennison’s regiments. He expresses a desire to return to the battlefield, saying that “it is impossible to lay idle . . . when treason shows its dragon head in every settlement.”
Date: September 15, 1861

Title: From James M. Boyer to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated October 1, 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 writes to Comingo regarding the apprehension of several military deserters. Attached to the document is a note from Brig. Gen. O. Guitar, the commanding officer of two of the deserters, along with correspondence between Col. E.B. Alexander and Asst. Adj. Gen. J.A. Campbell.
Date: October 1, 1863-October 12, 1863

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: On August 9, 1864, 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 one black soldier was enlisted from Comingo's district during July 1864, in Clinton County.
Date: August 9, 1864

Title: From Chauncey McKeever to E.B. Alexander
Description: This is a copy of a November 12, 1863 dispatch from Chauncey McKeever, Assistant Adjutant General to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri. McKeever writes from the Provost Marshal General's Office at the War Department in Washington, D.C., providing instructions on payment to Recruiting Agents for each volunteer they enlist.
Date: November 12, 1863

Title: From Edward Bates to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated July 23, 1861, was written by U.S. Attorney General Edward Bates to James L. McDowell, U.S. Marshal in Kansas. Bates replies to McDowell’s request for advice about enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law, declaring that no government official can choose to enforce the laws he likes and ignore those he dislikes. Bates adds that the recent “insurrectionary disorder” in Missouri does not alter its legal status as a member of the Union.
Date: July 23, 1861

Title: Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This sepia carte de visite, ca. 1861-1865, depicts an unidentified soldier who served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: From S.F. Chalfin to E.B. Alexander
Description: This letter, dated November 16, 1863, is from S.F. Chalfin, Assistant Adjutant General, to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri. Writing from the War Department in Washington, D.C., Chalfin informs Alexander that when a Deputy or "Special Agent" is sent in pursuit of military deserters, his transportation expenses will be paid, whether or not he is successful in apprehending the deserters.
Date: November 16, 1863

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

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