Search results

Title: From Morse to Joseph H. Trego
Description: This letter, dated October 28, 1862, is from a soldier named Morse to Lieut. Joseph Trego of the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment. Morse says that he was elected to Trego’s position after Trego left the company. He updates Trego on daily life at Camp Vandiver, informing him that Col. Clayton is planning to build barracks and that Lieut. Cox, who had gone AWOL, returned to camp drunk. He also mentions that rebels recently attacked an Illinois regiment and took 70 prisoners.
Date: October 28, 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 Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown
Description: In a letter dated April 26, 1862, Daniel L. Chandler writes from Mound City, Kansas to John Stillman Brown. Chandler believes the consolidation of the 3rd and 4th regiments is complete, and "hereafter our Regt. will be the 10th." He reports on the movements of various staff officers, and says "I think I will remain, for when it was rumored in camp that my removal was contemplated a petition was spontaneously got up and some 500 persons put there names to it, to have me remain."
Date: April 26, 1862

Title: From Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown
Description: This letter is from Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown. Chandler writes from West Point and Kansas City, Missouri, and Mapleton, Kansas on September 25 and 28, and October 1 and 6, 1861. Chandler, a steward at a military hospital, describes caring for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Dry Creek and the Sacking of Osceola. Chandler shares his fears about the future: "The condition of the State of Missouri is indeed most gloomy, and if the war continues a year longer the territory will be turned into a desert."
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 25, 1861-October 6, 1861

Title: Speech on Price's Raid
Description: This is an excerpt from a speech given by James Henry Lane in 1864. Lane describes several military engagements during Price's Raid, including the Battle of Little Blue River and the Battle of Westport. He commends the "skill & courage" of Generals Curtis, Blunt, and Pleasanton, and the "bravery & devotion" of the Kansas troops in their victory over General Price.
Object Type: Speech
Date: 1864

Title: From Maurice E. Pitcher to Mr. Colgan
Description: On November 6, 1864, Maurice E. Pitcher writes from Independence, Missouri to Mr. Colgan. Pitcher states that he saw Colgan's son Willie on October 21 when he came into Missouri with Gen. Price's army: "he is looking quite well…he had no appearance of being 'one of Price's starved to death, rag-muffins.'" He says that Price's men "had a series of battles from little blue (in this county) until within a few miles of Fort Scott, and you may well imagine they had a series of successes."
Date: November 6, 1864

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This undated letter was written ca. December 1862 by Florella Brown Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella expresses distress over reports regarding “the great battle of the 6 of this month.” She states that their son Charles is among the missing, and does not know if he is dead or has been taken prisoner. Florella says that her friends “seemed to sympathize & hoped it might not be so bad, or that it was not true, as many reports are exagerated.”

Title: Medical Record of Examination of Recruits
Description: This is a bound volume of records noting the medical examinations of men recruited to the Union Army in Kansas. The records, dating from November 5, 1864 to April 20, 1865, include the recruits' names, ages, country or state of birth, occupation, height, complexion, eye and hair color, chest measurements, race, and town or county of residence.
Date: November 5, 1864-April 20, 1865

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Dear Wife and Boy
Description: This letter, dated October 6, 7, 10, and 11, 1861, is from A.J. Huntoon to his wife Lizzie and son Prentice. Huntoon, a member of the 5th Kansas Cavalry volunteer regiment, tells his family that he was ordered to take charge of a military hospital in Mapleton, Bourbon County, Kansas. He estimates that there are 50,000-55,000 Union soldiers in Missouri, including the companies of Generals Sturgis, Siegel, and Fremont, and that there are about 70,000 Confederate troops in Missouri under the commandment of Generals McCulloch and Rains. Huntoon predicts that “We will have a big battle in this vicinity ere so long.”
Date: October 6, 1861-October 11, 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. It was produced by photographer J.P. Babbitt of Fort Scott, 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: From Charles Doubleday to James Montgomery
Description: This dispatch, dated April 1, 1862, was sent by Adj. Brig. Gen. Charles Doubleday at Fort Scott, Kansas, to Col. James Montgomery. Doubleday writes that he will investigate the “guerrilla parties” in Bates County as soon as he receives more specific instructions from department headquarters. He says he is reluctant to send his cavalry very far at present since he expects to receive marching orders for them.
Date: April 1, 1862

Title: From Charles Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written ca. 1862 by Charles Adair in camp in Missouri to his father Samuel Lyle Adair. Charles reports that his company has been on the march through Missouri and recently passed “Col. Riches camp on cow creek where we found him & his Indians they had had a battle with the sesech a few days before and whipped them…the sesech attacked him & when the Indians heard the firing they shot all the prisoners they had on hand…wheather Richey approved of it or not I do not know, it was a barberous act at any rate.”

Title: Diary of Dr. J.H.P. Baker
Description: This is an excerpt from the diary of Dr. J.H.P. Baker, an army doctor working under the command of Gen. Joseph O. Shelby. The entries included here are from October 10-27, 1864. Baker discusses conscription, bushwhackers, travelling across Missouri, and marching to Price’s headquarters. He mentions the Battle of Boonville, the Second Battle of Lexington, the Battle of the Big Blue, the Second Battle of Independence, the Battle of Westport, and the Battle of Cedar Creek.
Object Type: Diary
Date: October 10, 1864-October 27, 1864

Title: From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description: This letter, dated June 1 and 6, 1862, is from Lieut. Joseph H. Trego to his wife Alice. On June 1, he tells Alice that he recently left Fort Scott, Kansas and travelled to Camp Greenwood, where his regiment, the 5th Kansas Cavalry, had been ordered to protect provision trains. He also tells her that Capt. Clarke, an officer in his regiment, was shot and killed while intoxicated and on duty. Trego continues the letter on June 6 and informs Alice that he has moved to a camp in Rolla, Missouri.
Date: June 1, 1862 and June 6, 1862

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on December 13 and 14, 1862 by Florella Brown Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that Robert Loomis, a local soldier, is home on furlough with the news that their son Charles is well. Loomis reports that Charles asked him to take $35.00 to his family, but the money was stolen from him in Fort Scott, Kansas. Florella tells Samuel she believes Loomis gambled with the money and lost it all.
Date: December 13, 1862-December 14, 1862

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On November 14, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from Fort Smith, Arkansas to his sister. Stowell reports that on November 12, Gen. Blunt arrived from Fort Scott with 250 wagons, and more wagons arrived from Springfield, Missouri. "It is thought by some that Gen Blunt will go South with his command in a few days," Stowell writes.
Date: November 14, 1863

Title: From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description: This letter, dated December 21, 1863, is from Joseph H. Trego, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his wife Alice. He informs Alice that his regiment has just arrived at Fort Smith, Arkansas and that they have settled into warm and comfortable quarters. He jokes about “flirting around with the secesh ladies” and says it is possible he will be home by Christmas.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 21, 1863

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Dear Wife
Description: This letter, dated September 4, 1861, is from A.J. Huntoon to his wife Lizzie. He reports that his regiment, a part of Lane’s Brigade, has recently moved to Camp Lincoln in Bourbon County, Kansas. He describes several recent battles between his regiment and a large contingent of Secessionists. He tells Lizzie that he has been put in charge of a military hospital, and he discusses caring for wounded soldiers. He states that his regiment is anticipating and preparing for an imminent attack.
Date: September 4, 1861

Title: Muster-Out Roll of Hugh D. Fisher, Chaplain
Description: This muster-out roll, dated August 26, 1864, certifies the honorable discharge of Hugh D. Fisher, Chaplain of the 5th Regiment of Kansas Cavalry Volunteers. Rev. Fisher served from August 16, 1861 to June 30, 1864, and was mustered out “by reason of expiration of term of service.”
Date: August 26, 1864

Title: From Daniel L. Chandler to James H. Buxton
Description: In a letter dated May 5, 1862, Daniel L. Chandler writes to James H. Buxton. Chandler is encamped on the prairie near Fort Scott, but expects to be ordered to Fort Scott in a few days. He informs James that his mother and brothers have been driven from Arkansas by the "secesh" and are now in Missouri, and that James's brother Thomas is in a "Missouri Union Regt." stationed at Mount Vernon, Missouri. Chandler also discusses James's discharge from the military.
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 5, 1862

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

Error message

Pages

Pages

Object Type

Local Subject

People

Geographic Subject

Owning Organization