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Title: From Andrew Brownlow to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On August 1, 1862, Andrew Brownlow writes from Sugar Creek Grove, Buchanan County, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Brownlow describes the "troubled" state of affairs in Buchanan County, predicting that recent outrages "will make desperate men out of good citizens." He accuses Gen. Loan of "playing in to the hands of the Kansas thieves" and predicts that unless Gamble "does something to protect the people on the Border all there property will…be taken to Kansas."
Date: August 1, 1862

Title: From James Griffing to Augusta
Description: This letter, dated June 8, 1855, was sent to Augusta by James Griffing at Walnut Cabin. James discusses frontier life and news of friends in the area, and says that he plans to dispose of his current claim and secure one near Topeka, Kansas. He reassures Augusta that Kansas remains safe despite a violent episode of election fraud perpetrated by “a gang of drunken, worthless villains.”
Date: June 8, 1855

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: From A.M. Bedford to Mrs. Mary E. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated April 11, 1864, is from Lieut. Alex M. Bedford to his wife, Mary E. Bedford, in Savannah, Missouri. Bedford, stationed at the Officers Camp in Point Lookout, Maryland, writes about recent travel and assures his wife that he is in good health. He asks her about her home life, their farm, and their neighbors, and he warns her to “be careful how you talk to anyone.”
Date: April 11, 1864

Title: From Daniel J. Routt to Mrs. Chinece Routt
Description: This letter, dated August 12, 1862, was written by Union soldier Daniel J. Routt in Lexington, Missouri, to his wife Chinece in Huntsville, Missouri. Daniel describes the recent Battle of Independence and says that Union forces expect an attack on their Lexington camp at any time. He tells Chinece that he has mailed her ten dollars, a lock of hair, and his picture, “to remember me as long as you live.” Daniel was killed four days later in the Battle of Lone Jack.
Date: August 12, 1862

Title: From M.E. Bedford to A.M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated June 12, 1864, is from Mary E. Bedford in Savannah, Missouri to her husband, Lieut. Alex M. Bedford. Mary shares news of a mutual acquaintance, and of their home and farm. She reports that a Mr. Leneer was executed in Savannah after serving two years in prison for burning the railroad. She tells her husband that she has sent him clothing, and complains that he has been away from home for nearly three years.
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 12, 1864

Title: War in Kansas!
Description: This 1856 broadside announces the commencement of civil war in Kansas. It urges the citizens of Lafayette County, Missouri to gather with their guns and horses in Lexington on August 20, and "put an end to Abolitionism in Kansas." The broadside, signed by twelve men, reports that John Brown, James Henry Lane, and their forces have launched several guerrilla attacks upon Kansas residents, and are now "advancing upon us--the next breath from Kansas may bring to our ears the death shrieks of our Fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, neighbors and friends."
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 1856

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie P. Huntoon
Description: This letter, dated January 27-28, 1861, was written by A.J. Huntoon at Johnson House in Lawrence, Kansas, to Lizzie Huntoon. Huntoon reports that he has reached Lawrence from Williamsport, Kansas, after a delay due to severe winter weather. He describes activity in the Kansas Legislature and says that everyone is eager for news of Kansas’ application for statehood; he believes “we will not get to be a state this session.”
Date: January 27, 1861-January 28, 1861

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to A.M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated June 13, 1863, is from Mary E. Bedford to her husband, Lieut. Alex M. Bedford. She states that she sent him $30 and asks if he needs more money or clothing. She also reports that she has rented out her farm and that she might spend the summer visiting relatives in Kentucky. She asks her husband if she would be permitted to visit him.
Date: June 13, 1863

Title: From Julia Mariata to Unknown
Description: In this October 5, 1856 letter, Julia Mariata describes the arrest and capture of her brother-in-law, H. Miles Moore. On October 2, Mariata says, she and Moore left Lawrence, Kansas and stopped at the American Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, where Moore was arrested and taken away by a group of men. A Mr. King told Mariata that Moore was arrested because he had served as Adjutant General under Gen. Lane, and that “he was considered guilty of High Treason!”
Date: October 5, 1856

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter to Eugenia Bronaugh on September 13, 1863, a few weeks after Order No. 11 was issued. He advises her to stay in Henry County as long as she can do so safely, but says that it is likely she will be forced to leave. He tells her that several military captains are in St. Louis, and that they have been inquiring about every man in town from Henry County.
Date: September 13, 1863

Title: From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Description: In this letter of September 5, 1858, Calvin Iserman writes from Independence, Missouri to his brother William. Calvin declares that Independence is hostile to free-staters: “Most of the head men of this town, and the wealthiest, are slave holders who…hate a free-state man worse than they do the Devil.” Calvin adds that his father plans to move to Kansas Territory in the fall or spring to live “among some free state men.” The letter includes a separate note to “sister Gus,” possibly written by Calvin’s wife.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 5, 1858

Title: General Orders, No. 4
Description: Maj. W. Dean Colman of the Missouri State Militia issued General Order No. 4 on January 10, 1862. The order states that his battalion received a donation of clothing from a group of women in Springfield, Mass. Colman states that his soldiers have an obligation to "conquer this wicked rebellion" and make every effort to gain the approval of their families and the general public. The order was signed by S.B. Shaw, Post Adjutant, at the headquarters of the Missouri State Militia in Jefferson City.
Date: January 10, 1862

Title: From Samuel Lyle Adair to Charles Adair and Ada Adair
Description: This letter was written on October 19, 1860 by Samuel Lyle Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas, to his son Charles and daughter Ada. Samuel warns that as Charles starts school in Ohio, “you will doubtless find many things to try your feelings in consequence of not having had better opportunities in times past.” Samuel reports on activities in Osawatomie, including two meetings to address the town’s shortage of bread for the winter, which he did not attend. "Money is growing scarcer all the time, and nothing but money will bring bread," he writes.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 19, 1860

Title: From Silas Reed to Mrs. Abner Stone
Description: This letter, dated August 16, 1854, is from Silas Reed in Missouri to Mrs. Abner Stone. He mentions the conflict over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and says that he hopes New Englanders will "resolve that Kansas shall be on the side of freedom" and immigrate there to help the cause. He tells Mrs. Stone that thirty men from Massachusetts have already arrived in Kansas to start a free colony, and adds, "If I were a young man I would go there at once."
Date: August 16, 1854

Title: From Lizzie Deavenport to Mrs. Colgan
Description: On February 22, 1865, Lizzie Deavenport writes from Hick Mill, Missouri, to Mrs. Colgan. Lizzie says that W.H. was slightly wounded during a fight in Independence, Missouri. She shares news of various friends and family members, and tells Mrs. Colgan, "your home place does not look like it did when you was there. there is not but one hole window in your house…your house has been [mighty] abused."
Date: February 22, 1865

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes to John Bushnell from Hickory Grove, Missouri on May 30, 1865. She describes a severe thunderstorm, and says the shrubbery in her garden is “destroyed since the war.” Eugenia says her relatives in Saline County, Missouri wish they could relocate from their home because it reminds them of “evils committed in the name of ‘Liberty.’” Eugenia herself also longs to relocate to escape unfaithful friends and memories of “the cruelties of war.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 30, 1865

Title: Emancipation of Eliza Jane
Description: These documents include the bill of sale and the letter of emancipation for a slave, Eliza Jane. The bill of sale, signed and dated December 5, 1844 by Alexander Duncan, confers Eliza Jane and two other slaves to Jeremiah and Nancy Smith of Nodaway County, Missouri for the sum of $550. The letter of emancipation is signed and dated August 31, 1863 by Jeremiah and Nancy Smith. It states that the Smiths “forever set FREE a certain Woman of color, named Eliza Jane, aged twenty-five years.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: December 5, 1844 and August 31, 1863

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to Alex M. Bedford
Description: On August 11, 1863, Mary E. Bedford writes from her home to her husband, Alex M. Bedford. Mary says that she has not yet received her permit to visit him, and writes that she hopes the war will soon end. She says that she is ready to go to Kentucky to stay with relatives, because although “times are better hear now…the Lord only knows how long [they] may stay so.” Mary also informs Alex that Cousin Oscar is in Tennessee serving in General Wheeler’s army.
Date: August 11, 1863

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On November 4, 1862, Alex M. Bedford writes to his wife, Mary E. Bedford. Alex says that he was wounded and taken as a prisoner of war by the Federals near Corinth, Mississippi. He is now staying at the home of a wealthy man in Franklin County, Alabama, where “we are furnished with every thing we want…the kindness I have received from the family I will never forget.” Alex instructs Mary to direct her letters to Iuka Hospital via Corinth, and declares, “If I get killed I cannot die in a better cause.”
Date: November 4, 1862

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

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