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Title: Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri
Description: This 1864 pamphlet, entitled “Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri,” was written by Major J.M. Bassett, former Provost Marshal-General of the Northwest District of Missouri. Bassett provides a “glance at the history of the Rebellion in Northwest Missouri,” admitting “it may be that my hatred for rebels is too intense, my sympathy for loyal men too strong, to make every sentence I write acceptable to all.” The pamphlet, which features several black-and-white illustrations, was published by the Press of Wynkcop, Hallenbeck, and Thomas in New York, with proceeds from its sale given to The Ladies’ Aid Society of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Date: 1864

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
Description: Edward Fitch writes a July 26, 1855 letter from aboard a steamboat on Lake Erie. He tells friends in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts that he is en route from Boston to Osawatomie, Kansas. He describes the other members of his travelling party, a group of nineteen emigrants he is taking to Kansas for the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 26, 1855

Title: From T.W. Trego to Dear Sister Alice
Description: This letter, dated June 10, 1862, is from T.W. Trego in Chicago to his sister-in-law Alice. He asks Alice about her husband Joseph, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment. He mentions that Col. Jennison told him that Joseph might have been transferred to the 6th Regiment; he asks Alice whether this is true. T.W. adds that he hopes “the biggest part of the fuss will soon be over so that Joseph can be released from his duties in the field, and devote himself to you.”
Date: June 10, 1862

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter from St. Louis to Eugenia Bronaugh of Hickory Grove, Missouri on August 3, 1864. He tells her that one of his former slaves was arrested and brutally attacked in Sedalia, Missouri, and he expresses hope that the Conservative Party will put an end to the violence and lawlessness. He tells Eugenia that he wishes he could write to her freely, without “the fear of fiendish eyes,” but he suspects that all of the letters he sends her are intercepted and read.
Date: August 3, 1864

Title: From Thomas R. Mitchell to J.T. Sweringen
Description: This letter is from Thomas R. Mitchell to J.T. Sweringen. Mitchell writes from Huntsville, Missouri on June 20, 1857, to inform Sweringen that Mrs. Ralston has safely arrived in town: "She found no difficulty in getting along amongst the 'border ruffians.'" He also expresses his concern that crops in Missouri are scarce this season.
Date: June 20, 1857

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Dear Lizzie
Description: A.J. Huntoon writes a letter from Williamsport in Shawnee County, Kansas to his wife Lizzie, announcing that the country is “in a state of great political excitement” following the seizure of Fort Sumter. The letter, dated April 19, 21, and 22, 1861, states that Confederate supporters tried to raise a Palmetto flag in St. Joseph, Missouri, but Union supporters stopped them. Huntoon informs his wife that militia companies are organizing in Kansas, and he asks her if she objects to him becoming an assistant surgeon for the army. He also relays the news that Gen. Lane has been placed in command of 1,000 men in Washington.
Date: April 19, 1861-April 22, 1861

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written January 28 and 30, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Lafayette, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella describes her trip from Grafton, Ohio to Lafayette. She writes that everyone is talking about “Kansas & the political condition of the union…Many think war will be declared before many weeks. Democrats lay all the blame on Republicans & Kansas for all the trouble, but not many are ready to fight for the south.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: January 28, 1861-January 30, 1861

Title: Indenture of Robertson Moore and David L. Cavanagh
Description: This April 1864 document declares the upcoming sale of the late John C. Cavanagh’s real estate and his three slaves, Abe, Lucy, and Eliza. Robertson Moore, Sheriff of Chariton County, announces that he will auction off Cavanagh’s property outside of the courthouse in Keytesville, Missouri.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: April 1864

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to Alex M. Bedford
Description: On July 17, 1863, Mary E. Bedford writes from Savannah, Missouri to her husband Alex M. Bedford. Mary says that she believes Alex will be exchanged soon, and expresses hope that the war will soon come to an end. She states that she could not retrieve the horse Alex left in Clay County, Missouri, because it was taken as contraband. Mary provides an update about various friends in the area, including several who have left and some who joined the military. She adds that the price of goods is very high and that she may go to Kentucky to stay with relatives.
Date: July 17, 1863

Title: Julia Sumner Fitch
Description: This black and white photograph, taken circa 1890, portrays Julia Sumner Fitch. Julia was born to Edward and Sarah Fitch in Lawrence, Kansas in 1858. At the age of five, she survived Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, but her family’s house was burned down and her father was killed in the attack.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter, dated November 21, 1860, was written by Florella Brown Adair in Hudson, Ohio to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma in Osawatomie, Kansas. Florella responds to their recent letters, which were “so complaining and discouraging, that I feel more like staying away, than hurrying home…it seems to me that the Territory is cursed of the Lord and that it is fighting against him to try to live there and do anything but barely to exist…I cannot help feeling a perfect disgust for Kansas life, and most of Kansas people.” Florella adds that she read about the “Montgomery and Fort Scott troubles” in the newspapers.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 21, 1860

Title: From G.H. Forkney to Col. Peery
Description: This letter, dated June 13, 1856, is from G.H. Forkney in Basin Knob, Missouri to Col. Peery. Forkney discusses business dealings, then goes on to describe the "deplorable state of affairs" in Kansas Territory: "murders are common & occasionally the women & children fall victim to the fury of the northern fanatics." He reports that President Franklin Pierce has put Kansas under martial law, and that Missourians are preparing for "a war of extermination."
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 13, 1856

Title: Excerpt from George Palmer's Diary
Description: Union Captain George Palmer’s diary, written July-August, 1861, records daily life in his company of dragoons. Palmer writes of meeting “Col. Grant,” searching a suspicious barge, and receiving orders from General Pope. He also hears news of a “battle at Springfield,” presumably the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Palmer recalls that during a storm in camp, 100 men from Col. Williams’ regiment “stripped of all their clothes and ran out in the rain,” causing “much merriment.”
Object Type: Diary

Title: From Charles Adair and Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on August 18, 1860 by Charles Adair and Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to Samuel Lyle Adair. Charles reports that they arrived in Grafton the previous night and had a pleasant journey. Florella shares news of various friends and relatives. She says that people throughout the states believe that the original settlers of Kansas should remain there and that it would be “a great moral and political evil to the territory” if they were to leave at this particular time.
Date: August 18, 1860

Title: From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated June 26, 1863, was written by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Washington, DC, to James L. McDowell. Carney writes that Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, has refused to approve Major General Schofield’s order to raise a regiment. Carney says that if necessary he will “foot the bill” himself to defend “helpless women and children” from the “brutal...ruffian raids that have so long cursed our state.”
Date: June 26, 1863

Title: From William Clarke Quantrill to William W. Scott
Description: William Clarke Quantrill writes a letter from Olathe, Kansas to William W. Scott on January 22, 1858. Quantrill reports the results of a recent election on the Lecompton Constitution, which he refers to as the "Lecompton swindle." He mentions a recent skirmish at Fort Scott and declares it "a pity" that the Kansas settlers "had not shot every Missourian that was there." He also calls James Henry Lane "as good a man as we have here" and describes Kansas Democrats as "rascals."
Date: January 22, 1858

Title: From George E. Young to My Dear Father
Description: This letter, dated August 23, 1863, is from George E. Young in Minneola, Kansas to his father. Young writes that he was in Lawrence on the day of Quantrill's Raid and "came very near being killed." He describes how the attackers approached the boarding house where he was staying, ordered all the women and children to leave, then lined up the men and shot at them. Young tells his father that he ran away and hid in a nearby cellar, narrowly escaping death.
Date: August 23, 1863

Title: From A.M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated October 12, 1864, is from Lieut. Alex M. Bedford to his wife Mary E. Bedford in Savannah, Missouri. He writes from Morris Island off the coast of Charleston, S.C., where he is imprisoned. He informs his wife that he has written to Gen. Craig and requested parole. He tells Mary, “I am very tired of prison life + want to get out if there is any honorable way.”
Date: October 12, 1864

Title: From T.E. Brawner to Sue Brawner
Description: This letter, from January 12, 1862, is from T.E. Brawner in Linneus, Missouri, to Sue Brawner. T.E., presumed to be a Union soldier, writes “I am now out of the service but if the Rebels make their raids in this State again this summer, you will no doubt hear of me being in the service again.” T.E. notes that, regardless of the War, he has not "lost any of my love for the old stars and stripes." He sends his love for his son Eddie, asking Sue to “tell him Pa wants to see him more than ever.”
Date: January 12, 1862

Title: From Mattie Jane Tate to Cousin Mary
Description: This letter of December 14, 1864, is from Mattie Jane Tate in Jackson County, Missouri, to her cousin Mary. While Mattie’s family was vacating their home under Order No. 11 in September 1863, “some soldiers from Kansas” shot and killed her husband and five others. “I am left with three small children to take care of [and] am not able a great part of my time to take care of myself,” she writes. Blaming the massacre on anti-slavery factions, Mattie declares “I can never have any love for any of that side or stripe again.”
Date: December 14, 1864

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

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