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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: 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: 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 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 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

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to A.M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated May 1, 1864, is from Mary E. Bedford in Savannah, Missouri to her husband, Lieut. Alex M. Bedford, at the Officers Prison in Point Lookout, Maryland. Mary updates him on the health of family members and on her tenant’s upkeep of her farm. She reports that two acquaintances who joined the army the previous spring have both recently died. Missouri, she states, “is peaceable . . . and I hope it will remain so.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 1, 1864

Title: Application of Catharine Richmond
Description: This is Catharine Richmond’s application for compensation from the United States government for the military service of her slave, Basil Hayden. The application, dated November 26, 1866, includes an oath of allegiance to the United States, a statement that Richmond lawfully obtained her slave, and the signatures of two witnesses and a notary public in Marion County, Missouri.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 26, 1866

Title: From H.D. Palmer to Isaac Feback
Description: This letter, dated December 20, 1862, was written by H.D. Palmer in Independence, Missouri, to Isaac Feback. Palmer thanks Feback for his kindness, lamenting that he has few friends left who can rise above “political prejudice” as Feback has done. Palmer says he has done everything “to keep down jayhawking & protect my Union friends,” but has been betrayed by those friends and the militia who took his livestock without proper payment. Palmer notes that the oath of allegiance is meaningless unless it offers government protection for those who take it.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 20, 1862

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter to Eugenia Bronaugh on August 18, 1863. He describes the beautiful scenery and overwhelming heat in Calhoun, Missouri. He complains about those who do not fear the law, claiming they would “sink the government, their neighbors—everything for their own dear personal safety.”
Date: August 18, 1863

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie P. Huntoon
Description: This letter was written on July 7, 9, and 11, 1861 by A.J. Huntoon in Williamsport, Shawnee County, Kansas, to his wife Lizzie P. Huntoon. A.J. describes a party he attended on July 4 in Topeka, Kansas, and states that he enlisted in the service as part of “the Lane guards.” He says that since Lizzie is away from home, “I feel that there is no excuse for not taking an active part in this struggle for freedom & humanity…Such as can leave should be the first to offer themselves, & I feel that I am one.” A.J. adds that he recruited three local men for his company.
Date: July 7, 1861-July 11, 1861

Title: From James Montgomery to George L. Stearns
Description: This letter, dated December 10, 1864, was written by James Montgomery in Mound City, Kansas, to Maj. George L. Stearns. Montgomery writes that he resigned his military position due to poor health, but then took command of 15 companies – including two companies of black militia – after the commencement of Price’s Raid. He briefly describes the Battle of Westport, and explains that Price's Raid disrupted planting season. Montgomery asks Stearns about the bounty paid to soldiers in his state, and says that he will bring a few recruits with him when he visits over the winter.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 10, 1864

Title: From J.D. Kirk to Dear Sister
Description: This is a handwritten copy of a letter from J.D. Kirk in California to his sister on March 3, 1863. Kirk writes about the debate over slavery, criticizing "this bogus, free-negro, puritan congress" and explaining that his father opposes abolition of slavery in parts of the country "where the economy depends solely on its continuation." He also mentions the recently adopted Conscription Act, and predicts an imminent end to the Civil War.
Date: March 3, 1863

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On January 26, 1865, Alex M. Bedford writes from Hilton Head, South Carolina, to his wife, Mary E. Bedford, in Savannah, Andrew County, Missouri. Alex writes, “I must get out of prison or I will soon go to my long home[.] I am leaner in flesh than I ever was…I am so weak I reel as I walk & nearly lossed my eyesight.” He asks Mary to verify that it is safe for him to return home, and inquires whether James Bohart has returned yet.
Date: January 26, 1865

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On October 17, 1864 John A. Bushnell writes from Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. John hints that he cannot “write every thing which I know would interest you” because Eugenia is “'staying at a suspicious house' and not considered faithful to the household of the chosen.” He adds that it has been difficult to get reliable news of the war, and warns Eugenia that “the hated rebels” nearby are in possession of “some captured letters and ambrotypes too.”
Date: October 17, 1864

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

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

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