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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

Title: Oath of Loyalty of George P. Hedrick
Description: This document establishes that George P. Hedrick has taken an oath of loyalty to the United States and to the state of Missouri. Hedrick declares that “I have not, during the present rebellion, willfully taken up arms, or levied war against the United States, nor against the provisional government of the state of Missouri.” The oath is dated October 29, 1862 and is signed by Hedrick and a clerk.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 29, 1862

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On July 14, 1863, Alex M. Bedford writes from Johnson’s Island, near Sandusky City, Ohio, to his wife Mary E. Bedford. Alex writes of being troubled by Mary’s last letter, in which she “spoke of the death of my nearest & best friends[.] Why cannot the Federal authorities stop it[?]” Alex advises Mary to go to Kentucky to stay with relatives until times get better at home, although he regrets that the children must be taken out of school. He advises Mary to get a permit to visit him with the help of Robert Wilson, W.P. Hall, “or some other Union man of influence.”
Date: July 14, 1863

Title: From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Relatives
Description: This letter, dated August 24, 1862, is from Mrs. Silliman of Warrensburg, Missouri to her “dear relatives.” She complains that since the war began, Warrensburg has transformed from a small, quiet town into “a thoroughfare for soldiers, jayhawkers, bush whackers . . . assassins & marauders.” She says that her son Oscar’s business has been stagnant, and that they might move to Arkansas until the war is over.
Date: August 24, 1862

Title: From George Applegate to Dear Father
Description: This letter, dated October 15, 1865, is from George Applegate in Lisbon, California to his father in Missouri. He sympathizes with his father, who has “escaped the Horrors + casualties of war,” and assures him that “had I been in Missouri [I] would not have hesitated to go for the rights of sovereign states against abolition usurpation.” He also complains that the local economy has suffered since the war began and that his debt has increased significantly.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 15, 1865

Title: From A.M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated March 21, 1865, is from Lieut. Alex M. Bedford to his wife Mary E. Bedford in Savannah, Missouri. Bedford, imprisoned at Fort Delaware, reports that he expects to be released soon. “I have been a prisoner so long,” he writes. “God hasten the time when we can meet a gain in peace.” He adds that his health and eyesight are improving.
Date: March 21, 1865

Title: Release From Arrest
Description: This document exonerates ten men who were charged with conspiracy to assassinate military officers at a post in Brunswick, Missouri. The document is dated November 29, 1862 and is signed by Brig. Gen. Richard C. Vaughan at the 6th Military District Headquarters in Lexington, Missouri. Vaughan states, “I have examined all the testimony . . . there is no foundation in truth for the charge against them.”
Date: November 29, 1862

Title: From Mary C. Irvine to Mr. Bohart
Description: On September 13, 1863, Mary C. Irvine writes to Mr. Bohart. Mary thanks Bohart for sending news of her son, who was wounded at Champion Hill. She asks Bohart to tell her son that many changes have taken place in the neighborhood, such as the escape of local slaves to Kansas: "Mr. Bedford's negroes have run off and took about $500 worth of horses with them." Mary adds that many of their neighbors are relocating to different states including Kentucky and Illinois, and that it would not be safe for her son to return home now.
Date: September 13, 1863

Title: From Alex M. Bedford to Mary E. Bedford
Description: On November 11, 1864, Alex M. Bedford writes from Fort Pulaski, off Savannah, Georgia, to his wife Mary E. Bedford in Savannah, Andrew County, Missouri. Alex says he has not been exchanged yet and fears there is no chance of it happening soon, although he is pleased with the move to Fort Pulaski. He tells Mary that his bunkmate is Lt. David Bronaugh of Clay County, Missouri, whose cousin Miss F.A. Bronaugh lives in Barry, Clay County. Alex tells Mary that Miss Bronaugh may soon write to her and that she can get news of him through contact with her.
Date: November 11, 1864

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to A.M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated March 8, 1864, is from Mary E. Bedford to her husband, Lieut. A.M. Bedford, who is at the military hospital in Point Lookout, Maryland. Mary reports that she has just arrived in St. Joseph, Missouri after visiting relatives and friends in Kentucky. She expresses hope that her husband will soon be able to return home. She encourages him to write letters to his relatives, and offers to send him money.
Object Type: Letter
Date: March 8, 1864

Title: From W.J. Clasbey to Alex M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated August 13, 1865, was written by W.J. Clasbey in Nebraska City, Nebraska Territory, to his brother-in-law, Alex M. Bedford. Clasbey congratulates Bedford on returning home to his family “after four long, dark, wearisome years of strife and suffering.” Clasbey suggests that they “look back upon these unfruitful years not with feelings of regret…but with pleasing emotions and gratitude to Kind Providence.” Clasbey reports that he recently met their old friend Jeff Patton, who “had become sick in consequence” of taking the Oath of Loyalty.
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 13, 1865

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