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Title: From Samuel R. Curtis to Edmund G. Ross
Description: This telegram, dated 1864, is from Major Samuel R. Curtis at Fort Leavenworth to Edmund G. Ross in Lawrence, Kansas. Curtis reports that 150-200 Missouri guerrillas have entered Kansas and are likely to invade Olathe, Lawrence, and Topeka. He tells Ross to warn Topeka of a possible attack and urges him to “be on your guard.”
Object Type: Telegram
Date: 1864

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated June 1, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner at Headquarters, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Shannon instructs Sumner to send one company of U.S. troops to reinforce Capt. Newby in Lawrence, Kansas, and a second company to reinforce Capt. Wood in Franklin County, Kansas. Shannon writes that each command is “too weak to deal with the armed bodies of lawless men by which they are surrounded.” Shannon adds that Maj. Sedgwick will communicate with Sumner about the events that have transpired.
Date: June 1, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated April 25, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner at Headquarters, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Shannon requests that a force of 30 U.S. troops be stationed at Lecompton in case of an emergency. Shannon asks Sumner to keep his troops ready to act at a moment’s notice “if required by me to enforce the laws and preserve the peace.”
Date: April 25, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated April 20, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner. Shannon states that after Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones arrested a man named S.N. Wood, he was forcibly rescued by a band of men. In order to recapture Wood and make several additional arrests, Shannon instructs Sumner to send an officer and six U.S. troops to Lecompton to assist Jones. Shannon indicates that he prefers to employ U.S. troops for this purpose because of their political neutrality.
Date: April 20, 1856

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown
Description: On May 28 and 29, 1862, Leigh R. Webber writes a letter from the Steamer Robert Campbell Jr. near Liberty, Missouri, to Miss Brown. Webber reports that he spent nine days marching from Fort Riley to Fort Leavenworth, and is now "moving down to 'Dixie's Land'…Our men are dying off so fast at Corinth, that we expect our turn will come next. But there is no fear or shrinking among us." He believes his regiment is better prepared for battle now than they were at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in 1861.
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 28, 1862 - May 29, 1862

Title: From Daniel Woodson to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated June 30, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Woodson states that the “bogus Legislature” of Free-Staters will undoubtedly meet at Topeka on July 4, 1856, and that Gen. Lane’s forces are believed to be approaching Topeka. Woodson has ordered Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke to secure the area between Fort Riley, Kansas, and Topeka. He instructs Sumner to go to Topeka personally with at least two more companies of U.S. troops.
Date: June 30, 1856

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to "Senorita Morena"
Description: This letter, dated April 30, 1862, is from Leigh R. Webber in "Camp of the Kansas First" to "Senorita Morena" (Miss Brown). Webber says his regiment is comfortably situated, and declares, "Fort Riley is not to be slurred at. It beats Fort Leavenworth all hollow, and Fort Scott is nowhere beside it." He reports that "We had a general inspection on Monday, and were mustered this forenoon," and adds that the soldiers will soon receive new equipment and arms.
Object Type: Letter
Date: April 30, 1862

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated June 14, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon to Col. E.V. Sumner at Headquarters, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Shannon refers to recent robberies on the roads near Westport, Missouri, and says that he hopes Sumner will do all he can to drive back the criminal offenders. Shannon also encloses two copies of a proclamation for Sumner.
Date: June 14, 1856

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