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Title: William D. Matthews
Description: A sepia colored carte-de-visite of First Lieutenant William Dominick Matthews. Matthews was a member of the Independent Battery, U.S. Colored Light Artillery, who served at Fort Leavenworth and helped protect eastern Kansas during Price's invasion in 1864. In addition, Matthews helped recruit many members of the First Colored Kansas Volunteer Infantry. Prior to the Civil War, Matthews operated a boarding house in Leavenworth, Kansas that was used as part of the underground railroad. Assisted by Daniel R. Anthony, the brother of Susan B. Anthony, Matthews helped many Missouri slaves escape to Kansas and other "free" states.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1861-1865

Title: Edward Thomas
Description: This carte de visite depicts Edward Thomas, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: From A.J. Sexton to Catherine
Description: This letter was written on March 18 and 19, 1862, by A.J. Sexton in camp at Fort Scott, Kansas, to his wife Catherine. He describes the area around Fort Scott as “good farming country,” though thinly settled. A.J. asserts that his company is the largest and best drilled in camp, noting that his regiment “is favored with good health” in comparison to the Kansas regiments, who “have buried from one to four a day.” Part of the letter is written on the back of a printed roster for the 12th Wisconsin Volunteers, which lists A.J. as a private in Co. E.
Date: March 18, 1862-March 19, 1862

Title: From Charles Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on February 20, 1861 by Charles Adair in Hudson, Ohio, to his father Samuel Lyle Adair. Charles says that he plans to stop attending school the following week before joining his mother, Florella Brown Adair, in Grafton, Ohio to travel south. He states that his school’s schedule was briefly disrupted by Lincoln’s recent visit to Hudson.
Date: February 20, 1861

Title: John Otis Wattles
Description: A photograph of John Otis Wattles, abolitionist and founder of the Free-State town of Moneka, in Linn County, Kansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: B.F. Woodworth
Description: This carte de visite depicts B.F. Woodworth, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: Edward Flanders
Description: This carte de visite depicts Edward Flanders, who served in Company A, Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: Monument to the Eighth Kansas Volunteer Infantry
Description: This photograph depicts a monument to the Eighth Kansas Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. John A. Martin and Generals August Willich, T.J. Wood, and Gordon Granger. A bronze plaque commemorates the regiment's November 23, 1863 battle at Missionary Ridge, which is now a part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. The photograph was taken by Schmedling of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Object Type: Image

Title: Correspondence of the Kansas Territory Executive Department
Description: These documents, dated between 1855 and 1856, relate to the organization and administration of the Kansas Territorial Militia, Northern Division. The documents include commissions issued by acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson, officer appointments, and company requests to be mustered out of service.
Date: 1855-1856

Title: S.B. Wade
Description: This carte de visite depicts Sgt. S.B. Wade, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Description: This dispatch, dated August 6, 1862, is from Kansas Gov. Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell. Carney orders McDowell to return a pistol and rifle that were stolen from Col. Barnes by Jayhawkers. A note from C. Clarkson at the bottom of the page states that the rifle was in fact stolen but the pistol was not.
Date: August 6, 1862

Title: From George W. Deitzler to Commanding Officer
Description: This U.S. Military Telegraph message was sent to the “Commanding Officer” by Maj. Gen. George W. Deitzler in Independence, Missouri on October 20, 1864. Deitzler states that after a lengthy battle on October 19, Gen. Blunt has been driven from Lexington, Missouri by a Confederate force commanded by Gen. Price. Deitzler says that the Union side lost 20 men killed and wounded, and that Gen. Price’s current position is unknown. Deitzler adds that telegraphic communication between Kansas City and St. Louis is uninterrupted, and that “the danger to Kansas is not considered imminent.”
Date: October 20, 1864

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written between February 28 and March 8, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that she plans to go to Oberlin, Ohio the next day and then travel to Xenia, Ohio the following week. She says that Marian’s ill health is slowly improving; Marian “feels that she has been sorely afflicted but trusts that it has been for her spiritual good & advancement in the Christian life.” Florella also refers to Lincoln's recent inauguration.
Date: February 28, 1861-March 8, 1861

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written ca. November 1862 by Florella Brown Adair to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes about the activities of friends in the area, including paying taxes; she does not know how much their taxes will be, but suggests that Samuel send at least $10.00 to pay them. Florella adds that she is very anxious to hear from their son Charles and asks Samuel to notify her if he gets word from Charles.

Title: Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description: This sepia carte de visite, ca. 1861-1865, depicts an unidentified soldier who served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: From T.W. Trego to Dear Sister Alice
Description: This letter, dated September 24, 1862, is from T.W. Trego of Chicago to his sister-in-law Alice in Kansas. He decries the “anxieties of the War” and praises Alice and other women in Kansas for their bravery: “we think very, very often of your exposed situation and believe you must be perfect heroines.” He also commends President Lincoln for announcing that he will issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Date: September 24, 1862

Title: Territory of Kansas vs. Charles Robinson
Description: These are legal documents filed in the 1857 case of the Territory of Kansas vs. Charles Robinson for the charge of usurpation of office. They include the official indictment, witness subpoenas, a motion to quash the charges, and a summary of grand jury testimony. Also included is a warrant for the arrest of Charles Robinson; addressed to the Sheriff of Douglas County, Kansas, it reads: “You are hereby commanded to arrest Charles Robinson, and have his body before the Judge of the First District Court . . . to answer an indictment found against him for unlawfully assuming and taking upon himself the Office of Governor of the Territory of Kansas.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: 1857

Title: Humphrey Smith
Description: This carte de visite depicts Humphrey Smith, who served in the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph was produced ca. 1861-1865.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated June 16, 1863, was written by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in St. Louis, Missouri, to Major General James L. McDowell. Carney plans to travel to Washington to ask Secretary of War Edwin Stanton for approval to raise a regiment of U.S. cavalry to defend Kansas. Carney states that this step, authorized by Major General Schofield, will relieve Kansas from having to pay for its own defense. He advises McDowell to begin planning for the prospective new regiment.
Date: June 16, 1863

Title: From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description: On October 14, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from Springfield, Missouri to his sister. Stowell reports that he was recently home on furlough, and says the family wants to move away from their home. He thinks this is unnecessary: "Our folks live in a place where there is no danger from the Indians & but little from the Guirilas." Stowell believes that many girls are so "afraid that the men will all be killed off before this war ends...they marry men that they would not think of speaking to 4 years ago."
Date: October 14, 1863

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

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