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From Mary Savage to Jane Simpson
Title
From Mary Savage to Jane Simpson
Description
This is an excerpt from a November 29, 1863 letter that Mary Savage wrote to Jane Simpson about Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. She describes watching two bushwhackers murder her neighbor: “I can never efface from my memory the look and cry of anguish that he gave as he fell, the blood running in streams from his wounds.” Mary says the bushwhackers also threatened to kill her husband, but she saved his life by convincing them that he was sick and was not a member of the Kansas Militia. She writes that nearly every house in town burned down, but some “heroic” women put out a few of the fires. After the raid, she says, downtown Lawrence was reduced to “a heap of ashes.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
November 29, 1863
From Charles Adair and M.L. Davis to Samuel Lyle Adair
Title
From Charles Adair and M.L. Davis to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description
On September 24, 1860, Charles Adair writes from Aunt Marthey’s to his father Samuel Lyle Adair. Charles describes seeing Stephen A. Douglas at the station that morning and says he was unimpressed: “he is a mean looking man if ever I saw one.” On September 30, 1860, Samuel’s sister M.L. Davis finishes the letter Charles began, explaining that Charles left the letter behind when he went away. She writes briefly about Charles's and Florella's activities during their Ohio visit.
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 24, 1860 and September 30, 1860
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Title
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description
This letter was written between December 20 and 29, 1860 by Florella Brown Adair in Hudson and Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella describes her trip from Hudson to Grafton with her daughter Ada. She states that she has collected $21.00 from friends and relatives to send back to Kansas, and that many people feel a “deep interest in Kansas troubles.” Florella adds that “People here are all awake upon the troubles that threaten our country.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
December 20, 1860-December 29, 1860
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Title
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description
On September 24, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from camp in Springfield, Missouri to his sister. Stowell says he has been at home on furlough and that the family is "tolerably well." He reports that there is great excitement in Kansas about William Quantrill: "he burned Lawrence a week ago last Friday & killed about two hundred (200) citizens[.] The people blame Gens. Schofield & Ewing for letting them into Kansas."
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 24, 1863
From Abishai Stowell to "Distant But Not Forgotten Sister"
Title
From Abishai Stowell to "Distant But Not Forgotten Sister"
Description
On January 8, 1863, Abishai Stowell writes from Elm Springs, Arkansas, to his sister. Stowell reports that he has been in "4 fights:" Maysville, Indian Territory on October 22; Boonsboro, Arkansas on November 28; Prairie Grove, Arkansas on December 7; and Dripping Springs, Arkansas on December 28, which he describes in some detail. Stowell tells his sister not to worry about him, explaining, "I am on the right side as our recent victories will show for. I have never been hit although I have been in the thickest of the fight & have had my clothes cut by bullets."
Object Type
Letter
Date
January 8, 1863
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Title
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description
On April 22, 1865, Abishai Stowell writes from Lewisburg, Arkansas to his sister. Stowell, a member of Co. B, 2nd Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, reports that "the prospect is good for me to go home in a few days for the war is just about ended." He says the assassination of President Lincoln "has caused a great deal of excitement here[,] the Union people feel the loss to be one that can never be repaid while the Secesh are overjoyed with the news."
Object Type
Letter
Date
April 22, 1865
From Fred L. Haywood to Dear Sister Loesa
Title
From Fred L. Haywood to Dear Sister Loesa
Description
This letter, dated April 6, 1863, is from Fred L. Haywood, a soldier in the 1st Minnesota Battery, McArthur’s Division, Army of the Tennessee, to his sister Loesa. He writes from Louisiana, where both his regiment and the 1st Kansas Regiment are camped. He tells his sister that the 1st Kansas Regiment recently discovered, upon the death of one of their sergeants, that the sergeant was a woman: “You can imagine their astonishment . . . She was brave as a Lion in battle . . . She would have been promoted to a Lieutenancy in a few days if she had lived.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
April 6, 1863
From Lizzie P. Huntoon to A.J. Huntoon
Title
From Lizzie P. Huntoon to A.J. Huntoon
Description
On July 28 and 29, 1861, Lizzie P. Huntoon writes from Walpole, New Hampshire to her husband A.J. Huntoon. On July 28, Lizzie begs A.J. not to join the army, urging him to hire someone to go in his place even “if it takes all we have.” After receiving a letter from A.J. on July 29, in which he states he has joined the army, she writes of her “hard feelings” toward him for this action.
Object Type
Letter
Date
July 28, 1861-July 29, 1861
From John Brown, Jr. to My Dear Friend
Title
From John Brown, Jr. to My Dear Friend
Description
This letter, dated July 18, 1862, is from John Brown, Jr., a former member of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his friend Parker Pillsbury. Last winter, Brown writes, he and his regiment helped to free more than 2,000 slaves. Now, he says, the commander of the regiment, Lieut. Col. Daniel R. Anthony, is under arrest. Brown includes a copy of a letter he received from another friend, Arthur T. Reeve, concerning Brig. Gen. Mitchell's arrest of Anthony. Brown writes: “His arrest for such a cause is in the estimation of every true man a greater honor than to have won a battle.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
June 26, 1862-July 18, 1862
From Sara Robinson to "My Dear Martha"
Title
From Sara Robinson to "My Dear Martha"
Description
This letter, dated October 19, 1862, is from Sara Robinson in Topeka, Kansas to Martha. Sara reports that her husband, Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson, went to Altoona, Pennsylvania to meet "the Governors," but by the time he arrived they had already gone to Washington, D.C. Charles "had no wish to see the Sec. of War or the President, both of whom have treated him & the young state of Kansas so villainously & did not follow them." Sara states that when Charles returned, he went to St. Louis to see Gen. Curtis.
Object Type
Letter
Date
October 19, 1862
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Title
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description
On March 26, 1862, Abishai Stowell writes from Springfield, Missouri to his sister, Margaret. Stowell, a member of Co. A, 2nd Regt., Kansas Volunteers, says that he recently went home and reports that their family was mostly in good health. Stowell asks his sister to write to Jim "and try to persuade him to go home…if he will only stay at home till this war is ended."
Object Type
Letter
Date
March 26, 1862
From Emma Adair to Florella Brown Adair
Title
From Emma Adair to Florella Brown Adair
Description
On May 10, 11, and 21, 1862, Emma Adair writes from Oberlin, Ohio, to her mother Florella Brown Adair. Emma writes that her school term ends on May 27, and that she believes there will be a place for her next term. She says that a report came by telegram “that Richmond was taken, but there was not much confidence put in it.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
May 10, 1862-May 21, 1862
From Charles T. Gilman to Albert G. Boone
Title
From Charles T. Gilman to Albert G. Boone
Description
In this letter, dated September 16 and 17, 1856, Charles T. Gilman informs Col. Albert G. Boone that 20 abolitionists recently launched an attack on the proslavery citizens living near Council Grove, Kansas. Gilman states that the attackers stole horses and mules, wounded a woman, and threatened to burn down houses and force the proslavery men out of Kansas. They also claimed that they would return in four days with 400 men; Gilman tells Boone that the people of Council Grove have been awaiting their arrival and have plenty of arms and ammunition to defend themselves.
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 16, 1856-September 17, 1856
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Title
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description
This letter was written on February 17, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella says she is sorry if Samuel’s feelings are hurt by her letters, but says that she intended no wrong and has tried to do right by her family and herself by staying in Ohio for the winter. She plans to go south to Xenia, Ohio with Charles in March, and adds that although Ada wants to see her father, she “does not care about going back to Kansas.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
February 17, 1861
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
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
From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
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
From James Montgomery to George L. Stearns
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
From Samuel Lyle Adair to Charles Adair and Ada Adair
Title
From Samuel Lyle Adair to Charles Adair and Ada Adair
Description
This letter was written on October 19, 1860 by Samuel Lyle Adair in Osawatomie, Kansas, to his son Charles and daughter Ada. Samuel warns that as Charles starts school in Ohio, “you will doubtless find many things to try your feelings in consequence of not having had better opportunities in times past.” Samuel reports on activities in Osawatomie, including two meetings to address the town’s shortage of bread for the winter, which he did not attend. "Money is growing scarcer all the time, and nothing but money will bring bread," he writes.
Object Type
Letter
Date
October 19, 1860
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Title
From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
Description
On May 19, 1862, Abishai Stowell writes from Fort Riley, Kansas, to his sister. Stowell reports that the entire New Mexico Brigade, except his own regiment, was ordered back to Leavenworth, Kansas. He says that Co. A and D of his regiment will soon move to Fort Union in New Mexico to guard a train, while the rest of the regiment will continue to guard Fort Riley. Stowell states that it is unlikely he will visit home again before he is discharged because he will be so far away.
Object Type
Letter
Date
May 19, 1862
From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Title
From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description
This letter, dated December 21, 1863, is from Joseph H. Trego, a lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his wife Alice. He informs Alice that his regiment has just arrived at Fort Smith, Arkansas and that they have settled into warm and comfortable quarters. He jokes about “flirting around with the secesh ladies” and says it is possible he will be home by Christmas.
Object Type
Letter
Date
December 21, 1863

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