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Title: From John W. Clem to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on August 18, 1859 by John W. Clem in Butler, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Clem, the Sheriff of Bates County, Missouri, reports that James Montgomery and his Jayhawkers have laid siege to Paris, Kansas; they soon intend to cross over into Missouri to free William Wright (alias Pickles), a prisoner being held there for murder and robbery. Clem states that if the Jayhawkers enter Bates County, “I will then call out the entire militia force for defense.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 18, 1859

Title: Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri
Description: The Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri was printed in 1861 by W.G. Cheeney in Jefferson City, Missouri. It includes petitions and letters to Gov. Robert M. Stewart about the guerrilla attacks on Missouri led by James Montgomery and Charles Jennison. The appendix also includes Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost’s report on the South-West Expedition, affidavits relating to Jennison’s murder of Russell Hindes, and proceedings from the Southern Kansas Convention.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1861

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated June 4 and 5, 1858, is from Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons reports that he will ask a former Kansas resident named Hamilton to submit a statement about the crimes of James Montgomery and his followers. Parsons relays a rumor that 100-200 Kansas citizens who have sought refuge in Missouri plan to return to Kansas and seek revenge on Montgomery. He also reports a recent attack on Butler County, Missouri, and informs Stewart that Col. Blakey is organizing a volunteer company of Missouri citizens.
Date: June 4, 1858-June 5, 1858

Title: From James S. Hackney to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on June 11, 1858 by James S. Hackney at “Noland House” in Independence, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Hackney reports that Col. Blakely and Gen. Parsons are in the process of organizing several military companies in Cass and Vernon Counties in Missouri. According to Hackney, Col. Blakely has “seen over 100 men who have been driven from the Territory by Montgomery’s band. He says ‘I’ll tell you times are hot down here—the people are boiling over with rage.’”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 11, 1858

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated December 2, 1860, is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons relays a rumor that James Montgomery has publicly stated his intention to drive his enemies out of Kansas Territory. Parsons also reports that several men from Kansas passed through Bates County, Missouri that morning and told residents about Montgomery’s attacks. “The excitement here is on the increase,” Parsons states, and he informs Stewart that “we have plenty of troops already on their way to the border.”
Date: December 2, 1860

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