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Title
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From Mary Savage to Jane Simpson
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Description
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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.”
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Object Type
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Letter
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Date
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November 29, 1863
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Title
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From Sarah Fitch to My Dear Father and Mother
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Description
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In an emotional letter dated September 2, 1863, Sarah Fitch informs her husband Edward’s parents that he was killed during Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. She estimates that 250-300 of Quantrill's men arrived in Lawrence on horseback and fired at everyone in sight, leaving bodies “scattered all over town.” She writes that they approached her home, “screaming and yelling like so many demons from the infernal pit,” then shot Edward in the heart and burned down their house. She suspects they targeted her family because her children had been playing "soldier" and had left a Union flag hanging on their woodshed.
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Date
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September 2, 1863
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Title
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From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
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Description
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This letter, dated September 3, 1863, is from Major General John M. Schofield to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney. Schofield thanks Carney for offering the assistance of the Kansas Militia in protecting Lawrence and other border towns from Missouri rebels. Many of Schofield’s troops, he says, have left to fight with the regiments of Generals Grant, Steele, and Blunt. Schofield expresses a desire to avenge Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, and he hopes that the extra troops will be able to “destroy the guerrilla bands which have so long savaged the border.”
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Date
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September 3, 1863
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Title
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From Elizabeth S.C. Earl to Dear Brother
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Description
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This letter, dated September 22, 1863, is from Elizabeth S.C. Earl to her brother. Writing from Lawrence, Kansas, Earl describes Quantrill's Raid. She writes that Quantrill and 300 of his men invaded Lawrence at dawn and travelled from house to house knocking on doors: "when the men opened the door, they would shoot them down, and then rush in, and set fire to the house, threatening death to the women." Earl tells her brother, "You know nothing of the Horrors of this war."
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Date
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September 22, 1863
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Title
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From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
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Description
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This letter, dated August 24, 1863, is from R.G. Elliott in Lawrence, Kansas to his sister. He informs her that he was taken prisoner during Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, but managed to escape. He states that troops from Kansas City are in pursuit of Quantrill's Raiders, but he does not believe they will catch them. Following the Raid, he writes, "We have been engaged ever since in burying the dead."
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Object Type
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Letter
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Date
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August 24, 1863
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Title
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From Leigh R. Webber to Mrs. Brown
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Description
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This letter, dated September 5, 1863 is from Leigh R. Webber in Natchez, Mississippi to Mrs. Brown. Webber claims that in Natchez, "Nearly everybody has protection papers though they are avowed rebels of the deepest dye…It is an unendurable wrong and insult to the Union soldiers and foolish and wicked leniency to traitors for the Government and its generals thus to manage the war." Webber also expresses sadness about Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence: "It exceeds in atrocity our worst fears."
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Date
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September 5, 1863
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Title
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From Abishai Stowell to "Dear Sister"
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Description
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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."
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Object Type
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Letter
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Date
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September 24, 1863
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Title
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Sentinel Extra: Mass Meeting at Platte City
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Description
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This September 12, 1863 article from the Platte County Sentinel describes a “mass meeting” held at Platte City, Missouri, on September 7, 1863. According to the article, attendees at the meeting passed several resolutions condemning the recent attacks on Lawrence. Attendees also passed a resolution calling for the immediate emanicpation of all the slaves in Missouri.
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Object Type
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Newspaper Article
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Date
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September 12, 1863
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Title
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From Elizabeth S.C. Earl to Dear Mother
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Description
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This letter, dated September 22, 1863, is from Elizabeth S.C. Earl in Lawrence, Kansas to her mother. She assures her mother that she is safe and has survived Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence. She adds that "you cannot imagine the distress, and suffering, of our women and children," and states that the Raid left 180 women widows and 200 children orphans. Earl tells her mother that she has taken charge of the City Hotel after the owner was killed and his family went back East.
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Object Type
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Letter
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Date
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September 22, 1863
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Title
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From Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon
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Description
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This letter was written on August 24 and 27, 1863 by Samuel R. Ayres in Moneka, Kansas, to Lyman Langdon. Ayres writes that “along our Missouri border we are subject to almost constant raids from the Bushwhackers over the line who rob our citizens burn their houses and murder prominent men.” Ayres offers a description of Quantrill’s recent raid on Lawrence, Kansas, calling it “an act of barbarity but seldom if ever equaled by the most savage tribes.” Ayres says that he and other local citizens are organizing to defend Mound City, Kansas from guerrilla attacks.
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Date
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August 24, 1863-August 27, 1863
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Title
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Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence
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Description
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This print, originally published in Harper's Weekly on September 5, 1863, shows Quantrill and his rebel guerrillas killing the citizens of Lawrence, Kansas, and setting fire to the buildings.
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Object Type
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Image
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Date
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September 5, 1863
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Title
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Edward Payson Fitch, Jr.
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Description
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This black and white photograph, taken circa 1890, depicts Edward Payson Fitch, Jr., son of Edward and Sarah Fitch. He was born in Lawrence, Kansas in 1863. As a baby, he survived Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, but his family’s house was burned down and his father was killed in the attack.
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Object Type
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Image
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Title
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From William Clarke Quantrill to William W. Scott
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Description
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William Clarke Quantrill writes a letter from Olathe, Kansas to William W. Scott on January 22, 1858. Quantrill reports the results of a recent election on the Lecompton Constitution, which he refers to as the "Lecompton swindle." He mentions a recent skirmish at Fort Scott and declares it "a pity" that the Kansas settlers "had not shot every Missourian that was there." He also calls James Henry Lane "as good a man as we have here" and describes Kansas Democrats as "rascals."
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Date
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January 22, 1858
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Title
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From F.R. Newell to Rev. H.D. Fisher
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Description
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This letter, dated August 30, 1863, was written by F.R. Newell in St. Louis, to Rev. H.D. Fisher. Newell offers sympathy to Fisher and his family in the wake of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, declaring, “God grant that the raid of Lawrence may be for the healing of the nation, even as his tender compassion alone, can bind up the hearts that are broken!" Newell states that he has plenty to do in St. Louis after the recent arrival of "contrabands."
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Date
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August 30, 1863
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Title
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From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
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Description
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This letter, written on the letterhead of Headquarters, Department of the Missouri and dated August 29, 1863, was sent by John M. Schofield in St. Louis to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Topeka, Kansas. Writing in the aftermath of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, Major General Schofield states his hope that President Lincoln will appoint a Court of Inquiry to investigate the raid. Schofield refers to a meeting proposed for September 8, 1863 in Paola, Kansas, in which participants plan to enter Missouri “to recover their stolen property.” Schofield emphasizes the need to preempt this potentially violent meeting.
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Date
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August 29, 1863
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Title
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From Cyrus Leland, Jr. to Dear Mother
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Description
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Cyrus Leland, Jr. writes a letter from Leavenworth, Kansas to his mother in Troy, Kansas on September 2, 1863. He disputes a rumor that Maj. Preston Plumb had displayed cowardice during Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence: “It is all wrong about him. . . I was with him and saw all.” He also mentions that some people are trying to have Gen. Ewing removed from his position.
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Date
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September 2, 1863
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Title
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From John Stillman Brown to John L. Rupur
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Description
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On September 1, 1863, John Stillman Brown writes a letter to John L. Rupur about Quantrill's August 21 Raid on Lawrence. He lists the names of friends who were killed in the raid, and describes watching the bushwhackers from a hill west of Lawrence "as they went to their work of death, burning and plunder." He also mentions seeing "the brave" Gen. James Henry Lane.
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Object Type
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Letter
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Date
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September 1, 1863
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Title
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From F.L. Pilla to Dear Brother
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Description
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F.L. Pilla writes a letter to his brother on September 21, 1863. Pilla writes about Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, explaining that Lawrence is seven miles from his home in Eudora, Kansas. On the day of the Raid, he heard a rumor that Quantrill planned to target Eudora, and readied himself for a possible attack. The following day, he visited Lawrence and found "the best part of the City burned down" and "dead bodies laying around in all directions."
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Object Type
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Letter
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Date
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September 21, 1863
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Title
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From "Neighbors and Friends" to Col. S.W. Eldridge
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Description
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This letter, dated September 1, 1863, was sent to Col. S.W. Eldridge by "your neighbors and friends" from the "Ruins of Lawrence," Kansas. The writers encourage Eldridge to rebuild the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas after its destruction during Quantrill's raid. They promise to aid Eldridge "to the utmost of our ability," and urge him to appeal to "friends of freedom throughout the land" for monetary contributions.
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Date
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September 1, 1863
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Title
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Proclamation in Support of Rebuilding the Free State Hotel
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Description
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This proclamation or editorial, ca. August 1863, laments the destruction of the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, during Quantrill's Raid on the town: "Pro-Slavery violence has once more poured its wrath upon us." The proclamation recommends the "speedy construction" of a new hotel, and its signers declare their intention to contribute $10,000 toward the project.
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Object Type
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Circular
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