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Title: From James Griffing to My Dear Wife
Description: This letter, dated October 23, 1864, was written by James Griffing in camp at Kansas City, Missouri, to his wife. James provides an account of “a tremendous battle about five miles south of this” (presumably the Battle of Westport), which he heard about via dispatches from the battlefield. James includes an assessment of the Union casualties from regimental surgeon Dr. Hidden: “he thought but few cases would prove fatal.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 23, 1864

Title: From G.C. Bingham to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On June 8, 1863, G.C. Bingham writes from the Treasurer's Office in Jefferson City, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Bingham informs Gamble of his suspicion that Gen. Loan plans to cooperate with Kansas Jayhawkers "in subjecting Lafayette and Johnson Counties to the desolation which has depopulated Jackson and Cass." Bingham predicts that Loan is also plotting to overthrow the Missouri provisional government, and asks Gamble to appoint a "Loyal commander...before the meeting of the Convention."
Object Type: Government Document
Date: June 8, 1863

Title: From Maurice E. Pitcher to Mr. Colgan
Description: On November 6, 1864, Maurice E. Pitcher writes from Independence, Missouri to Mr. Colgan. Pitcher states that he saw Colgan's son Willie on October 21 when he came into Missouri with Gen. Price's army: "he is looking quite well…he had no appearance of being 'one of Price's starved to death, rag-muffins.'" He says that Price's men "had a series of battles from little blue (in this county) until within a few miles of Fort Scott, and you may well imagine they had a series of successes."
Date: November 6, 1864

Title: Proceedings of the Board of Enrollment (6th District Missouri)
Description: This notebook documents the proceedings of the Board of Enrollment for the 6th District of Missouri between July 1863 and April 1865. The journal contains information on meetings held by the Board to appoint Deputy Provost Marshals and Enrolling Officers; enrollment records for individual counties; and requests for exemptions. Entries are signed by John B. Ryland, "Recorder," and Thomas O'Neil, "Recorder of Board."
Date: July 1863-April 1865

Title: Martial Law or Order No. 11
Description: Depiction of Order No. 11, which was issued by Union General Thomas E. Ewing at the District of the Border Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri on August 25, 1863. The order commanded residents of Jackson, Cass, Bates, and northern Vernon counties to leave their homes and move away from the area within fifteen days. Ewing issued the directive four days after Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, in an attempt to suppress guerrilla violence.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1868

Title: From James Griffing to Unknown
Description: This letter, dated January 10, 1854 but presumably written January 10, 1855, was sent by James Griffing in Wyandotte County, Kansas to an unknown recipient. James discusses pioneer life in Kansas Territory, claiming that it is not at all dangerous: “Our society is mostly all from the East, and you feel just as much composed as when in New England.” Although James believes Missourians are more dangerous than the American Indians, he insists “there is no more reason for a person who attends to his own business to be afraid here” than anywhere else.
Date: January 10, 1855

Title: The Western Dispatch.
Description: This is the August 17, 1856 evening issue of the Western Dispatch, printed in Independence, Missouri. The newspaper announces that war is "being waged by the Abolitionists," and reports that James Henry Lane, John Brown, and their forces have robbed several Kansas residents and driven them into Missouri. The paper also mentions that Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon requested aid from the U.S. military, but was refused. A last minute extra, printed at the bottom of the paper, states that Lane and his men have captured Lecompton.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: August 17, 1856

Title: From G.W. Veale to George W. Dietzler
Description: On October 30, 1864, this dispatch was sent by Col. G.W. Veale at Headquarters, 2nd Regiment, Kansas State Militia in Topeka, Kansas, to Maj. Gen. Dietzler, Comm. Kansas State Militia. Veale reports on a recent campaign in which his regiment moved from Topeka to Shawneetown in Johnson County, Kansas, to Jackson County, Missouri, where it fought in the Battle of the Blue on October 22, 1864. Veale states that his regiment lost 44 killed and wounded, with 68 men taken prisoner after fighting “a force six times our number for three quarters of an hour.” The dispatch includes a list of the soldiers killed and wounded in the battle.
Date: October 30, 1864

Title: Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri
Description: This 1864 pamphlet, entitled “Union Men and Their Sufferings in North-Western Missouri,” was written by Major J.M. Bassett, former Provost Marshal-General of the Northwest District of Missouri. Bassett provides a “glance at the history of the Rebellion in Northwest Missouri,” admitting “it may be that my hatred for rebels is too intense, my sympathy for loyal men too strong, to make every sentence I write acceptable to all.” The pamphlet, which features several black-and-white illustrations, was published by the Press of Wynkcop, Hallenbeck, and Thomas in New York, with proceeds from its sale given to The Ladies’ Aid Society of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Date: 1864

Title: From Edward Hoogland to John W. Geary
Description: Edward Hoogland writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 28, 1856. He relays a rumor that a party of ten or eleven men in military uniform unlawfully arrested a criminal named Capt. Holmes and took him across the state line into Jackson County, Missouri. Hoogland asks Geary to investigate the matter and expresses his fear that this “great outrage” might mar the public image of the military and “endanger the peace of the Territory.”
Date: November 28, 1856

Title: Statement of Wilson Shannon
Description: This statement by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon was written ca. December 1855. Shannon describes the series of events leading to the Wakarusa War, beginning with the murder of a Free State supporter named Charles Dow by Franklin Coleman, a proslavery man. To address the subsequent civil unrest in Douglas County, Kansas, Shannon asks General Richardson, General Strickler, and Col. Sumner to supply troops and assist Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones in restoring order.
Object Type: Government Document

Title: Letters Relating to Enlistment in Missouri
Description: This is a bound volume of letters written by Col. E.B. Alexander, Chief Mustering Officer of the 10th United States Infantry. The letters, dated August 23 - October 10, 1864, relate to enrollments, quotas, and enlistments of troops in Missouri.
Date: August 23, 1864 - October 10, 1864

Title: From J.H. Smith to A. Comingo
Description: On March 17, 1864, Assistant Provost Marshal J.H. Smith writes from the Headquarters of the 3rd Sub-District, Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, presumably to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri. Smith states that he is sending a list of "colored recruits" enlisted from Lafayette, Jackson, and Saline Counties since January 1, 1864.
Date: March 17, 1864

Title: Diary of Lewis Timothy Litchfield
Description: This is an excerpt from the diary of Lewis Thomas Litchfield, written between 1854 and 1855. Litchfield writes about leaving Boston and travelling to Kansas with a party from the Emigrant Aid Society. He describes the pioneer camp established near the junction of the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers, voting to name the settlement "Lawrence," and construction of the first building. Litchfield also mentions a burgeoning conflict between the Kansas settlers and the Missourians.
Object Type: Diary
Date: 1854-1855

Title: From P. McClanahan to A. Comingo
Description: On December 17, 1863, P. McClanahan writes from Independence, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri. McClanahan reports that members of the 11th Kansas Volunteers are camped at Sibley, Missouri, "for the purpose of enticing Negroes from Clay Co." He therefore recommends appointing H.W. Rodewald as a recruiting officer to enlist all black men passing through the area: "I have no doubt but Rodewald would bring them all up."
Date: December 17, 1863

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. The carte de visite was produced by S.M. Eby & Son in Kansas City, Missouri. 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: Diary of the Official Activities of the District Provost Marshal (6th District Missouri)
Description: This notebook documents the official activities of A. Comingo, District Provost Marshal, 6th District of Missouri, between July 1863 and April 1865. Included in the journal are records of appointments and meetings attended by Comingo, his daily activities running the office, and a report of vouchers issued and paid for using his "individual funds."
Date: July 1863-April 1865

Title: From Thomas Ewing to A.O. Runyan and Family
Description: This extract of Special Order No. 64 is addressed to A. O. Runyan and his family in Independence, Missouri. The order, issued from Headquarters, District of the Border in Kansas City, Missouri on August 29, 1863, instructs Runyan's family "to remove from this District within ten days," and forbids them from going to reside in Platte, Clay, Ray, or Carroll counties in Missouri. The order is issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing and signed by Maj. Preston B. Plumb, Chief of Staff.
Date: August 29, 1863

Title: From C.F. Smith to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 24, 1863, is from C.F. Smith, Enrolling Officer of the 6th district of Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Smith states that he will complete enrollment within the next few days. He apologizes for the delay and explains that he was injured in an accident while riding his horse.
Date: November 24, 1863

Title: From H.D. Palmer to Isaac Feback
Description: This letter, dated December 20, 1862, was written by H.D. Palmer in Independence, Missouri, to Isaac Feback. Palmer thanks Feback for his kindness, lamenting that he has few friends left who can rise above “political prejudice” as Feback has done. Palmer says he has done everything “to keep down jayhawking & protect my Union friends,” but has been betrayed by those friends and the militia who took his livestock without proper payment. Palmer notes that the oath of allegiance is meaningless unless it offers government protection for those who take it.
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 20, 1862

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

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