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Title: Court Martial Proceedings Against Capt. John E. Stewart
Description: This document details the court martial proceedings at Kansas City, Missouri against Capt. John E. Stewart, Co. C, 9th Kansas Volunteers on November 18, 1863. Stewart is accused of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a Gentleman” by misrepresenting himself as a Missouri citizen to Kansas City election officials on November 5, 1863. Stewart pleaded not guilty and was acquitted. On the last page of the document, General Ewing writes a response in which he asks the court to reconsider the verdict.
Date: November 18, 1863

Title: From Sarah Fitch to My Dear Father and Mother
Description: 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.
Date: September 2, 1863

Title: From Z.M. Hadly to Edmund G. Ross
Description: This 1864 telegram was sent by Capt. Z.M. Hadly in Kansas City, Missouri, to Capt. Edmund G. Ross in Lawrence, Kansas. Hadly states that between 150 and 200 guerrillas crossed into Kansas the previous night, heading in the direction of Olathe, Kansas. Hadly reports that 350 cavalry were immediately dispatched from Kansas City to Olathe.
Object Type: Telegram
Date: 1864

Title: From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
Description: 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."
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 24, 1863

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown
Description: This letter, dated March 8, 1862, is from Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown. Webber describes marching with his regiment from Kansas City, Missouri to Fort Scott, Kansas, and shares concerns about an upcoming march to Fort Smith, Kansas.
Date: March 8, 1862

Title: From Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Description: 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.
Date: August 24, 1863-August 27, 1863

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: 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: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter on August 25, 1856 to his parents, who live in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Edward argues that Hopkinton, his hometown, should pay him for his contributions to the Free State cause in Kansas. He adds that a lot of his neighbors also need financial help and don’t have enough food or clothing. He writes that he recently attended the funeral of Captain Shombre, who was fatally wounded at the Battle of Fort Titus, and mentions that Major David S. Hoyt was killed the same week in an attack at Washington Creek.
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 25, 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: 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 Cyrus Leland, Jr. to Dear Mother
Description: 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.
Date: September 2, 1863

Title: From Julia Mariata to Unknown
Description: In this October 5, 1856 letter, Julia Mariata describes the arrest and capture of her brother-in-law, H. Miles Moore. On October 2, Mariata says, she and Moore left Lawrence, Kansas and stopped at the American Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, where Moore was arrested and taken away by a group of men. A Mr. King told Mariata that Moore was arrested because he had served as Adjutant General under Gen. Lane, and that “he was considered guilty of High Treason!”
Date: October 5, 1856

Title: From F.L. Pilla to Dear Brother
Description: 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."
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 21, 1863

Title: From John Brown to Orson Day
Description: This letter, dated February 21, 1856, is from John Brown at his homestead in Osawatomie, Kansas to Orson Day in White Hall, New York. Brown states that he and his family will be ready for Day's arrival in early April. He gives Day instructions and advice on travelling through Kansas City and Westport, Missouri, and assures him that "The Contractors on the route from here to Westport are good Free State men; & Friends."
Object Type: Letter
Date: February 21, 1856

Title: Muster Rolls of Kansas Volunteer Regiments
Description: These muster rolls from 1861 and 1862 list the names, ranks, and enrollment dates of soldiers in companies from the 4th and 10th Kansas Volunteer Regiments. They also list the names of soldiers who deserted their regiments or were discharged, transferred, or deceased. The companies were commanded by Capt. James M. Harvey, Capt. James H. Harris, Col. William Weir, and Col. William Cloud.
Date: 1861-1862

Title: Map Showing the Progress of the Public Surveys in the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska
Description: This black-and-white map, signed by J. Calhoun, Surveyor General, was issued by the Surveyor General’s office in Lecompton, Kansas Territory in October 1857. The map shows the progress of the public surveys in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and was produced to accompany the Surveyor General’s 1857 annual report.
Date: October 1857

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

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