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Title: From James H. Lane to Charles A. Foster
Description: This note, dated December 5, 1855, was sent by James H. Lane in Lawrence, Kansas, to Charles A. Foster. The note reads: “We want every true Free State man in Kansas at Lawrence immediately,” probably referring to the conflict known as the Wakarusa War.
Date: December 5, 1855

Title: Excerpt from John Deering's Diary
Description: This excerpt from John Deering’s diary was written between January 5 and June 7, 1858. Deering, who arrived in Kansas Territory from Maine in March 1857, describes daily life in Douglas County, Kansas. Deering records his purchase of a new claim after his own was “taken by Indians,” and his efforts to build a shop in Prairie City, Kansas. On February 27, Deering writes that he attended an election to nominate delegates for the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. On April 23, he notes that he heard Jim Lane and others speak about the constitution.
Object Type: Diary
Date: January 5, 1858-June 7, 1858

Title: The Kansas Herald of Freedom
Description: An 1859 issue of the Herald of Freedom. The Herald of Freedom, a prominent Free-State newspaper, was first published in Lawrence, Kansas on October 21, 1854. The press was destroyed in the May 1856 Sacking of Lawrence, but it returned to print in November 1856.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: March 26, 1859

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This unsigned December 12, 1855 letter, presumably from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts, announces the peaceful end to the Wakarusa War. Fitch declares that “we have gained a complete victory without bloodshed,” and that Governor Shannon has “come round on to our side.” He tells them that he has been discharged from military service, and proclaims, “Peace, Peace! and it was Peace.”
Date: December 12, 1855

Title: From B. Hoonsley to George R. Smith
Description: On December 11, 1855, B. Hoonsley writes from Big Creek to Gen. George R. Smith. Hoonsley says that "all is confusion here," and reports a rumor that there is still fighting in Lawrence, Kansas, although "it may all be false." He adds that the destruction of Lawrence was predicted months ago by several men. Hoonsley informs Smith that he and two other men are "marked objects" and suggests that "the legislation ought to take immediate…action."
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 11, 1855

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown
Description: On August 30 and 31, 1862, Leigh R. Webber writes from Gibson County, Tennessee to Miss Brown. Webber says there are rumors that his regiment may go back to Kansas, but he hopes not. He writes that some of his fellow soldiers say "they had rather go to hell than to Lawrence and that it is the meanest place they were ever in, full of damned Abolitionists." Webber also offers his opinion that "guerrillas infest the country just in proportion, as the great rebel armies...are successful."
Date: August 30, 1862 - August 31, 1862

Title: Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence
Description: 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.
Object Type: Image
Date: September 5, 1863

Title: From S.P. Higgins to John W. Geary
Description: Lieut. S.P. Higgins writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 23, 1856. He informs Geary that 31 prisoners in his custody escaped the previous night through holes in the prison walls. He says that he suspected the prisoners were headed for Topeka, so he travelled there, but did not find them. He now suspects that they might have gone to Lawrence, and assures Geary that he will update him when he receives new information.
Date: November 23, 1856

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 Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts on February 24, 1856. He says that the Free State Legislature plans to meet next month in Topeka, and that President Pierce has proclaimed them traitors. Fitch predicts that the Missourians will attack Kansas, “but if they try it we shall have a bloody time out here.” He finishes the letter on March 9 and tells his parents that the Legislature met in Topeka, and that no violence occurred.
Date: February 24, 1856-March 9, 1856

Title: From James Griffing to Augusta
Description: This July 9, 1855 letter was written by James Griffing at Ottawa Creek, Kansas, to Augusta. James writes that he is “travelling the rounds of another preacher’s circuit,” currently staying with an Ottawa Indian named “Jones” (possibly “Ottawa Jones”). James criticizes the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Bogus Legislature, and describes an inspiring speech given by Charles Robinson in Lawrence, Kansas on Independence Day.
Date: July 9, 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: 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: 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 Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
Description: Edward Fitch writes a July 26, 1855 letter from aboard a steamboat on Lake Erie. He tells friends in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts that he is en route from Boston to Osawatomie, Kansas. He describes the other members of his travelling party, a group of nineteen emigrants he is taking to Kansas for the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 26, 1855

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 Durland & Company in Lawrence, Kansas. 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: Petition of F.G. Adams
Description: This petition, dated September 13, 1856, was sent to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary by F.G. Adams and five other citizens of Leavenworth, Kansas. The petitioners, writing from Lawrence, Kansas, state that Leavenworth is “infested by armed bands of men” who robbed them of their property and drove them away from their homes and families. The petitioners seek military protection from Geary to ensure a safe return to Leavenworth.
Object Type: Petition
Date: September 13, 1856

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Dear Lizzie
Description: A.J. Huntoon writes a letter from Williamsport in Shawnee County, Kansas to his wife Lizzie, announcing that the country is “in a state of great political excitement” following the seizure of Fort Sumter. The letter, dated April 19, 21, and 22, 1861, states that Confederate supporters tried to raise a Palmetto flag in St. Joseph, Missouri, but Union supporters stopped them. Huntoon informs his wife that militia companies are organizing in Kansas, and he asks her if she objects to him becoming an assistant surgeon for the army. He also relays the news that Gen. Lane has been placed in command of 1,000 men in Washington.
Date: April 19, 1861-April 22, 1861

Title: Edward Payson Fitch, Jr.
Description: 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.
Object Type: Image

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

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