Civil War

Title: Battle of Hickory Point
Description: Painting by Samuel J. Reader depicting the Battle of Hickory Point. On September 13, 1856, James H. Lane led a force of jayhawkers against Hickory Point, a proslavery settlement in Jefferson County, Kansas that had supported an attack against Grasshopper Falls. Lane soon understood that he lacked artillery to attack the log buildings, and he retreated. During the retreat, Missourians pursued Lane's forces and attacked, but the jayhawkers returned fire. After receiving word that Territorial Governor John Geary had ordered a ceasefire, Lane withdrew, but reinforcements from Lawrence under command of Colonel James A. Harvey arrived on September 14, toting the captured cannon "Old Sacramento," and fired on the town. One proslavery man was killed, four others wounded, and several Free-Staters were wounded before a ceasefire was called and the Missourians withdrew from the area. 100 Free-Staters were arrested by U.S. troops, but they were later acquitted for acting in self-defense.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Mortimer Deering
Description: This is Mortimer Deering's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Deering, a 42-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 17 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 200 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Stephen A. Douglas
Description: Black and white portrait of Stephen Douglas, Senator from Illinois and designer of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on February 26 and 27, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella writes that “much excitement prevails here in anticipation of the inauguration of Pres. Lincoln, many fears are expressed in his behalf, there is a good deal of war spirit felt most every where I go, most feel that the time for compromise has passed. I hope we shall not have war but I fear it.”
Date: February 26, 1861-February 27, 1861

Title: Examination of Michael Ryan
Description: This is Michael Ryan's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Ryan, a 44-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War, though he did, at times, call himself a "Southern man." He says that he "did not like it" when the Federal army was defeated at Bull Run and adds, "the more that was killed the less I thought of the thing." His oath, labeled No. 82 in a bound volume, was signed by Ryan in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Assassination of President Lincoln
Description: Joseph Edward Baker painting of John Wilkes Booth fleeing the scene of President Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theater.
Object Type: Image

Title: Robert T. Van Horn
Description: Portrait view of Robert Thompson Van Horn, as an early middle-aged man. Identified as Kansas City Pioneers with name written on back of photograph.
Object Type: Image

Title: Battle of Cold Harbor
Description: Kurz & Allison lithograph of the Battle of Cold Harbor, one of the final battles of the Overland Campaign fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864.
Object Type: Image

Title: Charles Sanders
Description: Charcoal portrait of Charles Sanders (Saunders) in suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Sanders served with Quantrill and was part of the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863. While recuperating at the home of Mrs. Richard Kinney in Jackson County from wounds, Sanders was shot and killed in March 1865 by Captain J. W. Sheets' company of soldiers.
Object Type: Image

Title: Black Jack Battleground in Douglas County, Kansas
Description: Photograph of the site of the Black Jack battlefield near Palmyra in Douglas County, Kansas. On June 2, 1856, abolitionist John Brown and his followers attacked the forces of a proslavery settler, Henry C. Pate in the unofficial first battle of the Civil War (nearly five years prior to the war's beginning). Pate, who held two of Brown's sons captive, exchanged them for 23 prisoners after Brown and his free-state forces won the battle.
Object Type: Image
Date: December, 1888

Title: Examination of Joseph L. Pryor
Description: This is Joseph L. Pryor's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Pryor, a 36-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he served in the militia during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 130 in a bound volume, was signed by Pryor on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: From Samuel Medary to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated April 14, 1859, is from Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Medary responds to Stewart’s April 8 letter stating that Gen. Parsons is patrolling the Kansas-Missouri state line to protect Missourians from guerrilla attacks. Medary expresses surprise and claims no knowledge of guerrilla bands in Kansas. He assures Stewart that he will investigate and that he will cooperate with Stewart’s efforts to preserve peace along the border.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: April 14, 1859

Title: Examination of Philip Fraker
Description: This is Philip Fraker's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Fraker, a 48-year-old native of Ireland, states that he has lived in Missouri for 15 years and served in the militia during the war. He also says he was required by the military authorities to give bond, "but it was under protest. I claimed to be loyal at the time." The oath is No. 173 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Presidents Buchanan and Lincoln Entering the Senate Chamber Before the Inauguration
Description: Harper's Weekly illustration of Abraham Lincoln and James Buchanan prior to Lincoln's inauguration as President.
Object Type: Image
Date: March 16, 1861

Title: Description of Territorial Seal
Description: This is an excerpt from a newspaper article published in January 1855 by the Easton Argus in Easton, Pennsylvania. The article describes the Territorial Seal of Kansas, which was engraved by Robert Lovett of Philadelphia according to the design of Kansas Gov. Andrew Reeder. The article declares that the motto “is a beautiful allusion to the principle on which the Territory was organized, and consists of ‘Populi voce,’ thus translated—Born of the popular will.”
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: January 1855

Title: Examination of William V. Inskeep
Description: This is William V. Inskeep's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Inskeep, a 61-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri since 1845 and manifested his loyalty during the war by staying at home "to take care of three helpless children all the time." He says he left Missouri during the war to take the children "to their friends in Kentucky." The oath is No. 224 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William P. Richardson
Description: This order, dated September 1, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Major General William P. Richardson, Kansas Militia, Northern Division. Woodson reminds Richardson that General Order No. 1, issued August 21, 1856, directed that all peaceable Kansas citizens and their property were to be protected regardless of their political views, and that no houses were to be destroyed unless they were proven to be used as forts or arsenals against the territorial government. Woodson directs Richardson to use the “severest penalties” against soldiers violating the order, and prohibits the burning of dwellings.
Date: September 1, 1856

Title: Examination of John C. Hall
Description: This is John C. Hall's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hall, a 23-year-old Missouri native, states that he served in the militia during the war. He also says that he was enrolled by the military authorities as "disloyal" in 1862 and was required to give bond. The oath is No. 253 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From William Murphy to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 3, 1856, is from William Murphy, mayor of Leavenworth, Kansas, to Gov. John W. Geary. Murphy states that three Leavenworth citizens received letters signed by “Regulators” ordering them to leave Kansas Territory; he tells Geary that he has investigated the incident but cannot determine who sent the letters. Murphy admits to Geary that citizens have complained about his performance as mayor, but he insists that their criticism is not justified. Murphy complains about people who are disloyal to the country and to President Pierce, and he expresses his support of the Democratic Party.
Date: October 3, 1856

Title: From Mary E. Bedford to A.M. Bedford
Description: This letter, dated March 8, 1864, is from Mary E. Bedford to her husband, Lieut. A.M. Bedford, who is at the military hospital in Point Lookout, Maryland. Mary reports that she has just arrived in St. Joseph, Missouri after visiting relatives and friends in Kentucky. She expresses hope that her husband will soon be able to return home. She encourages him to write letters to his relatives, and offers to send him money.
Object Type: Letter
Date: March 8, 1864

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

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