Civil War

Title: Examination of Edward McSweeny
Description: This is Edward McSweeny's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. McSweeny, a 37-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Ireland and remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 27 in a bound volume, was signed by McSweeny on September 22, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 22, 1866

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written on April 1, 2, and 8, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Greenfield, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella writes about going on a “calling & begging trip for Kansas” among friends in the area, and how she was disappointed to receive only $3.00 for her efforts. Florella discovered that many people had already given funds for Kansas to Mr. Stephenson, who managed to collect over $300.00 by representing himself as an acquaintance of John Brown.
Date: April 1, 1861-April 8, 1861

Title: Representatives of Kansas, 1868
Description: This legislative panel shows the members of the Kansas House of Representatives for A.D. 1868. In the lower portion of the panels the legislature's names are listed in numeric order. Notable historical figures in this panel include: Everard Bierer, labeled "2"; John B. Bruner, "5"; Thomas H. Butler, "6"; Joel Kishler Goodin, "13"; Joel Grover, second left picture from bottom center; John Guthrie, "15"; John Hamilton, "55"; Richard W. Jenkins, top of left-most column; Charles Ransford Jennison, "22"; William Henry Harrison Kelley, "23"; Vincent J. Lane, "24"; Samuel D. Lecompte, "25"; William Mitchell, "66"; Preston Bierce Plumb, "31"; Philip Rockefeller, "33"; Charles May Sears, second right picture from bottom center; William Hillary Smallwood, "37"; George W. Smith, center; James Donaldson Snoddy, "39"; Thomas Jefferson Vanderslice, "44"; Henry H. Williams, "47"; and John K. Wright, "50".
Object Type: Image
Date: 1868

Title: Battle of Antietam
Description: Thure de Thulstrup's painting of the Battle of Antietam, the deadliest single day of battle in U.S. history.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of George H. Holbert
Description: This is George H. Holbert's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Holbert describes himself as a 42-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He affirms that he cooperated with "the known supporters of the government" during the Civil War and never aided the rebels. The oath, labeled No. 86 in a bound volume, was signed by Holbert on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: Examination of Andrew C. Davidson
Description: This is Andrew C. Davidson's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Davidson, a 45-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 35 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "loyal" in 1862. The oath is No. 216 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Franklin G. Adams
Description: Portrait of Franklin G. Adams, the election judge who presided over the 1858 vote on the Lecompton Constitution, circa 1876-1883.
Object Type: Image

Title: Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans at the Battle of Murfreesboro
Description: Currier & Ives lithograph depicting a romanticized General Rosecrans at the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River), January 2, 1863. Rosecrans gained fame during the Civil War as victor at several Western Theater battles. Rosecrans military career effectively ended, however, following his defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, after which General Grant relieved him of his command.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Thomas J. Kidd
Description: This is Thomas J. Kidd's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Kidd, a 56-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has lived in Missouri since 1849. During the war, he was required to give bond, but "Col. Penick said my case was a light one but that I was an influential man and he would require a light bond for fear I might do something." The oath is No. 219 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Battle of Fredericksburg
Description: Currier & Ives hand-colored lithograph of the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1862

Title: Affidavit of Q. Jernigan
Description: This is the sworn affidavit of Q. Jernigan, dated October 7, 1856 and signed in Douglas County by S.G. Cato, Associate Supreme Court Justice of Kansas Territory. Jernigan claims that in June, a group of armed men seized from him a Sharps rifle and a large Bowie knife, and that these items are now in the possession of Gov. John W. Geary. At the bottom of the page is an order from Cato to the U.S. Marshal of Kansas Territory, commanding him to obtain Jernigan’s stolen items and bring them before Cato “to be dealt with according to law.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 7, 1856

Title: Dred Scott v. Sandford
Description: This is the full text of the decision in the U.S. Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford. Scott, a slave, sued his master for freedom after being taken to live in states where the Missouri Compromise had rendered slavery illegal. On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney handed down a 7-2 ruling that Scott did not have the right to file a federal lawsuit because African Americans “were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: March 6, 1857

Title: John Brown's Sharps Rifle
Description: Photograph of John Brown's personal Sharps rifle, which he carried during his Kansas campaign of 1856.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Examination of Porter Groom
Description: This is Porter Groom's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Groom, a 23-year-old Missouri native, states that he manifested his loyalty during the war by "staying at home and attending to my business." The oath is No. 227 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Gen. W.S. Harney
Description: Portrait of General William S. Harney.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of James M. Moore
Description: This is James M. Moore's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Moore, a 39-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. 129 in a bound volume, was signed by Moore in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on February 20, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair. Florella says that the citizens of York “held a meeting and raised over $80.00 for Kansas.” Florella adds that there are many misconceptions about sending relief funds to Kansas: “I could have sent two or three hundred dollars to our town, if it had not been for the idea that all must go through the hands of the committee at Atchison.”
Date: February 20, 1861

Title: Examination of James H. Gant
Description: This is James H. Gant's Oath of Loyalty to the United States, signed October 13, 1866. Gant, a 78-year-old North Carolina resident, states that he has resided in Missouri since 1838. He says he "told [Col.] Penick to enroll me as loyal" in 1862, but admits that Penick required him to give bond "against my consent." The oath is No. 164 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 13, 1866

Title: From Sara Robinson to Charles S. Gleed
Description: This letter is from Sara Robinson, abolitionist and wife of Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson, to Charles S. Gleed, a businessman in Topeka. Robinson writes from Lawrence, Kansas on January 7, 1881 and criticizes an "error" in an article Gleed wrote: "[you] connected John Brown's name with the safety of Lawrence. He really never had anything to do with its defense in any way." Attached to the letter is an unsigned document describing Brown's role in the "Invasion of the 2800" on September 14, 1856.
Date: January 7, 1881

Title: From George M. Beebe to Jefferson Davis
Description: George M. Beebe writes a letter from Doniphan County, Kansas to Jefferson Davis on June 9, 1860. Beebe reacts to the news that Davis and A.G. Brown have "indefinitely postponed" his confirmation as Secretary of Kansas Territory. He defends his status as a Democrat, insisting that accusations of his alliance with the Free State Party are false. He claims that he has fought in favor of slavery and remains committed to the cause.
Date: June 9, 1860

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

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