Civil War

Title: Thomas Ewing
Description: Black and white portrait of Thomas Ewing, Jr., Union Army general in command of the District of the Border during the Civil War. In addition to commanding Union forces in several notable battles, Ewing was responsible for issuing General Order No. 11, which expelled southern sympathizers from four Missouri counties in an effort to suppress bushwhackers in the region.
Object Type: Image

Title: Special Orders, No. 81
Description: This Special Order No. 81 was issued December 16, 1862 by Major General Curtis at the headquarters of the Department of the Missouri in St. Louis, Missouri. The order states that Col. O. Guitar, 9th Cavalry M.S.M. “will proceed without delay to St. Joseph, MO and temporarily relieve Brig. Genl. W.P. Hall…in command of the District of Northwestern Missouri.” C.H. Dyer adds that transportation has been arranged from St. Louis to St. Joseph, Missouri.
Date: December 16, 1862

Title: Examination of A.S. Davidson
Description: This is A.S. Davidson's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Davidson, a 48-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States during the Civil War "by obeying the laws." The oath, labeled No. 79 in a bound volume, was signed by Davidson in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: 13th Amendment Print
Description: Commemorative print of the congressional resolution for the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1868

Title: Examination of Jesse E. Bryant
Description: This is Jesse E. Bryant's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bryant, a 57-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by counseling others "not to go into Rebellion." The oath, labeled No. 89 in a bound volume, was signed by Bryant on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: Examination of Henry Hensen
Description: This is Henry Hensen's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Hensen, a 59-year-old native of Germany, states that he has lived in Missouri for 27 years and currently resides in Clay County, Missouri. The oath is No. 193 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: General Orders, No. 38
Description: Brig. Gen. James Totten and Maj. Lucien J. Barnes of the Missouri State Militia issued General Order No. 38 on September 1, 1862 in Springfield, Missouri. The order quotes sections of a document issued by the War Department in Washington, D.C. on August 15, 1862, which declares that the U.S. government has the right to seize private property for the use of soldiers and to issue the death penalty for "pillage and plundering."
Date: September 1, 1862

Title: Map Showing the Lands Assigned to Emigrant Indians West of Arkansas and Missouri
Description: This 1836 black-and-white map depicts the lands assigned to emigrant Indians west of Arkansas and Missouri. The map was printed by Bowen and Co. Lithographers of Philadelphia.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1836

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written on August 19, 1860 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella describes her journey to Grafton via boat and train with her son Charles and daughter Ada. She says there will soon be a great gathering in Oberlin but expresses reluctance to attend: “I have been so long away from such refined & stilish society that I feel a shrinking from it. Marian thinks I have grown old very fast.”
Date: August 19, 1860

Title: From J.T. Brown to Mrs. Martha Peak
Description: This letter, dated October 7, 1861, was written by J.T. Brown to Mrs. Martha Peak. “In view of the troubles of the Country and the Danger that some suppose Negro Property to be in,” J.T. reluctantly agrees to let Mrs. Peak borrow his slave for the rest of the year, provided she pays him for the “trouble and sacrifice I will have to make.”
Date: October 7, 1861

Title: Joseph O. Shelby
Description: Black and white portrait of Joseph Orville Shelby seated with open coat.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of F.H. Roll
Description: This is F.H. Roll's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Roll, a 44-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 37 in a bound volume, was signed by Roll in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Report of Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs
Description: This report, dated September 27, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs. Tebbs informs Geary that he went to Ozawkie, Kansas and arrested eight men who had outstanding warrants issued by Judge Samuel Lecompte. Tebbs states that he heard a rumor that the day after the Battle of Hickory Point, Gen. Lane read Geary’s proclamation ordering all troops to disperse. According to the rumor, Lane then dispersed his troops and left the area.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 27, 1856

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On May 7, 1865 John A. Bushnell writes from Sedalia, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh in Calhoun, Missouri. John observes that Sedalia’s economy is improving, probably due to the war's end. He adds, “I do hope our good Henry County folks will follow the example and use money and labor too for the benefit of the country and cease using their tongues and harsh threats.”
Date: May 7, 1865

Title: Frederick W. Emery
Description: This sepia carte de visite depicts Frederick W. Emery, 1st Lieut. and Adjt. of the Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The photograph, ca. 1861-1865, was produced by Armstead & White of Corinth, Mississippi.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Alice Trego to Joseph H. Trego
Description: This letter, dated September 22, 1862, is from Alice Trego in Mound City, Kansas to her husband Joseph. She reports on the movements of Kansas military units and informs Joseph that Gen. James Lane was authorized to raise four regiments of black soldiers. Alice also mentions that there has been a picket guard of citizens in her neighborhood ever since the Sacking of Olathe. She laments, “Oh! how I wish the war was over, and slavery abolished.”
Date: September 22, 1862

Title: Military Orders of the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment
Description: These documents include a series of military orders and correspondence of the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment written at Camp Helena, Arkansas on August 22 and 28 and September 16, 1862. General Order No. 43 and Special Orders No. 44, 46, and 49, issued by Lieut. Col. W.A. Jenkins and Maj. Sam Walker, concern court martials and an inventory of property belonging to a deceased captain. Additional correspondence concerns the summoning of witnesses to a military trial.
Date: August 22, 1862 and August 28, 1862 and September 16, 1862

Title: From J.M. and H.R. Waugh to A.J. Huntoon
Description: This letter was sent by J.M. and H.R. Waugh in Norwalk, to A.J. Huntoon in Williamsport, Kansas on July 21, 1861. J.M. expresses sympathy for the citizens of Missouri, and says he wants “to hear that the D—ned Mo. rebels ar ‘cleaned out’ with terrible loss of life and property in every engagement.” The Waughs are unsure if they will move back to Kansas, although they enjoyed their time there, “where a fellow can have a farm to live on and a home to go to without paying an enormous rent.”
Date: July 21, 1861

Title: From Charles Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: This letter was written on October 14 and 17, 1860 by Charles Adair in Hudson, Ohio, to his father Samuel Lyle Adair. Charles reports that he has started school, which he is “very well pleased with.” He says that his mother, Florella Brown Adair, has been away for the past week visiting cousins near Ashtabula, Ohio.
Date: October 14, 1860 and October 17, 1860

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Mrs. Brown
Description: This letter, dated January 11, 1862, is from Leigh R. Webber in Lexington, Missouri to Mrs. Brown. Webber reports that his regiment has been marching in rough weather since January, and the long march "has used up our men pretty badly," leaving many men ill. He adds that life in his undisciplined regiment, with its drunkenness, rioting, and stealing, "is a perfect hell to me." The letter is written on stationery featuring an eagle and the caption "Union Forever."
Date: January 11, 1862

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

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