Civil War

Title: Roger Brook Taney
Description: Portrait of Roger Brooke Taney, Chief Justice of the United States from 1836-1864. Taney is most remembered for his majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandrord case, which ruled that African-Americans, whether free or slave, could never be considered citizens of the United States and that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in any federal territories.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Examination of Jasper Thomas
Description: This is Jasper Thomas's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Thomas, a 21-year-old native of Mercer County, Missouri, states that he served in the Federal army during the war. He also says that he "felt sad" upon hearing of the Federal defeat at Bull Run in 1861. The oath is No. 194 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Description: Stereograph of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from 1867. Fort Leavenworth was originally established in 1827 to provide protection along the Santa Fe Trail. During the Civil War, Fort Leavenworth served as a training station for Kansas volunteers, and in 1864 the fort's garrison prepared for a possible attack by Major General Sterling Price on his Missouri Expedition. At an age of more than 180 years, Fort Leavenworth is the oldest post west of Washington, D.C. that remains in continuous operation.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1867

Title: Independence, Missouri
Description: Bird's eye view of the city of Independence, Jackson Co., Missouri 1868.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1868

Title: Examination of Jonathan G. Payne
Description: This is Jonathan G. Payne's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Payne, a 55-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has resided in Missouri for 6 years, and manifested his loyalty during the war by staying at home and attending to his own business. As an invalid, he was "unable to bear arms." The oath is No. 190 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Abishai Stowell to Margaret Torrence
Description: On October 14, 1864, Abishai Stowell writes from Fort Smith, Arkansas to his sister Margaret. Stowell, a member of Co. A, 2nd Kansas Volunteers, tells Margaret that her recent letter "was the third letter that I have got for over 8 months and I have written at least forty since that time." He adds that he hastens to answer her letter, "for soldiers don't know at what hour they may be called on to leave camp or how long they will have to stay away."
Date: October 14, 1864

Title: William Clarke Quantrill
Description: Portrait of William Clarke Quantrill from the book "Quantrill and the Border Wars" by William Elsey Connelley (1st Ed., 1909).
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Clifton Searcy
Description: This is Clifton Searcy's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Searcy describes himself as a 41-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that during the Civil War, he sympathized "especially with those who suffered." He admits that he does not know if he truly remained loyal to the United States Government during the war. The oath, labeled No. 74 in a bound volume, was signed by Searcy in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley
Description: Two black-and-white portraits—displayed in a single wooden frame—depict Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley in military uniform. The men’s birth and death dates are listed: William lived from 1842-1863 and Channing from 1844-1863. A note indicates that both men served under Confederate General Joseph Shelby; William was a color bearer.
Object Type: Image

Title: Old Sacramento
Description: Photograph of Mexican-American War cannon, nicknamed "Old Sacramento," that was captured by Free-State forces at the attack on Franklin, Kansas. On August 12, 1856, Free-Staters attacked Franklin, Kansas, and six proslavery settlers were killed. The attackers captured "Old Sacramento," the name given to a cannon used by Missourians in the Mexican-American War. The attack was a success in part because the Free-Staters managed to roll a wagon of hay up to the front of a building holding proslavery men, where they ignited the hay and threatened the building.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On June 15, 1863, John Bushnell writes from Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh. John references an incendiary “peace meeting” in New York (possibly the June 3 “Peace Convention”), likening it to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. He fears that war may soon permeate “every state in the Union.” John mentions a friend who has seen “every battle fought by General Price since the Lexington fight,” and is now awaiting exchange as a military prisoner.
Date: June 15, 1863

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Beloved Wife and Boy
Description: This letter, dated September 15, 1861, is from A.J. Huntoon to his wife Lizzie and son Prentice. He writes from Mapleton, Bourbon County, Kansas, where he is assisting at a military hospital for General Lane’s Brigade. He reports that his regiment, the 5th Kansas Cavalry volunteers, recently arrived at Mapleton from Fort Lincoln along with Wier’s, Montgomery’s, and Jennison’s regiments. He expresses a desire to return to the battlefield, saying that “it is impossible to lay idle . . . when treason shows its dragon head in every settlement.”
Date: September 15, 1861

Title: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg
Description: Black and white photograph of President Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
Object Type: Image
Date: November 19, 1863

Title: Examination of James Carson
Description: This is James Carson's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Carson describes himself as a 70-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that during the Civil War he "stayed at home." The oath, labeled No. 124 in a bound volume, was signed by Carson in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Charles Sumner to My Dear Hale
Description: Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner writes a letter from Washington to "My dear Hale" on March 1, 1856. Sumner criticizes Stephen A. Douglas, Lewis Cass, and the Know Nothing Party, and worries that "this Congress will do nothing for the benefit of Kansas." He expresses concern that Kansas will not be admitted to the Union due to its small population and the lack of support for its constitution.
Date: March 1, 1856

Title: Charleston, South Carolina. Ruins of Secession Hall
Description: Photograph of the remains of Secession Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, where delegates voted to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860.
Object Type: Image
Date: April, 1865

Title: From George Lewis to Mrs. Fitch
Description: George Lewis of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter to Mrs. Fitch (Edward Fitch’s mother) in Massachusetts on January 14, 1857. He thanks her for donating clothing to his family and to other poor emigrants in Kansas. He tells her that a band of proslavery men robbed him and burned down his house, leaving him living in a tent with his wife and six children. Despite his struggles, Lewis, a Welsh immigrant, expresses hope about the future of Kansas: “It must be made a Free State. It shall be a Free State.”
Date: January 14, 1857

Title: From Edward Bates to James L. McDowell
Description: This letter, dated July 23, 1861, was written by U.S. Attorney General Edward Bates to James L. McDowell, U.S. Marshal in Kansas. Bates replies to McDowell’s request for advice about enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law, declaring that no government official can choose to enforce the laws he likes and ignore those he dislikes. Bates adds that the recent “insurrectionary disorder” in Missouri does not alter its legal status as a member of the Union.
Date: July 23, 1861

Title: The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Description: Mountain Meadows Massacre courtesy of T.B.H. Stenhouse's The Rocky Mountain Saints: a Full and Complete History of the Mormons, from the First Vision of Joseph Smith to the Last Courtship of Brigham Young. The Mountain Meadows Massacre, which occurred September 7-11, 1857, was one notable event in the turbulent period known as the Mormon or Utah War.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1873

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. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

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

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