Civil War

Title: Free State Convention!
Description: Invitation to the Free State Convention in Big Springs, Kansas. On September 5-6, 1855, approximately 100 delegates gathered at Big Springs, Kansas, along the California Road in Douglas County, to form the Free-State Party. The party supported the entry of Kansas into the Union as a free state, but it did not necessarily espouse abolition of slavery in the South, a position commonly considered to be radical in both the North and the South.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1855

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This letter, dated September 21, 1856, is from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts. He tells them that he and his army regiment marched to Franklin the previous week in an attempt to defend the town from Border Ruffians. The Ruffians rode into town, burned several buildings, robbed Fitch of everything he owned, and then “dispersed in different directions . . . stealing and murdering as they went.” Fitch mentions his suspicion that Governor Geary is a traitor who has negotiated with the Border Ruffians.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 21, 1856-September 28, 1856

Title: From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
Description: This letter, dated August 24, 1863, is from R.G. Elliott in Lawrence, Kansas to his sister. He informs her that he was taken prisoner during Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, but managed to escape. He states that troops from Kansas City are in pursuit of Quantrill's Raiders, but he does not believe they will catch them. Following the Raid, he writes, "We have been engaged ever since in burying the dead."
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 24, 1863

Title: Examination of Z. Barnes
Description: This is Z. Barnes's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Barnes, a 69-year-old Pennsylvania native, states that he has lived in Missouri since 1845. He says that during the war he was "in sentiment on the Southern side," and was not required by the military authorities to give bond. The oath is No. 256 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From H.M. Clark to R.M. Stewart
Description: This June 2, 1858 letter is from Capt. H.M. Clark in Boonville, Missouri to Missouri Gov. R.M. Stewart. Clark volunteers his company, the Union Riflemen of Cooper County, Missouri, to assist in patrolling the western border to "preserve peace with Kansas." He states that he can offer a force of fifty mounted men, or light infantry, and adds that they need a few additional tents and wagons.
Date: June 2, 1858

Title: From W.W. Thayer to James Montgomery
Description: On April 16, 1861, W.W. Thayer of Boston writes a letter to James Montgomery, encouraging him to mount an insurrection in the South and help liberate the slaves. Thayer argues that an organized slave rebellion could bring a swift end to the war: “a bloody war full of horrors concentrated into a few days or months would be far preferable to one consuming time, money, lives.” He warns Montgomery that the people of the South are brave and that they “will fight to the bitter End.” A note from R.J. Hinton at the bottom of the letter states that James Lane was recently put in command of 1,000 troops in Washington.
Date: April 16, 1861

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father and All
Description: On October 30, 1854, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to “Dear Father and all.” Starr describes the hostile atmosphere in Weston: “for 2 years I have lived in this community, and because I was born in the north, have been belied, opposed & persecuted…I have been stigmatized as an abolitionist, & everything done to drive me from the country that could be done.” Starr also writes about attending a meeting of the Self Defensive Association of Platte County, Missouri, to give his opinions on slavery and answer charges of abolitionism.
Date: October 30, 1854

Title: African Methodist Episcopal Church, Nicodemus, KS
Description: View of the east front of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Adams & Third Streets, Nicodemus, Graham County, KS
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Unidentified Man
Description: Charcoal portrait of unidentified man with suit coat, shirt, and tie. Drawing is signed by the artist with "93" immediately below the signature.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Examination of L.D. Marr
Description: This is L.D. Marr's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Marr, a native of Kentucky, states that he has lived in Missouri for nine years. He says he traveled to Illinois during the war "and was away a few weeks." The oath is No. 230 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Littleberry Estes
Description: This is Littleberry Estes's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Estes, a 63-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 43 years and opposed "the enemies of the Government" by staying at home and growing produce "to feed the troops to fight the Rebels." The oath is No. 183 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Indictment Against Andrew Reeder et al.
Description: This indictment was issued against Andrew H. Reeder, Charles Robinson, James H. Lane, George W. Brown, George W. Dietzler, George W. Smith, Samuel N. Wood, and Gaius Jenkins for the crime of treason. The indictment, issued October 4, 1856 by the 3rd U.S. District Court of Kansas Territory, accuses Reeder and the others of “unlawfully and traitorously” assembling for the purpose of “overthrowing and subverting by force and violence” the government of Kansas Territory, among other crimes.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 4, 1856

Title: Examination of Thomas G. Leitch
Description: This is Thomas G. Leitch's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Leitch, a 34-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 12 years and served in the militia during the war. The oath is No. 242 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Samuel H. Bryan
Description: This is Samuel H. Bryan's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Bryan, a 24-year-old native of Monroe County, Missouri, states that he served three years in the Federal army during the war. The oath is No. 195 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: The Battle of Boonville, Missouri
Description: Sketch originally appearing in Harper's Weekly of the Battle of Boonville.
Object Type: Image
Date: July 13, 1861

Title: Examination of John G. Price
Description: This is John G. Price's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Price, a 19-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he helped feed Union soldiers during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 88 in a bound volume, was signed by Price on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: Plat of Vernon County, Missouri
Description: Plat of Vernon County, Missouri which includes county seat Nevada, Missouri. The Battle of the Marmaton River, Battle of Dry Wood Creek, the Sacking of Osceola, and the Sacking of Nevada City occured in this county.
Date: 1886

Title: General Alfred Pleasonton, September, 1863
Description: Stereograph print card depicting General Alfred Pleasonton seated in front of a building in Warrenton, Virginia.
Object Type: Image
Date: September, 1863

Title: Examination of Joseph Gossadge
Description: This is Joseph Gossadge's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Gossadge, a 32-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, originally from Tennessee, states that he remained loyal to the United States Government and served in the Missouri State Militia during the Civil War. The oath, No. 10 in a bound volume, was signed by Gossadge in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written between December 20 and 29, 1860 by Florella Brown Adair in Hudson and Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella describes her trip from Hudson to Grafton with her daughter Ada. She states that she has collected $21.00 from friends and relatives to send back to Kansas, and that many people feel a “deep interest in Kansas troubles.” Florella adds that “People here are all awake upon the troubles that threaten our country.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 20, 1860-December 29, 1860

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

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