Civil War

Title: William (Bill) T. Anderson
Description: Charcoal portrait of Bill Anderson in jacket with top button closed, shirt, carvat, and a brimmed hat with a lone star on the upturned brim and embellished with an ostrich plume. Bill Anderson was a chief lieutenant under William C. Quantrill and earned the sobriquet "Bloody Bill." He later was a lieutenant under George Todd. He was part of the Lawrence massacre on August 21, 1863, and responsible for much of the Centralia, Missouri, massacre on September 27, 1864. He was killed October 26, 1864, near Orrick (Ray County), Missouri.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1893

Title: Emancipation Day Celebration
Description: Photograph of former Texas slaves celebrating Juneteenth in the "East Woods" on 24th Street in Austin, Texas, June 19, 1900.
Object Type: Image
Date: June 19, 1900

Title: Thomas Coleman (Cole) Younger
Description: Charcoal portrait of Cole Younger dressed in suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Cole Younger was active in several Civil War battles and a member of Quantrill's guerrillas when they raided Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, and was part of the Baxter Springs massacre, October 6, 1863. After the war, he joined with Frank and Jesse James in several robberies. After the Northfield, Minnesota, bank robbery on September 7, 1876, he was arrested and sent to prison at Stillwater, Minnesota. He was granted a full pardon in 1903. He died March 21, 1916, at Lee's Summit, Missouri, and is buried in the Lee's Summit Cemetery.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written March 11, 16, and 17, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Grafton, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella writes of her recent visit to Oberlin, Ohio, where she spoke to many friends about donating money for their church in Osawatomie, Kansas. At one friend’s home, she was asked to give an account of the Battle of Osawatomie. Florella reports that she will leave for Xenia, Ohio soon with Charles and Ada.
Date: March 11, 1861-March 17, 1861

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: This is an excerpt from a letter written on December 1, 1854 by Frederick Starr to an unknown recipient. Starr describes a recent “outrage on the ballot box” during elections in Kansas, when “Some 1200 or 1400 Missourians armed with bowie-knives & revolvers took the polls.” Starr says that many free-soilers were unable to reach the polls at all, and declares that “Big times are coming.” He adds that circumstances in Weston, Missouri “look dark.”
Date: December 1, 1854

Title: Examination of T.J. Carson
Description: This is T.J. Carson's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Carson, a 34-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "staying at home and attending to my business." The oath, labeled No. 118 in a bound volume, was signed by Carson on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: From R.C. Ewing to George R. Smith
Description: On June 18, 1856, R.C. Ewing writes from Lexington, Missouri to Gen. George R. Smith. Ewing warns Smith that his opinions regarding Kansas "are doing you…damage in Saline, Lafayette, and Jackson" counties in Missouri because "those who control matters here, say they are afraid of the effect of compromising anything on the Slavery question." Ewing predicts that these three counties will oppose Smith's nomination.
Date: June 18, 1856

Title: St. Louis Riot
Description: Illustration of the St. Louis Riot
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Examination of B.B. Petty
Description: This is B.B. Petty's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Petty, a 40-year-old Virginia native, states that he has resided in Missouri for 15 years and was enrolled by the military authorities as "disloyal" in 1862. He declares that he is willing to take the Oath of Loyalty "with the proviso that I did sympathize with my relatives and friends that were engaged in Rebellion." The oath is No. 161 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Lincoln-Douglas Debates Commemorative Stamp
Description: 1958 U.S. postage stamp commemorating the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. Courtesy of the U.S. Government, Post Office Department.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1958

Title: Battle of Osawatomie
Description: In this excerpt of a ca. 1856-1861 document, Orville Chester Brown describes the August 30, 1856 Battle of Osawatomie. In the middle of the night, Brown states, John Reid led his men towards Osawatomie. At dawn they marched into the town armed with bayonets, and the men of the town “flew to arms – whilst the women in their night clothes bearing their children in their arms fled to the woods.” Brown's house was burned down in the battle and his son was taken prisoner.
Object Type: Document

Title: Battle of Wilson's Creek
Description: Kurz & Allison lithograph of the Battle of Wilson's Creek, circa 1893.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of Robert Walker
Description: This is Robert Walker's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Walker describes himself as a 64-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Kentucky. He states that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by "staying at home and attending to my business and advising my boys not to go South." The oath, labeled No. 125 in a bound volume, was signed by Walker in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Albert Lincoln
Description: This is Albert Lincoln's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Lincoln, a 47-year-old Missouri native, states that he served in the Clay County militia during the war. The oath is No. 143 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of James A. Saffoon
Description: This is James A. Saffoon's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Saffoon, a 30-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he demonstrated his loyalty to the United States Government during the Civil War by serving in the militia. The oath, labeled No. 63 in a bound volume, was signed by Safoon in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Examination of Absalom Maib
Description: This is Absalom Maib's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Maib describes himself as a 70-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri who was born in North Carolina. He states that to demonstrate his loyalty during the Civil War, he "stayed at home and attended to my work." The oath, labeled No. 103 in a bound volume, was signed by Maib on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: Free-State Legislative Council, Kansas Territory
Description: Photograph of the Free-State Legislative Council, 1857-1858.
Object Type: Image

Title: Lexington, Missouri
Description: Bird's eye view of the city of Lexington, Lafayette Co., Missouri in 1869.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1869

Title: From J. French Simpson to Whom It May Concern
Description: In this letter, dated September 5, 1865, J. French Simpson of Carrollton, Illinois, testifies to John Ament’s loyalty: “Mr. Ament is a gentleman and Christian, and since he has lived in this county, I have never heard a disloyal sentiment uttered by him.” Simpson notes that Ament is “formerly of this place and more recently of Missouri.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 5, 1865

Title: Affidavit of William C. Childers
Description: This is the affidavit of William C. Childers, dated May 28, 1856. Childers states that John Brown Jr. came to Prairie City, Kansas the previous week with two slaves owned by a Mr. Jones; he believes Brown is guilty of stealing the slaves from their owner. The affidavit is signed by Charles P. Bullock, clerk pro tem of the 2nd U.S. District Court, Kansas Territory.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: May 28, 1856

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

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