Civil War

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: Sentinel Extra: Mass Meeting at Platte City
Description: This September 12, 1863 article from the Platte County Sentinel describes a “mass meeting” held at Platte City, Missouri, on September 7, 1863. According to the article, attendees at the meeting passed several resolutions condemning the recent attacks on Lawrence. Attendees also passed a resolution calling for the immediate emanicpation of all the slaves in Missouri.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: September 12, 1863

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: Frank Shepherd
Description: Charcoal portrait of Frank Shepherd with suit coat, vest, shirt, and tie. Frank Shepherd served under Quantrill and Bill Anderson. He was part of the Lawrence, Kansas, massacre on August 21, 1863. During the Centralia, Missouri, battle on September 27, 1864, he rode on one side of Frank James; Richard Kinney on the other side. Both Kinney and Shepherd were killed, but James escaped unharmed.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Noah Grant to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated November 26, 1860, is from Noah Grant of Canton, Missouri to Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Grant, captain of the Canton Guards, states that he has heard about attacks launched on western Missouri by bands of Kansas abolitionists, and he volunteers the services of his troops: “we are ever Ready to hunt our Enemies.”
Date: November 26, 1860

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 Frederick Starr to Dear Father
Description: On January 15, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr describes attending a meeting of the Platte County, Missouri Self Defensive Association, where he spoke about how a northern man could not be expected to change his opinion of slavery just because he moved to the south. Starr also told the Association’s members that slavery in Missouri, and especially in Platte County, was not representative of the institution as a whole, because “it is here of a milder type than any where else in the nation.”
Date: January 15, 1855

Title: Slave State Population Statistics
Description: This 1852 document lists population statistics for the slave states, including the number of whites, free blacks, slaves, farms, and proportion of slaves to farms. The document shows that Missouri’s population was comprised of 592,077 whites, 2,544 free blacks, and 87,422 slaves. The document also contains statistics on the number of free and slave families in Missouri, indicating that 26,096 families owned slaves.
Object Type: Document
Date: 1852

Title: Examination of Addison P. Evans
Description: This is Addison P. Evans' 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Evans, a native of Kentucky, states that he has lived in Missouri for eight years. He states that he has given bond to the military authorities, and was enrolled as "disloyal but against my will" in 1862. The oath is No. 205 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: This dispatch, dated October 3, 1863, is from Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Alexander gives Comingo instructions for completing payment forms for his deputies and special agents.
Date: October 3, 1863

Title: Application of John T. Doxey
Description: This is John T. Doxey’s application for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slave, Samuel. The application, dated December 7, 1866, includes an oath of allegiance to the United States, a statement that Doxey lawfully inherited his slave, and the signatures of two witnesses and a notary public in Chariton County, Missouri. Attached is a note from November 8, 1864 declaring that Doxey has proven his loyalty to the Union and deserves federal protection. The note is signed by Captain Henry Bucksath of the 35th Regiment of Missouri Militia, Company G.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 8, 1864-December 7, 1866

Title: From George Applegate to James Applegate
Description: This letter, dated March 3, 1865, is from George Applegate in Lisbon, California to his brother James Applegate in Missouri. He discusses life in California, then curses abolitionists: “All the harm I wish them is that they may indure [sic] all the evils their suicidal course is bringing on our once happy land...” He expresses shock and anger that a black attorney was admitted to the United States Supreme Court.
Date: March 3, 1865

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

Error message

In collections

Pages

Pages

Object Type

Local Subject

People

Geographic Subject

Owning Organization