Civil War

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: Missouri Militia Request for Recommendations for Enrolling Officers
Description: Missouri Militia Colonel Hosea G. Mullings requests that James J. Akard recommends "competent energetic and reliable men, for Enrolling Officers" in southwestern Missouri.
Date: September 3, 1866

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: Examination of M.L. Farminger
Description: This is M.L. Farminger's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Farminger, a 29-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, states that he served in the United States army from 1861 to 1865. The oath, labeled No. 64 in a bound volume, was signed by Farminger in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
Description: This letter was written on March 31, 1855, by Frederick Starr in Weston, Missouri, to his father. Starr describes the election fraud that took place at the Kansas legislative elections on March 30, calling it “a high handed outrage.” He says that hundreds of armed, pro-slavery Missourians came into Kansas to disrupt the election, and that more than 800 illegal votes were cast in Leavenworth, Kansas. Starr asks his father to publish the information in his letter in the Albany Evening Journal, without mentioning his name.
Date: March 31, 1855

Title: From James Beatty to William Fowler
Description: On August 29, 1864, James Beatty, Deputy Provost Marshal for the 20th Missouri subdistrict, writes from Milan, Missouri to Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal for the 7th District of Missouri, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Beatty reports that Wesley Griffith of Taylor, Missouri claims that the township is "entitled to many more credits for soldiers furnished" than appear in the draft documents. Beatty also states that he sent a soldier back to his regiment because his sick furlough had expired.
Date: August 29, 1864

Title: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This March 1864 military roll lists the names of "colored troops" enlisted in the 6th district, 28th sub-district in Chariton County, Missouri. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupations, birthplaces, and the names of their owners.
Date: March 1864

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: Proceedings of the Lafayette County Board
Description: This is a series of proceedings of the County Board of Lafayette County, Missouri, dated August 14 – October 2, 1862, and signed by R.C. Vaughan, Secretary. In each of the proceedings, the Board compiles a list of disloyal citizens residing in the neighborhoods where soldiers or loyal citizens were murdered. The Board members agree to charge all of the disloyal citizens 7-10% of the value of their estates.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: August 14, 1862-October 2, 1862

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 Chauncey McKeever to E.B. Alexander
Description: This is a copy of a November 12, 1863 dispatch from Chauncey McKeever, Assistant Adjutant General to Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri. McKeever writes from the Provost Marshal General's Office at the War Department in Washington, D.C., providing instructions on payment to Recruiting Agents for each volunteer they enlist.
Date: November 12, 1863

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

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