Civil War

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie Huntoon
Description: A.J. Huntoon writes a letter from Shawnee County, Kansas to his wife Lizzie in New Hampshire. The letter, dated December 30, 1860-January 4, 1861, describes Huntoon’s daily life in Kansas Territory. He also reports to his wife that he plans to travel to Lecompton the following week “to witness the convening of our territorial legislature.”
Date: December 30, 1860-January 4, 1861

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his parents from Lawrence, Kansas on May 5, 1861. He tells them that if Missouri secedes, Kansas will have to fight. He asks how people in Massachusetts feel about the war, and expresses hope that the “Yankees” will go to battle with the South and not stop until slavery is eradicated. “War is terrible,” he says, “but sometimes it is necessary for the good of the whole world.”
Date: May 5, 1861

Title: From James H. Lane to Charles A. Foster
Description: This note, dated December 5, 1855, was sent by James H. Lane in Lawrence, Kansas, to Charles A. Foster. The note reads: “We want every true Free State man in Kansas at Lawrence immediately,” probably referring to the conflict known as the Wakarusa War.
Date: December 5, 1855

Title: Excerpt from John Deering's Diary
Description: This excerpt from John Deering’s diary was written between January 5 and June 7, 1858. Deering, who arrived in Kansas Territory from Maine in March 1857, describes daily life in Douglas County, Kansas. Deering records his purchase of a new claim after his own was “taken by Indians,” and his efforts to build a shop in Prairie City, Kansas. On February 27, Deering writes that he attended an election to nominate delegates for the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. On April 23, he notes that he heard Jim Lane and others speak about the constitution.
Object Type: Diary
Date: January 5, 1858-June 7, 1858

Title: From James Montgomery to George L. Stearns
Description: James Montgomery writes a letter from Mound City, Kansas to George L. Stearns on May 8, 1861. He reports that, “We are in a perilous position here, and have not ammunition enough to make a respectable fight.” He says that he has organized a regiment to help defend Kansas against pro-slavery Missourians, whose troops are camped along the border of Linn and Bourbon counties. He mentions that an Osage Indian chief attacked some of these troops, then “tied them with ropes to the Horns of his Saddles and dragged them out of the country.” Montgomery asks for Stearns’s assistance in acquiring arms and declares that, “If we have to fight, we will carry the war out of Kansas.”
Date: May 8, 1861

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This unsigned December 12, 1855 letter, presumably from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts, announces the peaceful end to the Wakarusa War. Fitch declares that “we have gained a complete victory without bloodshed,” and that Governor Shannon has “come round on to our side.” He tells them that he has been discharged from military service, and proclaims, “Peace, Peace! and it was Peace.”
Date: December 12, 1855

Title: From B. Hoonsley to George R. Smith
Description: On December 11, 1855, B. Hoonsley writes from Big Creek to Gen. George R. Smith. Hoonsley says that "all is confusion here," and reports a rumor that there is still fighting in Lawrence, Kansas, although "it may all be false." He adds that the destruction of Lawrence was predicted months ago by several men. Hoonsley informs Smith that he and two other men are "marked objects" and suggests that "the legislation ought to take immediate…action."
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 11, 1855

Title: From James Montgomery to G.L. Stearns
Description: These two letters were sent to G.L. Stearns by James Montgomery. Writing from Mound City, Kansas on May 8, 1861, Montgomery states that he has organized a regiment and accepted a position on the Governor’s War Council. He reports that the Missourians are “trying to stir up the Indians on our border,” and asks Stearns for two small breech-loading guns. Writing from Lawrence, Kansas on June 21, 1861, Montgomery says that southern Kansas is threatened by invasion from Missouri and Arkansas, while Union men in Missouri are either driven out of the state or drafted into the Confederate army. Montgomery states that he has used Stearns' letter of credit at various times, and thanks him for his generosity.
Date: May 8, 1861 and June 21, 1861

Title: From Leigh R. Webber to Miss Brown
Description: On August 30 and 31, 1862, Leigh R. Webber writes from Gibson County, Tennessee to Miss Brown. Webber says there are rumors that his regiment may go back to Kansas, but he hopes not. He writes that some of his fellow soldiers say "they had rather go to hell than to Lawrence and that it is the meanest place they were ever in, full of damned Abolitionists." Webber also offers his opinion that "guerrillas infest the country just in proportion, as the great rebel armies...are successful."
Date: August 30, 1862 - August 31, 1862

Title: Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence
Description: This print, originally published in Harper's Weekly on September 5, 1863, shows Quantrill and his rebel guerrillas killing the citizens of Lawrence, Kansas, and setting fire to the buildings.
Object Type: Image
Date: September 5, 1863

Title: From S.P. Higgins to John W. Geary
Description: Lieut. S.P. Higgins writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 23, 1856. He informs Geary that 31 prisoners in his custody escaped the previous night through holes in the prison walls. He says that he suspected the prisoners were headed for Topeka, so he travelled there, but did not find them. He now suspects that they might have gone to Lawrence, and assures Geary that he will update him when he receives new information.
Date: November 23, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts on February 24, 1856. He says that the Free State Legislature plans to meet next month in Topeka, and that President Pierce has proclaimed them traitors. Fitch predicts that the Missourians will attack Kansas, “but if they try it we shall have a bloody time out here.” He finishes the letter on March 9 and tells his parents that the Legislature met in Topeka, and that no violence occurred.
Date: February 24, 1856-March 9, 1856

Title: From James Griffing to Augusta
Description: This July 9, 1855 letter was written by James Griffing at Ottawa Creek, Kansas, to Augusta. James writes that he is “travelling the rounds of another preacher’s circuit,” currently staying with an Ottawa Indian named “Jones” (possibly “Ottawa Jones”). James criticizes the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Bogus Legislature, and describes an inspiring speech given by Charles Robinson in Lawrence, Kansas on Independence Day.
Date: July 9, 1855

Title: The Western Dispatch.
Description: This is the August 17, 1856 evening issue of the Western Dispatch, printed in Independence, Missouri. The newspaper announces that war is "being waged by the Abolitionists," and reports that James Henry Lane, John Brown, and their forces have robbed several Kansas residents and driven them into Missouri. The paper also mentions that Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon requested aid from the U.S. military, but was refused. A last minute extra, printed at the bottom of the paper, states that Lane and his men have captured Lecompton.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: August 17, 1856

Title: From Israel B. Donalson to Daniel Woodson
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1856, was written by U.S. Marshal Israel B. Donalson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson. Donalson states that a large number of armed men, probably commanded by Gen. James Lane, are entering Kansas daily for the purpose of driving citizens from the Territory, robbing and burning houses, and committing murder. Donalson does not possess enough troops to suppress Lane’s men, and is submitting the facts of the situation to Woodson so he can determine a course of action.
Date: September 1, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter on August 25, 1856 to his parents, who live in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Edward argues that Hopkinton, his hometown, should pay him for his contributions to the Free State cause in Kansas. He adds that a lot of his neighbors also need financial help and don’t have enough food or clothing. He writes that he recently attended the funeral of Captain Shombre, who was fatally wounded at the Battle of Fort Titus, and mentions that Major David S. Hoyt was killed the same week in an attack at Washington Creek.
Object Type: Letter
Date: August 25, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
Description: Edward Fitch writes a July 26, 1855 letter from aboard a steamboat on Lake Erie. He tells friends in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts that he is en route from Boston to Osawatomie, Kansas. He describes the other members of his travelling party, a group of nineteen emigrants he is taking to Kansas for the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 26, 1855

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. The carte de visite was produced by Durland & Company in Lawrence, Kansas. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: Kansas Executive Department Council Journal
Description: This excerpt from the 1855 Kansas Executive Committee Council Journal records the Council’s discussion of various proposed acts and bills. These acts and bills address topics such as coal mining, the territorial capital at Lecompton, Kansas, enacting a state census and state constitutional convention, enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law, and voting rights for American Indians. The journal also features correspondence from Andrew Reeder.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1855

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated September 18, 1856, was written by Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke in camp near Lecompton, Kansas to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Cooke states that he received Geary’s recent dispatch, but objects to Geary’s instructions to divide his force at Lecompton and cross the river. Cooke argues that if his forces “meet an armed body…it would be under circumstances in which we could not legally stop them.”
Date: September 18, 1856

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

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