Civil War

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From James H. Buxton to Daniel L. Chandler
Title
From James H. Buxton to Daniel L. Chandler
Description
In a letter dated April 27, 1862, James H. Buxton writes from Lawrence, Kansas to Daniel L. Chandler. Buxton reports that the soldiers have left Lawrence and gone to Fort Riley, Kansas, although about two or three hundred remain in the hospital. He says he hopes "the war will not last long now for our men is gaining the victry very fast."
Object Type
Letter
Date
April 27, 1862
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description
In a May 26, 1856 letter to his father in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch describes the Sack of Lawrence that had occurred six days earlier on May 21, 1856. He mentions that Governor Shannon has called for protection “for fear we should rise up and exterminate him and the Pro-Slavery party.” He expresses his own fear that the Free State Party will be defeated and that Kansas will become a slave state. He also fears for his personal safety, saying he "shall not dare to stay at my cabin without a rifle or gun at my bedside." He adds that he hopes John C. Fremont will win the upcoming presidential election.
Date
May 26, 1856
From John W. Reid to John W. Geary
Title
From John W. Reid to John W. Geary
Description
John W. Reid writes a letter from Independence, Missouri to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on September 20, 1856. Reid states that he obeyed Geary’s order to disband his troops and terminate an expedition to plunder Lawrence. He admits that “some bad men who were with us did commit some outrages . . . which I hope you will believe was beyond my control or power to prevent.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 20, 1856
From Wilson Shannon to Unknown
Title
From Wilson Shannon to Unknown
Description
This letter was written ca. December 25, 1855 by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon to an unknown recipient. Shannon states that on December 9, 1855, he was at a party in Lawrence, Kansas when Charles Robinson informed him that “a large irregular force” was threatening to attack the town. Robinson asked Shannon to give him and James Lane written authority to defend Lawrence by force. Shannon signed Robinson’s paper, but later discovered that the threatened attack was a ruse devised by “tricksters who by fraudulent representations were seeking to obtain an advantage over me.”
Affidavit of W.F. Dyer
Title
Affidavit of W.F. Dyer
Description
This affidavit was sworn by W.F. Dyer on September 13, 1856 before R.R. Nelson, Justice of the Peace of Douglas County, Kansas. Dyer states that on September 8 and 9, 1856, a band of at least one hundred men robbed him of six head of mules and horses, and merchandise worth more than $4,000. Dyer indicates that the same men were assembled at Ozawkie, KS on September 13, 1856 for the purpose of raiding and burning the town.
Object Type
Legal Document
Date
September 13, 1856
Maps of Shawnee Indian Reservation
Title
Maps of Shawnee Indian Reservation
Description
These 21 plat maps were made ca. 1857 by Isaac Cooper Stuck. The maps are marked with geographical features and locations of people’s land claims within the Shawnee Indian Reservation in eastern Kansas.
Object Type
Map
From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Title
From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Description
In a July 23, 1856 letter to the editor of the Hopkinton (MA) Patriot, Edward Fitch writes that “two or three” men were killed for attending a meeting of the Free State Legislature in Topeka. He says that U.S. Troops have been disarming members of the Free State party and that Border Ruffians have driven out and captured a number of Free State men. He ends the letter by stating that the people of Kansas will not allow themselves to be taxed by the Bogus Legislature.
Date
July 23, 1856
From James Henry Lane to R.M. Ainsworth
Title
From James Henry Lane to R.M. Ainsworth
Description
This is a copy of a letter written by Gen. James Henry Lane, labeled the first letter of the Wakarusa War. In the letter, dated December 1, 1855 and addressed to R.M. Ainsworth, Lane writes that a Free State man, Charles Dow, was “cowardly + brutally murdered by a gang of Proslavery men” in Lawrence, Kansas. Violence and threats followed, Lane says, and according to rumors, “this city is to be demolished without delay.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
December 1, 1855
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description
On September 8, 1855, Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts, reporting that Governor Andrew Reeder was nominated for Congress at the recent convention in Big Springs, Kansas. He also informs his parents of his efforts to protect a free black man against a group of pro-slavery men who wanted to capture and enslave him. If they hadn’t eventually backed down, Fitch says, “we should have pitched in to them with our rifles.”
Date
September 8, 1855
From John B. Wood to George L. Stearns
Title
From John B. Wood to George L. Stearns
Description
On November 19, 1861, John B. Wood writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his friend George L. Stearns in Boston, informing him that thousands of slaves have escaped Missouri and settled in Kansas. He says that in the past ten days, 131 escaped slaves have moved into Lawrence. Most of them have found employment on farms, Wood writes, but when the harvest season is over, they may be out of work. Wood worries that there will be “much suffering” and death, and he asks Stearns to “lay this matter before the friends of humanity of the East and ask them to send us funds” to assist the liberated slaves.
Date
November 19, 1861
Black Jack Battleground in Douglas County, Kansas
Title
Black Jack Battleground in Douglas County, Kansas
Description
Photograph of the site of the Black Jack battlefield near Palmyra in Douglas County, Kansas. On June 2, 1856, abolitionist John Brown and his followers attacked the forces of a proslavery settler, Henry C. Pate in the unofficial first battle of the Civil War (nearly five years prior to the war's beginning). Pate, who held two of Brown's sons captive, exchanged them for 23 prisoners after Brown and his free-state forces won the battle.
Object Type
Image
Date
December, 1888
Sacking of Lawrence
Title
Sacking of Lawrence
Description
This print, originally published in O. N. Merrill's 1856 publication of "True history of the Kansas wars, and their origin, progress and incidents", depicts the Sack of Lawrence in 1856 by Douglas County sheriff Samuel J. Jones.
Object Type
Image
Date
1856
From "Neighbors and Friends" to Col. S.W. Eldridge
Title
From "Neighbors and Friends" to Col. S.W. Eldridge
Description
This letter, dated September 1, 1863, was sent to Col. S.W. Eldridge by "your neighbors and friends" from the "Ruins of Lawrence," Kansas. The writers encourage Eldridge to rebuild the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas after its destruction during Quantrill's raid. They promise to aid Eldridge "to the utmost of our ability," and urge him to appeal to "friends of freedom throughout the land" for monetary contributions.
Date
September 1, 1863
Three Dollar Bill
Title
Three Dollar Bill
Description
This is a bank note printed in Lawrence, Kansas ca. 1860-1865. It reads: "The Bank of William H.R. Lykins Will pay to Bearer on demand Three Dollars in Current Funds." William H.R. Lykins was the son of Johnston Lykins, the 1854-1855 mayor of Kansas City, Missouri.
Object Type
Currency
Proclamation in Support of Rebuilding the Free State Hotel
Title
Proclamation in Support of Rebuilding the Free State Hotel
Description
This proclamation or editorial, ca. August 1863, laments the destruction of the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, during Quantrill's Raid on the town: "Pro-Slavery violence has once more poured its wrath upon us." The proclamation recommends the "speedy construction" of a new hotel, and its signers declare their intention to contribute $10,000 toward the project.
Object Type
Circular
From John Brown to Orson Day
Title
From John Brown to Orson Day
Description
This letter, dated February 21, 1856, is from John Brown at his homestead in Osawatomie, Kansas to Orson Day in White Hall, New York. Brown states that he and his family will be ready for Day's arrival in early April. He gives Day instructions and advice on travelling through Kansas City and Westport, Missouri, and assures him that "The Contractors on the route from here to Westport are good Free State men; & Friends."
Object Type
Letter
Date
February 21, 1856
From James H. Lane to E.M. Stanton
Title
From James H. Lane to E.M. Stanton
Description
On September 3, 1863, James H. Lane writes from Leavenworth, Kansas to Secretary of War E.M. Stanton. Lane states that as Col. S.W. Eldridge has suffered greatly from the loss of The Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, during Quantrill's Raid on the town, he should be granted a leave of absence to travel east, presumably to appeal for aid in rebuilding the hotel.
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 3, 1863
From James H. Lane et al to "All Whom It May Concern"
Title
From James H. Lane et al to "All Whom It May Concern"
Description
On September 5, 1863, James H. Lane and five others write an open letter from Leavenworth, Kansas to "all whom it may concern." Lane and the others express sympathy with Col. S.W. Eldridge, who is travelling east to seek aid in rebuilding the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, which was destroyed during Quantrill's Raid. The signers assure potential contributors to Eldridge's project that he is "a man in every respect worthy of their full confidence."
Date
September 5, 1863
From S.C. Pomeroy to Col. S.W. Eldridge
Title
From S.C. Pomeroy to Col. S.W. Eldridge
Description
On October 8, 1863, S.C. Pomeroy writes from Parker House, Boston to Col. S.W. Eldridge. Pomeroy states that he submitted a proposal to "the Committee" to appropriate $5,000 in funds for rebuilding the destroyed Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas. Pomeroy also proposes that once the hotel is rebuilt, the Mayor of Lawrence should assign a portion of the donated money to assist families affected by the raid. Pomeroy notes, "This last provision sweetens the thing--and I have little doubt that it will pass."
Date
October 8, 1863
Muster Rolls of Kansas Volunteer Regiments
Title
Muster Rolls of Kansas Volunteer Regiments
Description
These muster rolls from 1861 and 1862 list the names, ranks, and enrollment dates of soldiers in companies from the 4th and 10th Kansas Volunteer Regiments. They also list the names of soldiers who deserted their regiments or were discharged, transferred, or deceased. The companies were commanded by Capt. James M. Harvey, Capt. James H. Harris, Col. William Weir, and Col. William Cloud.
Date
1861-1862

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