W.W. Thayer
R.J. Hinton

On April 16, 1861, W.W. Thayer of Boston writes a letter to James Montgomery, encouraging him to mount an insurrection in the South and help liberate the slaves. Thayer argues that an organized slave rebellion could bring a swift end to the war: “a bloody war full of horrors concentrated into a few days or months would be far preferable to one consuming time, money, lives.” He warns Montgomery that the people of the South are brave and that they “will fight to the bitter End.” A note from R.J. Hinton at the bottom of the letter states that James Lane was recently put in command of 1,000 troops in Washington.

April 16, 1861

African Americans
Guerrillas
Presidential Election of 1860, Secession, and the War's Commencement

W.W. Thayer
R.J. Hinton
Abraham Lincoln
James Montgomery
James Henry Lane

Kansas Historical Society

James Montgomery (Coll. #446)

For more information on using this image, contact Kansas Memory at: State Archives, Topeka, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099, Phone: (785) 272-8681, E-mail: reference@kshs.org Publication, commercial use, or reproduction of this image or the accompanying data requires prior written permission from the Kansas Historical Society. Use of this image also requires that credit be given to the Kansas Historical Society.