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Title: Affidavit of Elijah M. McGee
Description: This is Elijah M. McGee's affidavit concerning the August 1863 collapse of the women's military prison in Kansas City, Missouri. McGee states that before the prison collapsed, he entered the adjoining building, saw that its columns had been removed, and predicted that it would collapse. The affidavit is dated September 10, 1863 and signed by McGee and by Philip S. Brown, Jackson County Notary Public.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: September 10, 1863

Title: Affidavit of Peter Arnoldia
Description: This is Dr. Peter Arnoldia's affidavit concerning the August 1863 collapse of the women's military prison in Kansas City, Missouri. Arnoldia states that he had been in the building that housed the prison many times, including the day before it collapsed, and considered it safe and well constructed. The affidavit is dated September 12, 1863 and signed by Arnoldia and Philip S. Brown, Jackson County Notary Public.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: September 12, 1863

Title: Affidavit of Solomon S. Smith
Description: This is Solomon S. Smith's affidavit concerning the August 1863 collapse of the women's military prison in Kansas City, Missouri. Smith, a brick mason, states that he built the walls of the prison and the adjoining building, using the "best quality Bricks." He describes the building's construction, then states that the prison could not have collapsed from ordinary usage, but only from "undermining the Walls in Some way or removing the Supports." The affidavit is dated September 10, 1863 and signed by Smith and by Philip S. Brown, Jackson County Notary Public.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: September 10, 1863

Title: Affidavit of Charles H. Vincent
Description: This is Charles H. Vincent's affidavit concerning the August 1863 collapse of the women's military prison in Kansas City, Missouri. Vincent states that he was familiar with the building, that it was well constructed, and that it shared a common wall with a building occupied by soldiers. He adds that the soldiers removed columns and partitions in that building, causing it to fall and thus causing the adjoining prison to fall. The affidavit is dated September 7, 1863 and signed by Vincent and by Philip S. Brown, Jackson County Notary Public.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: September 7, 1863

Title: From Mary Hall to Venitia Hall
Description: Mary Hall—the original recipient of this envelope—used it in 1863 to write a message to her sister Venitia Colcord Page, who was incarcerated at the Union Jail for Women in Kansas City. “Don’t say one word before anyone,” Mary warns, “The guards say they like you…They say very hard things of the others.” Mary gave the message to Venitia, who was married to Major Page, during a prison visit; Venitia escaped or was released before the prison collapsed in August 1863.
Date: 1863

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