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Title: From Sarah Fitch to My Dear Father and Mother
Description: In an emotional letter dated September 2, 1863, Sarah Fitch informs her husband Edward’s parents that he was killed during Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. She estimates that 250-300 of Quantrill's men arrived in Lawrence on horseback and fired at everyone in sight, leaving bodies “scattered all over town.” She writes that they approached her home, “screaming and yelling like so many demons from the infernal pit,” then shot Edward in the heart and burned down their house. She suspects they targeted her family because her children had been playing "soldier" and had left a Union flag hanging on their woodshed.
Date: September 2, 1863

Title: From Mrs. Silliman to My Dear Brother
Description: This letter, dated August 24, 1862, is from Mrs. Silliman to her brother. She describes the “horror” of life in Warrensburg, Missouri, which has been invaded by both Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, and is now “swarming with runaway slaves.” She complains about her health and says that the black girl who was caring for her was lured away to Kansas by soldiers. She also describes how her son Oscar avoided military service: “he was exempted from drafting, as not being ‘able bodied,’ caused by an internal injury.”
Date: August 24, 1862

Title: From William Clarke Quantrill to William W. Scott
Description: William Clarke Quantrill writes a letter from Olathe, Kansas to William W. Scott on January 22, 1858. Quantrill reports the results of a recent election on the Lecompton Constitution, which he refers to as the "Lecompton swindle." He mentions a recent skirmish at Fort Scott and declares it "a pity" that the Kansas settlers "had not shot every Missourian that was there." He also calls James Henry Lane "as good a man as we have here" and describes Kansas Democrats as "rascals."
Date: January 22, 1858

Title: From F.R. Newell to Rev. H.D. Fisher
Description: This letter, dated August 30, 1863, was written by F.R. Newell in St. Louis, to Rev. H.D. Fisher. Newell offers sympathy to Fisher and his family in the wake of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, declaring, “God grant that the raid of Lawrence may be for the healing of the nation, even as his tender compassion alone, can bind up the hearts that are broken!" Newell states that he has plenty to do in St. Louis after the recent arrival of "contrabands."
Date: August 30, 1863

Title: From Hamilton R. Gamble to Abraham Lincoln
Description: On May 2, 1863, Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble writes from St. Louis to President Lincoln. Gamble informs Lincoln about "the perpetration of murders and arsons and other outrages committed by persons connected with the Army…and whose crimes you have the power to restrain." He asks Lincoln to put a stop to the "butcheries" occurring in Missouri's western counties, and suggests that Lincoln replace Gen. Curtis as commander of the district in favor of someone who is "too brave to be cruel."
Object Type: Government Document
Date: May 2, 1863

Title: From Andrew Brownlow to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On August 1, 1862, Andrew Brownlow writes from Sugar Creek Grove, Buchanan County, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Brownlow describes the "troubled" state of affairs in Buchanan County, predicting that recent outrages "will make desperate men out of good citizens." He accuses Gen. Loan of "playing in to the hands of the Kansas thieves" and predicts that unless Gamble "does something to protect the people on the Border all there property will…be taken to Kansas."
Date: August 1, 1862

Title: From Allen T. Ward to My Dear Sister
Description: Allen T. Ward writes a letter from Paola, Kansas to his sister, S.T. Roberts, on October 21, 1861. He describes the warfare in Missouri: “as the Secession army sweeps over it, the union party has to fly for their lives; then in turn comes the union forces under Jim Lane and Montgomery, and all the Secessionists have to leave in a hurry or be shot down as so many wolves.” He states that the war has destroyed much of western Missouri, rendering it “almost entirely depopulated.” He tells her that Jayhawkers have been robbing people in both Kansas and Missouri, and that business and farming in Kansas have mostly ceased.
Date: October 21, 1861

Title: From John Stillman Brown to John L. Rupur
Description: On September 1, 1863, John Stillman Brown writes a letter to John L. Rupur about Quantrill's August 21 Raid on Lawrence. He lists the names of friends who were killed in the raid, and describes watching the bushwhackers from a hill west of Lawrence "as they went to their work of death, burning and plunder." He also mentions seeing "the brave" Gen. James Henry Lane.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 1, 1863

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter to Eugenia Bronaugh in Calhoun, Missouri on October 5, 1863. He mentions having a conversation with a stranger in St. Louis and says it is important to be careful when meeting new people because they may be spies. Spies and detectives are necessary in war, he argues, but they sometimes make errors at the expense of the people they are supposed to protect. He tells Eugenia about a Dr. Zimmerman who was arrested, tried, and shot after fighting Bushwhackers who invaded his home. Still, Bushnell has hope for justice: “like Death it is sure to come.”
Date: October 5, 1863

Title: From Susan A. Staples to Mary W. Mason
Description: On February 1, ca. 1863, Susan A. Staples writes from Independence, Missouri to Mary W. Mason. After reporting on the health of her family, Susan states that Col. Penick's command is stationed at Independence. "He deals very strict with Southerners," Susan writes, and "he has a great many female prisoners and says that he is going to [banish] every lady that has husbands in the Southern Army or with the bushwhackers." She adds that her family has been "dreadfully Jayhawked."

Title: From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description: In this letter, dated November 23, 1863, Lieut. Joseph H. Trego of the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment informs his wife Alice that he has safely arrived at Fort Smith, Arkansas. He says that scouts from his regiment captured about a dozen Bushwhackers and that Gen. McNeil “is keeping them here to have them ready to hang to telegraph poles.” Trego also mentions that Gen. Blunt is at Fort Smith and is likely to be reinstated to his command.
Date: November 23, 1863

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