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Title: From G.A. Parsons and A.G. Blakey to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated June 16, 1858, is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, and A.G. Blakey, Division Inspector, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. They inform Stewart that they have obeyed his orders to organize volunteer companies in Cass, Vernon, and Bates Counties. They add that they have heard rumors of “violence and plunder” throughout western Missouri and do not believe the companies they have raised will provide sufficient protection.
Date: June 16, 1858

Title: Petition from Residents of Vernon County, Missouri
Description: This petition was sent to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on August 25, 1859 by 45 citizens of Vernon County, Missouri. The petitioners request that a company of Missouri Volunteers be stationed on the state line in Vernon County “until Kansas has a Constitution…or you are convinced…that her people…will obey some law.” As evidence of their need for protection, they refer to the threat posed by James Montgomery and his men, who are demanding the immediate release of William Wright, a prisoner held in Vernon County.
Object Type: Petition
Date: August 25, 1859

Title: Petition from Vernon County Citizens
Description: This petition, dated November 21, 1860, is addressed to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart and signed by 34 citizens of Little Osage, Vernon County, Missouri. The signers assert that they are “imminently in danger of another invasion” from Kansas guerrillas. They claim that they have been victim to numerous attacks over the past three years, and that during one attack, John Brown stole “ten or eleven thousand dollars” of property. The petitioners ask Stewart to station the Missouri Mounted Militia, Company A, in Little Osage for their protection.
Object Type: Petition
Date: November 21, 1860

Title: Will of Cecil D. Ball
Description: This is the will and testament of Cecil D. Ball of Little Osage County, Missouri, dated April 16, 1859. In this document, Ball bequeaths $5,000 to the Presbyterian Church of Little Osage as long as the church never employs a preacher who promotes “in public or private any abolition or anti-slavery doctrines or principles.” Ball stipulates that if the church fails to comply, the bequest will be forfeited. A codicil dated November 15, 1860 voids this stipulation.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: April 16, 1859

Title: Affidavit of Harvey G. Hicklin
Description: This affidavit, given by Harvey G. Hicklin of Vernon County, Missouri, swears that on December 20, 1858, “an armed band of robbers, from Kansas Territory invaded his premises, made him prisoner, and carried off five negroes," horses, oxen, and a wagon "belonging to the Estate of Js. Lawrence.” The affidavit, which presumably refers to John Brown's raid on Vernon County, is signed by John A. Sartorius, Justice of the Peace.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: February 5, 1859

Title: From William H. Doah to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on August 16, 1859 by Capt. William H. Doah, Company B, Missouri Militia, in Butler, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Doah states that after Kansan William Wright (alias Pickles) was imprisoned for murder and robbery in Vernon County, Missouri, the citizens of that county “were threatened with violence by the outlaws of Kansas.” Doah says that James Montgomery later sent a letter demanding Pickles’ immediate release. Doah writes that he plans to “repel invasion and meet out justice” to the Kansas guerrillas; if Stewart does not approve of this plan, Doah says he will resign as Captain of Company B.
Date: August 16, 1859

Title: From Charles W. Graeff to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated July 29, 1858, is from Charles W. Graeff to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Graeff reports that he has just arrived in Polk County, Missouri and will soon travel to Jefferson City, Missouri. He tells Stewart that several hundred men are hiding in a place called “Osage rocks” in Kansas Territory. These men, he states, have invaded Missouri, robbed citizens, driven families away from their homes, murdered a man, and injured several others.
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 29, 1858

Title: Petition from Citizens of Vernon County, Missouri
Description: This petition was sent to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on March 28, 1859 by 43 citizens of Vernon County, Missouri. The petitioners request military protection from a threatened attack by Kansas guerrillas. They state that the guerrillas are assembling near the Little Osage River under the command of James Montgomery, and that “the notorious Brown” has again made an appearance in Kansas. The petitioners believe that "it is the full intention of those lawless men to invade the State and rob and murder the inhabitants.”
Object Type: Petition
Date: March 28, 1859

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated August 25, 1859 is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons relays a rumor that Kansas guerrillas are threatening to invade the border counties of Missouri, including Bates and Vernon Counties, in retaliation for the arrest of a man named “Pickles.” Parsons suggests that Stewart send an officer to the Kansas line to “watch the movements of the enemy.”
Date: August 25, 1859

Title: From D.M. Frost to Robert M. Stewart
Description: Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost writes a dispatch from Camp Daniel Boone to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on December 8, 1860. He states that James Montgomery and his forces have dispersed throughout Kansas Territory, and thus Frost and his troops will be unable to find and conquer them. Frost explains that he wants to leave some troops in Bates and Vernon Counties to patrol the area. If Missouri does not remain on the defense, Frost warns, “anarchy and murder will reign triumphant.”
Date: December 8, 1860

Title: From Charles Kribben to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on August 25, 1858 by Charles Kribben in St. Louis to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Kribben writes that he disagrees with Stewart’s decision to send troops to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri: “Think of the expense & the hue & cry of our opponents!...The step to send troops there now will make a noise in the world; it may give our enemies a hold again on the Kansas question.”
Date: August 25, 1858

Title: From H.A. Haroman to G.A. Parsons
Description: H.A. Haroman writes a letter to Gen. G.A. Parsons on November 23, 1860, reporting on the “Great State of alarm” in Bates County, Missouri. He states that James Montgomery and his band of Jayhawkers have garrisoned Fort Stone and are constructing more forts. Haroman also says that Montgomery has publicly announced his intention to set up headquarters in Vernon County, Missouri. Haroman asks Parsons to supply arms and ammunition for Bates County's defense.
Date: November 23, 1860

Title: From Dewitt C. Hunter to J.F. Snyder
Description: This letter, dated January 21, 1861, is from Dewitt C. Hunter in Nevada, Missouri to Col. J.F. Snyder. Hunter describes himself as a "secessionist in favor of separate state action and immediate secession." He believes that Missouri is in danger of invasion from Kansas, and he urges Snyder to organize a regiment, procure arms, and prepare to defend the border.
Object Type: Letter
Date: January 21, 1861

Title: From Robert M. Stewart to Samuel Medary
Description: This letter, dated April 8, 1859, is from Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart to Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary. Stewart states that he has ordered Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons to patrol the state line in Cass, Bates, and Vernon Counties, to protect Missouri citizens and repel attacks from bands of Kansas guerrillas. He adds that the Missouri General Assembly has given him authority to use $30,000 for protection of the state border. Stewart asks for Medary’s cooperation in preventing violence.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: April 8, 1859

Title: From J.F. Snyder to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch is from J.F. Snyder to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Snyder writes from the headquarters of the 6th Division, Missouri Militia, in Polk County, Missouri on December 12, 1860. He reports that he followed Stewart’s orders and “made thorough organization of the militia” in Bates, Vernon, and Barton Counties, but states that they have neither arms nor ammunition. Snyder warns Stewart that if the militia is not armed, they will continue to be “at the mercy of the outlaws of Kansas.”
Date: December 12, 1860

Title: From James Mooney to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on January 4, 1859 by Capt. James Mooney in West Point, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Mooney describes several recent incidents of robbery, property destruction, and murder perpetrated against the citizens of Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri by guerrillas from Kansas. Mooney states that a company of 100 men has been organized within the counties; he requests that the company be “properly armed and equipped” and accepted into the service of the state. The final page of the letter is an endorsement of Mooney’s statements by J.A. Pigg and four other men.
Date: January 4, 1859

Title: From James S. Hackney to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on June 11, 1858 by James S. Hackney at “Noland House” in Independence, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Hackney reports that Col. Blakely and Gen. Parsons are in the process of organizing several military companies in Cass and Vernon Counties in Missouri. According to Hackney, Col. Blakely has “seen over 100 men who have been driven from the Territory by Montgomery’s band. He says ‘I’ll tell you times are hot down here—the people are boiling over with rage.’”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 11, 1858

Title: Kansas and Nebraska 1856
Description: This color map, entitled “Kansas and Nebraska 1856,” was printed by J.G. Wells in New York.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1856

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

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