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From Mary Savage to Jane Simpson
Title
From Mary Savage to Jane Simpson
Description
This is an excerpt from a November 29, 1863 letter that Mary Savage wrote to Jane Simpson about Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. She describes watching two bushwhackers murder her neighbor: “I can never efface from my memory the look and cry of anguish that he gave as he fell, the blood running in streams from his wounds.” Mary says the bushwhackers also threatened to kill her husband, but she saved his life by convincing them that he was sick and was not a member of the Kansas Militia. She writes that nearly every house in town burned down, but some “heroic” women put out a few of the fires. After the raid, she says, downtown Lawrence was reduced to “a heap of ashes.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
November 29, 1863
From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
Title
From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
Description
This letter, dated August 24, 1863, is from R.G. Elliott in Lawrence, Kansas to his sister. He informs her that he was taken prisoner during Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, but managed to escape. He states that troops from Kansas City are in pursuit of Quantrill's Raiders, but he does not believe they will catch them. Following the Raid, he writes, "We have been engaged ever since in burying the dead."
Object Type
Letter
Date
August 24, 1863
From Elizabeth S.C. Earl to Dear Mother
Title
From Elizabeth S.C. Earl to Dear Mother
Description
This letter, dated September 22, 1863, is from Elizabeth S.C. Earl in Lawrence, Kansas to her mother. She assures her mother that she is safe and has survived Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence. She adds that "you cannot imagine the distress, and suffering, of our women and children," and states that the Raid left 180 women widows and 200 children orphans. Earl tells her mother that she has taken charge of the City Hotel after the owner was killed and his family went back East.
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 22, 1863
From John Stillman Brown to John L. Rupur
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
From F.L. Pilla to Dear Brother
Title
From F.L. Pilla to Dear Brother
Description
F.L. Pilla writes a letter to his brother on September 21, 1863. Pilla writes about Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, explaining that Lawrence is seven miles from his home in Eudora, Kansas. On the day of the Raid, he heard a rumor that Quantrill planned to target Eudora, and readied himself for a possible attack. The following day, he visited Lawrence and found "the best part of the City burned down" and "dead bodies laying around in all directions."
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 21, 1863
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