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Title: From J.C. Iserman to Brother William
Description: J.C. Iserman writes a letter from Independence, Missouri to his brother William on September 21, 1861. He tells William that he is surrounded by danger. He mentions the Battle of Liberty and the First Battle of Lexington, and says he can hear "cannons booming on all sides." He also writes about his desire to leave Missouri, complaining that "the Secessionist are stealing all the horses and cattle from the Unions and the Jayhawkers from Kansas are retaliating. Times are very hard."
Date: September 21, 1861

Title: Discharge of Nathaniel B. Mitchell
Description: These are the official discharge papers for Nathaniel B. Mitchell, who served as a private under Confederate Captain John S. Percival in the Missouri 2nd Infantry from June to December 1861. Mitchell enlisted at Camp Holloway in Jackson County, Missouri, and was discharged in Osceola, Missouri. The document, dated December 11, 1861, notes that Mitchell was discharged after completing his six-month term of service.
Date: December 11, 1861

Title: Joseph O. Shelby
Description: Black and white portrait of Joseph Orville Shelby seated with open coat.
Object Type: Image

Title: Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke
Description: Portrait of Confederate general John S. Marmaduke posing in uniform. Marmaduke commanded Confederate forces in several notable Civil War battles, including the Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Prairie Grove, Price's Raid, and the Battle of Mine Creek among others. After the Civil War, Marmaduke served as Governor of Missouri from 1884 to 1887, where he successfully campaigned for railroad reform.
Object Type: Image

Title: Oath of Allegiance of John T. Armantrout
Description: In his Oath of Allegiance, signed and dated June 22, 1865, former Confederate soldier John T. Armantrout declares loyalty to the United States government and denounces the Confederacy. Attached is a document that permits Armantrout to return home, by order of Major General Canby, following the surrender in Shreveport, Louisiana on June 8, 1865. Also attached is Armantrout’s Certificate of Enrollment in the Missouri Militia, signed in Saline County in 1866. Armantrout served as a private in Company C, 10th Regiment of Missouri Volunteers.
Date: 1865 - 1866

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell of Calhoun, Missouri writes a letter on February 28, 1863 to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. He tells her that “petty acts of tyranny have been committed elsewhere” and predicts that if similar violence occurs where he lives, his neighbors will be too cowardly to defend themselves. He also complains about censorship in newspapers and shares news that General Price “is appointed to the command in rebel army west of the Mississippi.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: February 28, 1863

Title: Members of the Missouri State Guard
Description: Photograph of two members of the Missouri State Guard taken in May, 1861.
Object Type: Image
Date: May, 1861

Title: From Maurice E. Pitcher to Mr. Colgan
Description: On November 6, 1864, Maurice E. Pitcher writes from Independence, Missouri to Mr. Colgan. Pitcher states that he saw Colgan's son Willie on October 21 when he came into Missouri with Gen. Price's army: "he is looking quite well…he had no appearance of being 'one of Price's starved to death, rag-muffins.'" He says that Price's men "had a series of battles from little blue (in this county) until within a few miles of Fort Scott, and you may well imagine they had a series of successes."
Date: November 6, 1864

Title: Examination of Robert T. Lincoln
Description: This document attests that Robert T. Lincoln, a 41-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, did not remain loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. Lincoln admits that he served under Gen. Price during the Civil War and he refuses to take an Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Lincoln signed the document in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: John T. Hughes
Description: Photograph of Colonel John Taylor Hughes of the First Infantry Regiment, Fourth Division, Missouri State Guards. A veteran of the Mexican War, Hughes joined the Missouri State Guard following the Camp Jackson Affair and participated in several battles including the Battle of Carthage, the Battle of Wilson's Creek, the Siege of Lexington, and the First Battle of Independence where he was killed while leading a charge.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Laura Hidden Pearson
Description: This tintype, ca. 1860, depicts Laura Hidden Pearson, an Ohio native who married William D. Pearson in Cass County, Missouri. William was the oldest child of Robert D. Pearson, an early Cass County pioneer. William served in Confederate Captain Shanks’ company for nine months until he was taken prisoner near Lexington, Missouri; he was eventually released on parole. Laura and William married after the war.
Object Type: Image

Title: Hon. John Bullock Clark of MO (General in Confederate Army)
Description: Black and white portrait of Missouri Confederate General General John Bullock Clark, Jr.
Object Type: Image

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: This May 26, 1864 letter is from John A. Bushnell of Clinton, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh. He tells Eugenia that he avoids going out much of the time because he is afraid of being attacked by bushwhackers. He also tells her that, according to newspaper reports, Joseph Orville Shelby recently crossed the Arkansas River with 2,000 troops. He voices frustration with news sources, which he describes as “stirring” but “confused and contradictory.”
Date: May 26, 1864

Title: From John C. Gage to Dear Friends
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1862, was written by John C. Gage in Kansas City, Missouri to friends in Pelham, New Hampshire. John states that Confederate forces camped nearby have retreated to Arkansas, leaving the area vulnerable to guerrilla attacks. The biggest threat comes from Jim Lane’s brigade under Jennison, which is “raising and arming negroes in Kansas to plunder good citizens in Missouri.” Of Jennison, John declares, “He ought to be killed and I would esteem it the best act of my life to do it.”
Date: September 1, 1862

Title: Examination of Henry F. Estes
Description: This 1866 loyalty examination document bears the name Henry F. Estes. Estes, a 41-year-old Kentucky native, states that he has resided in Missouri for 36 years, served in Price's army during the war, and does not wish to take the Oath of Loyalty. The document is contained in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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: Missouri Confederates Thomas H. Brown, William A. Brown, and Abe Brown
Description: Photograph of Missouri Confederate soldiers Thomas H. Brown, William A. Brown, and Abe Brown posing with their weapons. All three men served under Colonel Upton Hays at the Battle of Lone Jack.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Examination of Joel H. Martin
Description: This is Joel H. Martin's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Martin, a native of Kentucky, states that he has lived in Missouri for 34 years. He says he served in the State Guard during the war and "was arrested on suspicion of being a bushwhacker and was under arrest six weeks." He was later acquitted of the charge. The oath is contained in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From W.L. Wood to W.P. Howard
Description: This letter, dated July 19, 1861, is from W.L. Wood in Liberty Landing, Missouri to Col. W.P. Howard in St. Louis. Wood informs Howard that he went to Lexington, Missouri with state troops and planned to travel farther south, but "did not precisely understand" Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson's intentions. He expresses ambivalence about Jackson, but supports his stance against Lincoln, and declares that he wants "to see Lincoln's troops whipped."
Date: July 19, 1861

Title: Examination of Mich Moran
Description: This is Mich Moran's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Moran, a 50-year-old native of Ireland, states that he has resided in Missouri for 12 years and served in the State Guard under Capt. Duncan during the war. He says he was required to give bond, although "I considered myself loyal." The oath is No. 234 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

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

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