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Title: From Unknown to Dear Brother
Description: This unsigned letter, dated September 30, 1861, describes a recent Missouri state convention, which resulted in a majority vote against secession. The writer expresses ambivalence about the motivations for this vote: "As the Union at that time was hanging on a pivot, and all were anxious that it should be preserved--few having the boldness to assert that they were for secession--of course we elected good Union men . . . but there is no telling what men will do when they have the power."
Date: September 30, 1861

Title: From Jane C. Tandy to My Dear Grand Mother
Description: This letter, dated October 22 and October 31, 1866, is from Jane C. Tandy to her grandmother. Tandy describes the tension between "conservatives" and "radicals" in Missouri following the Civil War. She reports that conservatives are taking the Oath of Loyalty to the United States Government required for Missouri voters, while the radicals are refusing.
Date: October 22, 1866 and October 31, 1866

Title: Pass for John F. Richards
Description: A Provost Marshall wartime pass for travel west of St. Louis to Kansas. It is for John Francisco Richards who was the founder and owner of the Richards and Conover Hardware Company. His hardware store started out in Leavenworth, KS in 1857 and then later he moved it to the building that is still standing at 5th and Wyandotte. The pass describes Richards as having brown hair, gray eyes, five feet and eight inches tall, and 27 years of age.
Object Type: Image
Date: October 31, 1861

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes a letter from Hickory Grove, Missouri to John A. Bushnell of Calhoun, Missouri on October 15, 1863. She says that she went to the post office to pick up a letter from him and the officer on duty refused to give it to her because it had been determined to be disloyal. Eugenia argues that, “You meant no disloyalty, it is far from you to do anything against our government—the government which has and is protecting us.” Nevertheless, she warns him to “weigh every word” he writes.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 15, 1863

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On February 11, 1864 John A. Bushnell writes from Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri. John writes that he has been suffering from a cold he caught on a recent trip to Sedalia, Missouri. He plans to visit Eugenia during the upcoming weekend. John states, "I have not succeeded yet in getting a house for my contrabands,” presumably referring to recently freed slaves.
Object Type: Letter
Date: February 11, 1864

Title: From J.D. Kirk to Dear Sister
Description: This is a handwritten copy of a letter from J.D. Kirk in California to his sister on March 3, 1863. Kirk writes about the debate over slavery, criticizing "this bogus, free-negro, puritan congress" and explaining that his father opposes abolition of slavery in parts of the country "where the economy depends solely on its continuation." He also mentions the recently adopted Conscription Act, and predicts an imminent end to the Civil War.
Date: March 3, 1863

Title: Court Martial Proceedings of Captain Lyman D. Rouell
Description: This military document includes proceedings of the general court martial of Lyman D. Rouell, Captain of the 2nd Colorado Volunteers, Company F. In this court martial held at the Headquarters District of the Border in Kansas City, Missouri, Captain Rouell pleads "not guilty" to: charges of drunkenness while on duty at Fort Lyon in the Colorado Territory and at Council Grove, Kansas; and for driving contraband stock into Kansas from Hickman Mills, Missouri. The official charges included "Conduct unbecoming an Officer and Gentlemen" and "Neglect of duty to the prejudices of good order and military discipline." The verdict is not extant. This document shows how some military units took advantage of General Ewing's General Order No. 11 by accumulating and selling property from abandoned counties.
Date: November 1863 - December 1863

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes to John Bushnell from Hickory Grove, Missouri on May 30, 1865. She describes a severe thunderstorm, and says the shrubbery in her garden is “destroyed since the war.” Eugenia says her relatives in Saline County, Missouri wish they could relocate from their home because it reminds them of “evils committed in the name of ‘Liberty.’” Eugenia herself also longs to relocate to escape unfaithful friends and memories of “the cruelties of war.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 30, 1865

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell writes a letter from St. Louis to Eugenia Bronaugh of Hickory Grove, Missouri. In the letter, dated December 14, 1863, Bushnell says that he would like to return to Henry County, but is concerned about his safety. He also tells her that he feels it is his duty to take care of his recently freed slaves, and says that he wants to rent a house for them and help them to “see what freedom is.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: December 14, 1863

Title: From Mary Jane Peery to My Dear Sister
Description: This letter, dated October 11, 1865, is from Mary Jane Peery to her sister. Peery writes that her husband, the preacher J.T. Peery, has refused to take an Oath of Loyalty to the United States Government. She mentions that Confederate sympathizers have encountered difficulty in Missouri following the Civil War, but declares that "a great many of our preachers . . . say they do not intend to take the oath. The Northerners still hold our church and parsonage in Independence and say they will not give it up."
Date: October 11, 1865

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: In a July 20, 1864 letter from Calhoun, Missouri, John A. Bushnell tells Eugenia Bronaugh of Hickory Grove, Missouri, that he plans to travel to Sedalia and St. Louis. He says that he will return within two weeks unless he does not feel safe. He expresses a longing to return to his normal life and his business, for “this life of uncertainty, suspense and danger does not suit me.” He adds that he hopes for peace, but does not feel optimistic.
Date: July 20, 1864

Title: General Orders, No. 34
Description: Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis issued General Order No. 34 from the Department of the Missouri Headquarters in St. Louis on May 4, 1863. The order details the proceedings of a recent Military Commission in St. Joseph, Missouri, where several citizens were tried for war crimes, including disloyal conduct, violation of the conduct of war, bearing arms against the Government, violation of the Oath of Allegiance, and disturbing the peace of Union men. The order was signed by Assistant Adjutant General A.V. Colburn.
Date: May 4, 1863

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes a letter, dated January 12, 1864, to John A. Bushnell in St. Louis. She tells him that a few friends recently visited her in Hickory Grove, Missouri, and sang patriotic songs. She describes them as “devoted and faithful friends to the Government” and wishes that everyone “were so true!” She updates him about other mutual acquaintances, and expresses a wish for peace and safety.
Object Type: Letter
Date: January 12, 1864

Title: General Orders, No. 38
Description: Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis issued General Order No. 38 from the Department of the Missouri Headquarters in St. Louis on May 22, 1863. The order details the proceedings of recent Military Commissions in St. Joseph, St. Louis, and Springfield, Missouri, where citizens were tried for war crimes, including consorting with guerrillas and bushwhackers, killing United States soldiers from the Seventh Cavalry Regiment Missouri Volunteers, and encouraging rebellion against the government. The order was signed by Assistant Adjutant General A.V. Colburn.
Date: May 22, 1863

Title: From Eugenia Bronaugh to John A. Bushnell
Description: Eugenia Bronaugh writes a letter to John Bushnell in St. Louis on December 16, 1863. She tells him that the Kansas Delegation recently invaded her hometown of Hickory Grove, Missouri and stole property and recently-freed slaves from people whom they had determined were disloyal to the government. Eugenia complains that Christmas is around the corner and “yet great armies are in the field and among them my own dear Brothers.”
Date: December 16, 1863

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

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