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Title: From Samuel Medary to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This telegram, dated January 3, 1859, is from Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Medary informs Stewart that he has ordered U.S. Troops to protect eastern Kansas and that he plans to organize a large force of Kansas citizens. He urges Stewart to keep troops on the Missouri side of the state line to protect his citizens if James Montgomery invades Missouri. He adds that Montgomery and John Brown have three forts and an armed force of 100-200 men.
Object Type: Telegram
Date: January 3, 1858

Title: Documents Relating to Kansas Territory, U.S. District Court, 3rd District vs. James Montgomery
Description: These documents, dated between December 24, 1858 and February 17, 1859, relate to the case of Kansas Territory, U.S. District Court, 3rd District versus James Montgomery for robbery and murder. In the documents, James Montgomery, John Brown, and other men are accused of murdering John Little and robbing his store on December 16, 1858, while attempting to free their comrade Benjamin Price at Fort Scott, Kansas. The documents include a writ for the arrest of John Brown and a statement by William P. Fain, U.S. Marshal for Kansas Territory.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: December 24, 1858-February 17, 1859

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated June 3, 1858 is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons reports from Cass County, Missouri on the border conflict; he states that a number of Missouri farmers have abandoned their farms and moved into the interior of the state to seek safety. He adds that James Montgomery and a group of Kansas citizens met with a committee of Missouri citizens and demanded their surrender.
Date: June 3, 1858

Title: From W.W. Thayer to James Montgomery
Description: On April 16, 1861, W.W. Thayer of Boston writes a letter to James Montgomery, encouraging him to mount an insurrection in the South and help liberate the slaves. Thayer argues that an organized slave rebellion could bring a swift end to the war: “a bloody war full of horrors concentrated into a few days or months would be far preferable to one consuming time, money, lives.” He warns Montgomery that the people of the South are brave and that they “will fight to the bitter End.” A note from R.J. Hinton at the bottom of the letter states that James Lane was recently put in command of 1,000 troops in Washington.
Date: April 16, 1861

Title: Sworn Statement of George W. Harris
Description: This affidavit was sworn by George W. Harris before Edmund Bartlett, J.B.C.C., in Bates County, Missouri on July 12, 1858. Harris states that on July 8, he and William Pape were threatened and robbed by several men accusing them of being part of James Montgomery’s company. The outlaws took Harris and Pape to Papinville, Missouri and subsequently shot both men, injuring Harris in the arm before he escaped. Harris believes that the outlaws killed Pape although he admits he did not actually witness the murder.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: July 12, 1858

Title: From James Montgomery to Capt. Fail
Description: This is a copy of a letter written on August 13, 1859 by James Montgomery in Barnesville, Kansas, to Capt. Fail. Montgomery tells Fail he believes “there is an armed force in your vicinity. If this is so we would respectfully ask an explanation of the object for which they are assembled.” Montgomery adds that a group of Kansas citizens met and resolved “that the kidnapping of Wm. Wright (alias Pickles) is an outrage…we therefore demand his immediate return to his home in the Territory.” Capt. James McCool, Company D, Missouri Volunteers, certifies that the document is a true copy of the original letter.
Date: August 13, 1859

Title: From D.A.W. Morehouse to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on December 24, 1858 by D.A.W. Morehouse in Papinsville, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart in Jefferson City, Missouri. Morehouse declares that “The troubles again are rife in Kansas. They do not stop there, but again have penetrated with an armed force into Mo.” Morehouse asks Stewart to “order that a Company of Rangers be placed upon the Line,” since “Montgomery & Brown…play back and forward into the state in the night time.” Morehouse also asks Stewart to assign him a duty to perform in responding to the guerrillas.
Date: December 24, 1858

Title: Another Abolition Outrage
Description: The St. Louis Daily Bulletin printed this article on December 11, 1860, announcing that a party of abolitionists tried to steal forty slaves from Morgan Walker in Independence, Missouri. J.H. McMurray, author of the article, writes: "Walker told them to take the negroes, and commenced shooting. One of the gang fell dead on the steps; one was taken prisoner, and the messenger thought two others were killed."
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: December 11, 1860

Title: James Montgomery
Description: Carte de visite portrait of James Montgomery.

Title: Petition from Jackson County Citizens
Description: This petition, ca. 1860, is addressed to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart and signed by 43 citizens of Jackson County, Missouri. The signers declare their need for protection from the “murderous attacks of Montgomery” and his band of guerrillas. They ask Stewart to authorize Samuel Ralston to raise a company of troops to serve under the command of Col. Frost.
Object Type: Petition

Title: From D.M. Frost to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated November 28, 1860, is from Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost to Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Frost writes from Camp Stewart, Headquarters of the South-West Expedition, informing Stewart that troops from St. Louis and Jefferson City have joined his forces. He also relays information that James Montgomery has killed two Missouri citizens and is presently at Fort Scott, Kansas, “holding a Court by his own authority” and “condemning persons whom he has arrested to be hung.”
Date: November 28, 1860

Title: From Ben J. Newsom to Robert M. Stewart
Description: Ben J. Newsom sends a telegram from Kansas City, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart on December 30, 1858. He relays a request from Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary for an officer to visit the Kansas-Missouri border near Fort Scott, capture any armed men and hold them in Missouri. He adds that this will “aid in preventing the escape of Montgomery” and warns that Missouri citizens should not cross into Kansas Territory.
Object Type: Telegram
Date: December 30, 1858

Title: From James McCool to Capt. Doah
Description: This letter was written on August 15, 1859 by Capt. James McCool, Company D, Missouri Volunteers, in Papinsville, Missouri, to Capt. Doah. McCool reports that James Montgomery and his associates are “demanding the immediate release of Pickles (alias Wright),” and that Missouri citizens living on the border “demand protection to which they are certainly entitled.” McCool is preparing to start with his company as soon as he can, and requests pistols, side arms, and bullet molds from Doah.
Date: August 15, 1859

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter, dated November 21, 1860, was written by Florella Brown Adair in Hudson, Ohio to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma in Osawatomie, Kansas. Florella responds to their recent letters, which were “so complaining and discouraging, that I feel more like staying away, than hurrying home…it seems to me that the Territory is cursed of the Lord and that it is fighting against him to try to live there and do anything but barely to exist…I cannot help feeling a perfect disgust for Kansas life, and most of Kansas people.” Florella adds that she read about the “Montgomery and Fort Scott troubles” in the newspapers.
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 21, 1860

Title: From Samuel Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Description: Samuel Ayres writes a letter from Centreville, Linn County, Kansas, to Lyman Langdon on January 7, 1859. The letter includes a copy of a December 30, 1858 article from the Lawrence Republican titled “Who is Responsible?” The article argues that the guerrilla violence in Linn and Bourbon Counties is not the fault of the Free State supporters, as many have argued, but is rather the fault of the proslavery Democrats. The article also explains how Captain Montgomery has tried to defend Free Staters: “his practice has been to warn an offender to leave in a given time . . . If he does not leave at that time, a company of men called ‘jay-hawkers’ goes and takes a part of his property . . . and otherwise frightens him, thus compelling him to leave.” Ayres ends the letter with the news that he has been instructed to put Linn County under martial law.
Date: January 7, 1859

Title: From David M. Fox to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated November 27, 1860, is from David M. Fox in Fredericktown, Missouri to Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Fox complains about violent guerrilla attacks launched by James Montgomery and John Brown. He claims that the people in his town have neither arms nor militia for defense, and he asks Stewart to send somebody to organize a militia. Fox also complains that the election of President Lincoln has “thrown a gloom over our people.”
Date: November 27, 1860

Title: Statement of the Citizens of Bates Co. Concerning Border Troubles
Description: This statement, dated June 5, 1858, was written by Joseph Clymer and signed by Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons and 11 citizens of West Point in Bates County, Missouri. The statement describes the invasion of West Point and the robberies and attacks on Missouri citizens committed by James Montgomery and his band. The citizens state that Montgomery’s men have threatened to destroy West Point, and that a number of citizens have fled their homes in fear. The citizens request assistance from the Missouri government.
Date: June 5, 1858

Title: From S.S. Abney to William Van Lear
Description: S.S. Abney writes from Morgan County, Missouri to William Van Lear on December 5, 1860. He tells Van Lear that troops are pursuing James Montgomery, who has taken possession of Fort Scott after robbing and murdering Kansas residents. Abney expresses hope for the future of Kansas, but predicts that "we are on the verge of perilous times."
Date: December 5, 1860

Title: From D.M. Frost to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated November 27, 1860, is from Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Frost states that he has just arrived in Smithton, Pettis County, Missouri, and is preparing for an expedition. He also tells Stewart that James Montgomery and his band of guerrillas invaded Missouri, captured a citizen, and hanged him in Kansas. He adds that some people have left the area out of fear for their lives.
Date: November 27, 1860

Title: From Robert M. Stewart to Samuel Medary
Description: This letter, dated December 31, 1858, is from Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart to Kansas Gov. Samuel Medary. Stewart reports a recent invasion by James Montgomery and his “band of marauders” and says that he has received a request to send an officer to the border to capture armed men and prevent Montgomery from escaping. Stewart also informs Medary that the Missouri General Assembly is in session and will discuss preventing further invasions and bringing the guilty to justice.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: December 31, 1858

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

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