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Title: Tragic Prelude
Description: Native Kansan John Steuart Curry's allegorical painting, "Tragic Prelude." Curry's work depicts John Brown and the clash of Free-State and proslavery forces in Bleeding Kansas along with other symbollic elements representing late 19th century Kansas.
Object Type: Image

Title: John Brown
Description: Painting of John Brown by Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 1870.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1870

Title: From William Clarke Quantrill to My Dear Mother
Description: This letter is from William Clarke Quantrill to his mother. Quantrill writes from Stanton, Kansas on January 26, 1860. He acknowledges "the wrongs committed" by the proslavery party, but argues that the abolitionists are "the most lawless set of people." He criticizes their sympathy for John Brown, calling him a murderer and a robber, and declaring that he "should have been hung years ago."
Date: January 26, 1860

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On June 15, 1863, John Bushnell writes from Calhoun, Missouri to Eugenia Bronaugh. John references an incendiary “peace meeting” in New York (possibly the June 3 “Peace Convention”), likening it to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. He fears that war may soon permeate “every state in the Union.” John mentions a friend who has seen “every battle fought by General Price since the Lexington fight,” and is now awaiting exchange as a military prisoner.
Date: June 15, 1863

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 James H. Moss to A.W. Doniphan
Description: On October 3, 1863, James H. Moss writes from Liberty, Missouri to Col. A.W. Doniphan. Moss describes his recent efforts to restore order in Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri by raising a local military force. He writes that the newspapers have been publishing "reckless" lies about his activities, and urges Doniphan not to believe what he reads. Moss asks Doniphan to explain the situation to Gov. Gamble, adding, "We have had perfect quiet in Clay and Platte for five days and nights past."
Date: October 3, 1863

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: The Life of John Brown, no. 16
Description: Photograph of "The Life of John Brown, No. 16" by Jacob Lawrence.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1941

Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: This letter was written on April 1, 2, and 8, 1861 by Florella Brown Adair in Greenfield, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella writes about going on a “calling & begging trip for Kansas” among friends in the area, and how she was disappointed to receive only $3.00 for her efforts. Florella discovered that many people had already given funds for Kansas to Mr. Stephenson, who managed to collect over $300.00 by representing himself as an acquaintance of John Brown.
Date: April 1, 1861-April 8, 1861

Title: From Sara Robinson to Charles S. Gleed
Description: This letter is from Sara Robinson, abolitionist and wife of Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson, to Charles S. Gleed, a businessman in Topeka. Robinson writes from Lawrence, Kansas on January 7, 1881 and criticizes an "error" in an article Gleed wrote: "[you] connected John Brown's name with the safety of Lawrence. He really never had anything to do with its defense in any way." Attached to the letter is an unsigned document describing Brown's role in the "Invasion of the 2800" on September 14, 1856.
Date: January 7, 1881

Title: From George H. Hall to Dear Lydia
Description: This letter is from George H. Hall to his sister Lydia. Hall writes from St. Joseph, Missouri on November 17, 1859, and refers to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. He calls Brown a coward, and argues that "his only acts in Kansas Territory . . . were the assassination of unarmed families and his great skill in running off negroes."
Object Type: Letter
Date: November 17, 1859

Title: John Brown Brought Out for Execution
Description: Pencil drawing by Albert Berghaus of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper depicting Abolitionist John Brown being brought out of jail in Charles Town, Virgina, to be executed for his failed raid on Harpers Ferry.
Object Type: Image

Title: From John Brown, Jr. to My Dear Friend
Description: This letter, dated July 18, 1862, is from John Brown, Jr., a former member of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his friend Parker Pillsbury. Last winter, Brown writes, he and his regiment helped to free more than 2,000 slaves. Now, he says, the commander of the regiment, Lieut. Col. Daniel R. Anthony, is under arrest. Brown includes a copy of a letter he received from another friend, Arthur T. Reeve, concerning Brig. Gen. Mitchell's arrest of Anthony. Brown writes: “His arrest for such a cause is in the estimation of every true man a greater honor than to have won a battle.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 26, 1862-July 18, 1862

Title: Documents Relating to United States vs. John Brown, Jr.
Description: These documents from May and June 1856 relate to the case United States versus John Brown Jr. and others for subverting the U.S. government. Included among the documents is a warrant for Brown’s arrest, signed by Judge S.G. Cato on May 28, 1856. Also included are two witness subpoenas, dated June 14, 1856; one is signed by Judge Cato, the other by Charles P. Bullock.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: May 28, 1856 and June 14, 1856

Title: From L. Maria Child to James Montgomery
Description: On December 26, 1861, L. Maria Child writes from Wayland, Massachusetts to Col. James Montgomery. Child writes of her interest in and support for Kansas, asking “Are there any regiments, except those from Kansas, upon whom we can rely, with certainty, as the protector of poor hunted slaves?” She discusses the possibility of war with England, and the “strange alliance…of England with slave-holders.” Child says that she has enclosed several knitted several items she made for Montgomery and John Brown, Jr.
Date: December 26, 1861

Title: War in Kansas!
Description: This 1856 broadside announces the commencement of civil war in Kansas. It urges the citizens of Lafayette County, Missouri to gather with their guns and horses in Lexington on August 20, and "put an end to Abolitionism in Kansas." The broadside, signed by twelve men, reports that John Brown, James Henry Lane, and their forces have launched several guerrilla attacks upon Kansas residents, and are now "advancing upon us--the next breath from Kansas may bring to our ears the death shrieks of our Fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, neighbors and friends."
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 1856

Title: John Brown
Description: Sepia-tone reproduction print of abolitionist John Brown.
Object Type: Image

Title: John Brown, 1800-1859, Memorial Frame
Description: Memorial portrait of Abolitionist John Brown. Frame includes the words, "The Just man shall be in eternal remembrance -- Gave his life for the liberation of the slave."
Object Type: Image

Title: From Edward Fitch to Mr. Editor
Description: This letter, dated July 4, 1856, is from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to the editor of the Hopkinton (MA) Patriot. Fitch states that the Free State Legislature was supposed to convene that day in Topeka, but Colonel Sumner arrived with armed troops and, under orders from Washington, commanded everyone to leave. Fitch declares that “unless the North awakes and men (not fools) are placed in the Presidential chair this fall, Civil War must follow.” He also discusses a group of women who, in response to local rum selling, "took possession of the Liquor, which they spilled without mercy." He signs the letter “Yours for Free men, Free speech, Free Kansas, and Fre-mont.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 4, 1856

Title: Memorial to John Brown at Quindaro Townsite, Kansas City, Kansas
Description: Lifesize marble statue of John Brown, which was dedicated on June, 1911, at Western University campus in Quindaro Townsite, Kansas City, Kansas.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1911

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

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