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Title: From Lizzie Deavenport to Mrs. Colgan
Description: On February 22, 1865, Lizzie Deavenport writes from Hick Mill, Missouri, to Mrs. Colgan. Lizzie says that W.H. was slightly wounded during a fight in Independence, Missouri. She shares news of various friends and family members, and tells Mrs. Colgan, "your home place does not look like it did when you was there. there is not but one hole window in your house…your house has been [mighty] abused."
Date: February 22, 1865

Title: From C.F. Smith to A. Comingo
Description: On December 24, 1863, C.F. Smith writes from Kansas City, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri. Smith reports that he has about 50 names to add to the published enrollment list, explaining that "before the list was published it was exceedingly difficult to get any information but now every man reports his neighbor if his name is not on the list." Smith adds that some men were accidentally enrolled twice.
Date: December 24, 1863

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 Marion Tarflett
Description: This is Marion Tarflett's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Tarflett describes himself as a 21-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri who was born in Jackson County, Missouri. He states that he served in the United States military for three years during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 72 in a bound volume, was signed by Tarflett in 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Calvin Iserman to Brother William
Description: This letter, dated January 20, 1861, was sent by Calvin Iserman in Independence, Missouri, to his brother William. Calvin writes that Independence is “in favor of secession,” and predicts “there is going to be a civil war.” He fears being driven from Missouri along with other “Eastern men,” adding that those who voted for Lincoln are also under threat. Calvin describes a foiled “abolitionist” raid on a Missouri plantation (possibly Walker’s Raid of December 10, 1860), in which all the attackers were killed.
Date: January 20, 1861

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 Daniel L. Chandler to James H. Buxton
Description: In a letter dated May 5, 1862, Daniel L. Chandler writes to James H. Buxton. Chandler is encamped on the prairie near Fort Scott, but expects to be ordered to Fort Scott in a few days. He informs James that his mother and brothers have been driven from Arkansas by the "secesh" and are now in Missouri, and that James's brother Thomas is in a "Missouri Union Regt." stationed at Mount Vernon, Missouri. Chandler also discusses James's discharge from the military.
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 5, 1862

Title: From E.F. Slaughter to Eliza Colgan
Description: On December 11, 1864, E.F. Slaughter writes from Hickmans Mill, Jackson County, Missouri, to Mrs. Eliza Colgan. Slaughter, a member of the local home guards, states that he was captured by "Prices men Shelby's division. We were taken to their camp and next morning paroled. We all started home…directly after we started the battle commenced." He says that both the Confederate and Union wounded were taken to Kansas City, "which shows that our armies are merciful as well as brave." He adds that guerrillas are becoming more active in the area since the soldiers have left.
Date: December 11, 1864

Title: From Mary Hall to Venitia Hall
Description: Mary Hall—the original recipient of this envelope—used it in 1863 to write a message to her sister Venitia Colcord Page, who was incarcerated at the Union Jail for Women in Kansas City. “Don’t say one word before anyone,” Mary warns, “The guards say they like you…They say very hard things of the others.” Mary gave the message to Venitia, who was married to Major Page, during a prison visit; Venitia escaped or was released before the prison collapsed in August 1863.
Date: 1863

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

Title: From E.B. Alexander to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated October 8, 1863, is from Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Alexander informs Comingo that "the Enrollment in Jackson County must not be suspended."
Date: October 8, 1863

Title: From Thomas P. Akers to Hamilton Gamble
Description: On September 12, 1862, Thomas P. Akers writes from Kansas City, Missouri to Missouri Governor Hamilton Gamble in St. Louis. Akers, a former Missouri Congressmen who opposed secession, states that when he returned to Lexington, Missouri after a year's absence, his wife and children were forcibly removed from their home and his father-in-law was arrested and imprisoned under false charges. Fearing arrest, Akers seeks Gamble's permission to peacefully resolve his affairs in Lexington before leaving the state.
Date: September 12, 1862

Title: From E.F. Slaughter to Eliza Colgan
Description: On February 25, 1863, E.F. Slaughter writes from Hickmans Mill, Missouri to Mrs. Eliza Colgan. Slaughter writes about his crops and livestock and mentions that Jackson County, Missouri "gets thinner settled all the time." He describes being taken prisoner by the Confederates, and declares, "Our country is in an awful condition."
Object Type: Letter
Date: February 25, 1863

Title: Affidavit of Henry E. McKee
Description: This is the sworn affidavit of Henry E. McKee, signed by Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on October 4, 1856. McKee claims that on October 2, he witnessed H. Miles Moore enter the American Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, where eight men captured him. They took Moore to Wyandotte, Kansas and “unlawfully imprisoned” him there, McKee says. He adds that if Moore does not receive help soon, “his life is in great hazard and will be sacrificed.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 4, 1856

Title: From John W. Reid to John W. Geary
Description: John W. Reid writes a letter from Independence, Missouri to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on September 20, 1856. Reid states that he obeyed Geary’s order to disband his troops and terminate an expedition to plunder Lawrence. He admits that “some bad men who were with us did commit some outrages . . . which I hope you will believe was beyond my control or power to prevent.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 20, 1856

Title: Pass for Paralee Hudspeth
Description: This pass, issued by Headquarters, Central District Missouri and signed by E.B. Brown, permits Paralee Hudspeth “to enter the Border Counties of the State of Missouri, for the purpose of securing property abandoned while obeying General Order No. 11.” The pass, dated November 18, 1863, was issued from Jefferson City, Missouri by special order of Brigadier General Thomas L. Ewing, Jr.
Date: November 18, 1863

Title: From Richard M. Hulse to Parents
Description: This letter, dated May 7, 1864, was written by Richard M. Hulse in Dallas, Missouri to his parents. Writing from the Headquarters of Company H, 2nd Calvary MSM, Richard explains that he and his men have taken and fortified the Dallas courthouse against Confederate rebels. He describes with emotion the recent death and funeral of one of his men: “as I stood by and thought of the desolation this war was making I brushed away the falling tear and left wondering whose turn next.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: May 7, 1864

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated June 4 and 5, 1858, is from Adj. Gen. G.A. Parsons to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons reports that he will ask a former Kansas resident named Hamilton to submit a statement about the crimes of James Montgomery and his followers. Parsons relays a rumor that 100-200 Kansas citizens who have sought refuge in Missouri plan to return to Kansas and seek revenge on Montgomery. He also reports a recent attack on Butler County, Missouri, and informs Stewart that Col. Blakey is organizing a volunteer company of Missouri citizens.
Date: June 4, 1858-June 5, 1858

Title: From George W. Deitzler to Commanding Officer
Description: This U.S. Military Telegraph message was sent to the “Commanding Officer” by Maj. Gen. George W. Deitzler in Independence, Missouri on October 20, 1864. Deitzler states that after a lengthy battle on October 19, Gen. Blunt has been driven from Lexington, Missouri by a Confederate force commanded by Gen. Price. Deitzler says that the Union side lost 20 men killed and wounded, and that Gen. Price’s current position is unknown. Deitzler adds that telegraphic communication between Kansas City and St. Louis is uninterrupted, and that “the danger to Kansas is not considered imminent.”
Date: October 20, 1864

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: On July 29, 1863, John A. Bushnell writes a letter to Eugenia Bronaugh in Calhoun, Missouri, informing her that he has arrived in St. Louis. He had planned to apply for exemption from military service during his trip to St. Louis, but has discovered that he must apply to the Board of Enrollment in his home district. He says he hopes to familiarize himself with news of the war, which has been difficult to do in Calhoun: “as now is a critical period of the times I can perhaps inform myself better here than at home.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 29, 1863

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

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