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Title: From George E. Young to My Dear Father
Description: This letter, dated August 23, 1863, is from George E. Young in Minneola, Kansas to his father. Young writes that he was in Lawrence on the day of Quantrill's Raid and "came very near being killed." He describes how the attackers approached the boarding house where he was staying, ordered all the women and children to leave, then lined up the men and shot at them. Young tells his father that he ran away and hid in a nearby cellar, narrowly escaping death.
Date: August 23, 1863

Title: Petition from Leavenworth Women
Description: This petition, written ca. September 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by 16 women in Leavenworth, Kansas. The petitioners complain that they have been driven from their homes by a group of armed men. They say that some of their husbands have been imprisoned or extradited, “leaving us unprotected in the midst of a scene of general robbery and all too frequently of murder.” They also claim that the mayor of Leavenworth and other city officials were aware of the raids and failed to stop them. The petitioners ask Geary for his assistance.
Object Type: Petition

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: 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 George W. Collamore to William P. Dole
Description: This letter, dated April 21, 1862, is from George W. Collamore to Hon. William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Writing from Washington, DC, Collamore provides an account of his "recent visit to the Loyal Indians who were obliged to flee from their pursuers (the rebel Indians and Texans) in the dead of Winter and are now encamped on the Neosho River" in southern Kansas. Collamore states that these Indians, numbering about 8,000, have suffered and many have died from exposure and lack of food.
Date: April 21, 1862

Title: From George D. Bayard to Father
Description: This is a copy of an October 1, 1856 letter from George D. Bayard in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to his father. Bayard tells his father that Kansas is overrun with invaders from Missouri who want to make it a slave state, and with northern emigrants who want to make it a free state. He criticizes Gov. John W. Geary for not taking a strong stand against slavery. He also mentions that troops from Lecompton are pursuing James Henry Lane and his men.
Date: October 1, 1856

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