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Title: From Florella Brown Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair and Emma Adair
Description: On September 14 and 15, 1860, Florella Brown Adair writes from Grafton Station, Ohio, to her husband Samuel Lyle Adair and daughter Emma Adair. Florella describes the contents of a barrel of clothing and other items she is sending to them. She says that her health has improved, and that her relatives and friends are “trying to make me look more like civilized folk than we did in Kansas.” Florella adds that she recently spent hours in conversation with a friend “about Kansas matters.”
Date: September 14, 1860-September 15, 1860

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 Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Description: This letter was written on August 24 and 27, 1863 by Samuel R. Ayres in Moneka, Kansas, to Lyman Langdon. Ayres writes that “along our Missouri border we are subject to almost constant raids from the Bushwhackers over the line who rob our citizens burn their houses and murder prominent men.” Ayres offers a description of Quantrill’s recent raid on Lawrence, Kansas, calling it “an act of barbarity but seldom if ever equaled by the most savage tribes.” Ayres says that he and other local citizens are organizing to defend Mound City, Kansas from guerrilla attacks.
Date: August 24, 1863-August 27, 1863

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: Diary Entries
Description: These unsigned diary entries discuss the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the election of the Bogus Legislature and subsequent protests, the arrest of John Brown, and violent Bushwhacker raids. The author describes the “tragic + bloody + exciting scenes” of life on the border of Kansas and Missouri.
Object Type: Diary
Date: 1854-1855

Title: From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
Description: This letter, written on the letterhead of Headquarters, Department of the Missouri and dated August 29, 1863, was sent by John M. Schofield in St. Louis to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Topeka, Kansas. Writing in the aftermath of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, Major General Schofield states his hope that President Lincoln will appoint a Court of Inquiry to investigate the raid. Schofield refers to a meeting proposed for September 8, 1863 in Paola, Kansas, in which participants plan to enter Missouri “to recover their stolen property.” Schofield emphasizes the need to preempt this potentially violent meeting.
Date: August 29, 1863

Title: From E.S. Lowman to Charles Robinson
Description: This letter was written by E.S. Lowman in Paola, Kansas, to Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson on August 13, 1861. Lowman writes that the citizens of Olathe, Kansas were recently in a state of “confusion and alarm,” fearing invasion by guerrillas. After the local sheriff arrested several suspected guerrillas from a “secret organization,” the situation settled down. Lowman believes that Aubrey, Kansas is at risk of attack by “’Jayhawkers’ from both sides of the line,” and states that he delivered additional arms to troops stationed there. He also describes recent efforts by law enforcement to recover property stolen by Jayhawkers.
Date: August 13, 1861

Title: From George W. Deane to the Commander of Lawrence Forces
Description: This dispatch, dated August 26, 1861, is from George W. Deane at Camp Briggs in New Lancaster, Miami County, Kansas to the “Commander of Lawrence forces.” Deane asks the officer to join forces “for the purpose of Clearing the Border of Rebel forces.” He states that his goal is to concentrate as many forces in New Lancaster as he possibly can. He tells the officer to meet him in New Lancaster.
Date: August 26, 1861

Title: Muster Rolls of Kansas Volunteer Regiments
Description: These muster rolls from 1861 and 1862 list the names, ranks, and enrollment dates of soldiers in companies from the 4th and 10th Kansas Volunteer Regiments. They also list the names of soldiers who deserted their regiments or were discharged, transferred, or deceased. The companies were commanded by Capt. James M. Harvey, Capt. James H. Harris, Col. William Weir, and Col. William Cloud.
Date: 1861-1862

Title: From Persifor Smith to M.C. Dickey
Description: This letter, dated July 23, 1856, is from Persifor Smith, a U.S. Army Major at Fort Leavenworth, to M.C. Dickey and “others, conductors of emigrating companies.” Smith responds to a letter in which Dickey and the others request military protection from armed bodies guarding the Kansas border. Smith denies their request: “I have no evidence that any parties are in arms to oppose you . . . I cannot act on your vague suspicions.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 23, 1856

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