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Title: Civil War Muster Rolls
Description: These muster rolls from 1861 and 1864 list the names of soldiers enlisted in Captain James R. Murphy’s Company of Home Guards from Caldwell County, Missouri. Attached is a January 22, 1946 letter from Bertha E. Booth of Caldwell County to Mr. Shoemaker. Booth notes that the muster roll from 1864 is likely to be “a list of the militiamen who were in pursuit of the Thrailkill (Confed.) raiders.”
Date: 1861 and 1864

Title: Notice! to Abolitionists and Freesoilers of Weston
Description: This broadside calls on “The Abolitionists and Freesoilers of Weston and vicinity” to meet at the Weston, Missouri courthouse on September 1, 1854 at 7:00pm, “to adopt such measures as they may deem most proper and expedient, and best calculated to Counteract the Effect produced by some of the doings of some of the men connected with the ‘Platte County Self-Defensive Association.’” The broadside was issued by “Many Citizens” on September 1, 1854 in Weston.
Object Type: Broadside
Date: September 1, 1854

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father
Description: This letter was written on March 31, 1855, by Frederick Starr in Weston, Missouri, to his father. Starr describes the election fraud that took place at the Kansas legislative elections on March 30, calling it “a high handed outrage.” He says that hundreds of armed, pro-slavery Missourians came into Kansas to disrupt the election, and that more than 800 illegal votes were cast in Leavenworth, Kansas. Starr asks his father to publish the information in his letter in the Albany Evening Journal, without mentioning his name.
Date: March 31, 1855

Title: A Letter from the Original Members of the Leavenworth Association, K.T. to Jefferson Davis
Description: This pamphlet, dated March 13, 1855, is entitled “A Letter from the Original Members of the Leavenworth Association, K.T. to Hon. Jefferson Davis, Secretary of the War Department.” The pamphlet voices the Association’s concerns about Executive Document No. 50 of the 2nd Session of the 33rd Congress, regarding the military Indian reservation at Fort Leavenworth. The pamphlet was printed by Finch & O’Gorman in Weston, Missouri, and is signed by 26 Association members.
Object Type: Pamphlet
Date: March 13, 1855

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: This is an excerpt from a letter written on December 1, 1854 by Frederick Starr to an unknown recipient. Starr describes a recent “outrage on the ballot box” during elections in Kansas, when “Some 1200 or 1400 Missourians armed with bowie-knives & revolvers took the polls.” Starr says that many free-soilers were unable to reach the polls at all, and declares that “Big times are coming.” He adds that circumstances in Weston, Missouri “look dark.”
Date: December 1, 1854

Title: Special Orders, No. 70 and No. 4
Description: These orders were issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas E. Ewing in 1863. Special Order No. 70, dated September 5, 1863 and signed by Maj. Preston B. Plumb, commands Dr. Joseph Chew and his family, residents of Kansas City, Missouri, to leave the area “during the rebellion.” Special Order No. 4, dated October 20, 1863 and signed by Lt. Col. R.T. Van Horn, revokes the banishment of Chew and his family, and authorizes them to reside in Clay, Platte, Ray, or Carroll Counties, Missouri.
Date: September 5, 1863 and October 20, 1863

Title: List of Morgan County Radicals in This District
Description: This document, ca. 1861-1865, provides a list of “radicals in this District.” Each of the 22 “radicals” is identified by name, town, and county; most are from Andrew County, Missouri. A note on the reverse states “There are some others but don’t know their address.”

Title: Notice! to Citizens of Weston
Description: This broadside calls on “The Citizens of Weston and vicinity” to meet at the Weston, Missouri courthouse on September 1, 1854 at 7:00pm, “to adopt such measures as they may deem most proper and expedient, and best calculated to counteract the effect produced by SOME of the doings of SOME of the men connected with the ‘PLATTE COUNTY SELF DEFENSIVE ASSOCIATION.’” The broadside is signed “Many Citizens,” and is dated August 31, 1854.
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 31, 1854

Title: Disloyalists Banished from Western Missouri
Description: This newspaper clipping, ca. August 1863, lists the names of "disloyalists" who were banished from Western Missouri in accordance with Gen. Ewing's General Order No. 11. The people listed were residents of Kansas City, Missouri; Independence, Missouri; Osage County, Kansas; and Olathe, Kansas. The order prohibits these "disloyal" citizens from residing in their homes or in Platte, Clay, Ray, or Carroll counties.
Object Type: Newspaper Article

Title: From Willard P. Hall to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On August 31, 1863, Willard Hall writes from Headquarters, State of Missouri in St. Louis to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Hall refers to "an order from Gen. Ewing"--presumably Order No. 11--and predicts that Jackson and Cass Counties in Missouri "will be laid waste" after its implementation. Hall adds that he will continue to protect the Missouri counties of Clay and Platte.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: August 31, 1863

Title: From "C." to "Col."
Description: This letter, dated September 21, 1861, is from "C." in St. Joseph, Missouri to "Col." C. reports that the Federal troops surrendered at the Battle of Lexington on September 20. He writes that "our country has been rob[b]ed by both parties . . . nearly evry body that is worth any thing has been rob[b]ed more or less, no matter what their politics are." He adds that people are "bitter" about the Platte Purchase, and predicts that fighting will ensue.
Date: September 21, 1861

Title: Citizens' Meeting at Weston, Missouri
Description: This broadside describes the proceedings of a citizens’ meeting held in Weston, Missouri, on September 1, 1854. G.W. Gist is identified as chair of the meeting, with J.B. Evans serving as secretary. The broadside states that ten resolutions were passed at the meeting, with attendees declaring themselves to be “Union men” forced to accept measures contrary to their principles by “certain members of the Platte County Self-Defensive Association.” The broadside is signed by 174 men.
Object Type: Broadside
Date: September 1, 1854

Title: From Thomas Ewing to A.O. Runyan and Family
Description: This extract of Special Order No. 64 is addressed to A. O. Runyan and his family in Independence, Missouri. The order, issued from Headquarters, District of the Border in Kansas City, Missouri on August 29, 1863, instructs Runyan's family "to remove from this District within ten days," and forbids them from going to reside in Platte, Clay, Ray, or Carroll counties in Missouri. The order is issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing and signed by Maj. Preston B. Plumb, Chief of Staff.
Date: August 29, 1863

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 W.J. Patterson to Sterling Price
Description: This telegram is from W.J. Patterson in Parkville, Missouri to Gov. Sterling Price in Jefferson City, Missouri. The telegram, dated April 26, 1855, states that an armed mob destroyed Patterson’s printing press and threatened to kill the citizens of Platte County if they did not leave. Patterson, an editor of a Free Soil paper, The Parkville Luminary, asks Gov. Price to send state authorities to protect the county, emphasizing that danger is imminent.
Object Type: Telegram
Date: April 26, 1855

Title: From D.A.W. Morehouse to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on February 21, 1859 by D.A.W. Morehouse in Papinsville, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Morehouse shares “startling news” brought from Lawrence, Kansas by U.S. Deputy Marshal A.J. Russes. While held prisoner in Lawrence for ten days, Russes learned that “depredations” would again be committed in the border counties of Missouri, and that James Lane, commanding a force of 1,000 men, planned to enter Platte County, Missouri to free two prisoners held there for kidnapping slaves in the state.
Date: February 21, 1859

Title: From James H. Moss to W.P. Hall
Description: On September 27, 1863, Col. James H. Moss writes from Platte City, Missouri to W.P. Hall. Moss states that he is organizing companies of Platte County citizens to defend against threatened raids from Kansas. He says that the day before, a group of "desperate outlaws from Kansas" came to Missouri and were soon joined by Col. Joseph A. Price and "all the radical element in Platte." In a statement written on the back of the letter, Hall notes that he referred the letter to Gov. Gamble, recommending that Col. Price be removed from his office.
Date: September 27, 1863

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: This ca. April 1855 letter was written by Frederick Starr to an unknown recipient, possibly his father. Starr says that he plans to leave Weston, Missouri within 3 or 4 weeks, because “We are in the midst of terrible times again…The ballot box is violated[,] the press overthrown, the church denounced[,] surely pro slavery powers are making great advances.” Starr states that the printing press owned by Park and Patterson in Parkville, Missouri was thrown into the river, and the men were ordered to leave the state.

Title: From Louis A. Myers to Luther M. Myers
Description: This letter, dated July 18, 1858, was written by Louis A. Myers in Philippi, Virginia to Luther M. Myers in Johnson County, Kansas. Louis expresses his agreement with Luther on the topic of the Missouri Compromise. Louis says he will write again when he returns to Weston, Missouri.
Date: July 18, 1858

Title: From Jonathan B. Fuller to Dear Father
Description: On July 18, 1864, Jonathan B. Fuller writes from Kansas City, Missouri to his father. Fuller reports rumors of recent battles "across the river," and says that Platte City, Missouri may have been "burned to the ground by our own soldiers." He mentions his anxiety over mounting political tensions in his church, fearing that the congregation may split after the August 4 "Fast day" service.
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 18, 1864

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

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