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From B.F. Dawson to Colonel of the Second Kansas Militia
Title
From B.F. Dawson to Colonel of the Second Kansas Militia
Description
This letter, dated October 14, 1864 but presumably written ca. October 22, 1864, was sent by B.F. Dawson in Topeka, Kansas, to the Colonel of the 2nd Kansas Militia. Dawson, a member of Capt. Huntoon’s Company B, 2nd Kansas Militia, describes his participation in the Battle of the Blue, during which he was taken prisoner by the Confederates. He was later paroled by Gen. Shelby and marched back to Topeka.
Election of A.J. Huntoon
Title
Election of A.J. Huntoon
Description
This certificate declares A.J. Huntoon’s election to First Lieutenant of a volunteer company of Cavalry of the Kansas State Militia. It is dated August 25, 1863 and is signed by Kansas Gov. Thomas Carney and Secretary of State W.W.H. Lawrence in Topeka.
Date
August 25, 1863
From S.P. Higgins to John W. Geary
Title
From S.P. Higgins to John W. Geary
Description
Lieut. S.P. Higgins writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 23, 1856. He informs Geary that 31 prisoners in his custody escaped the previous night through holes in the prison walls. He says that he suspected the prisoners were headed for Topeka, so he travelled there, but did not find them. He now suspects that they might have gone to Lawrence, and assures Geary that he will update him when he receives new information.
Date
November 23, 1856
Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Title
Soldier, Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Description
This sepia carte de visite, ca. 1861-1865, depicts an unidentified soldier who served in the Eleventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The carte de visite was produced by Bliss & Wentworth in Topeka, Kansas. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type
Image
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description
Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts on February 24, 1856. He says that the Free State Legislature plans to meet next month in Topeka, and that President Pierce has proclaimed them traitors. Fitch predicts that the Missourians will attack Kansas, “but if they try it we shall have a bloody time out here.” He finishes the letter on March 9 and tells his parents that the Legislature met in Topeka, and that no violence occurred.
Date
February 24, 1856-March 9, 1856
From G.W. Veale to George W. Dietzler
Title
From G.W. Veale to George W. Dietzler
Description
On October 30, 1864, this dispatch was sent by Col. G.W. Veale at Headquarters, 2nd Regiment, Kansas State Militia in Topeka, Kansas, to Maj. Gen. Dietzler, Comm. Kansas State Militia. Veale reports on a recent campaign in which his regiment moved from Topeka to Shawneetown in Johnson County, Kansas, to Jackson County, Missouri, where it fought in the Battle of the Blue on October 22, 1864. Veale states that his regiment lost 44 killed and wounded, with 68 men taken prisoner after fighting “a force six times our number for three quarters of an hour.” The dispatch includes a list of the soldiers killed and wounded in the battle.
Date
October 30, 1864
From Edward Hoogland to John W. Geary
Title
From Edward Hoogland to John W. Geary
Description
Edward Hoogland writes a letter from Tecumseh, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary on November 28, 1856. He relays a rumor that a party of ten or eleven men in military uniform unlawfully arrested a criminal named Capt. Holmes and took him across the state line into Jackson County, Missouri. Hoogland asks Geary to investigate the matter and expresses his fear that this “great outrage” might mar the public image of the military and “endanger the peace of the Territory.”
Date
November 28, 1856
Statement of Wilson Shannon
Title
Statement of Wilson Shannon
Description
This statement by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon was written ca. December 1855. Shannon describes the series of events leading to the Wakarusa War, beginning with the murder of a Free State supporter named Charles Dow by Franklin Coleman, a proslavery man. To address the subsequent civil unrest in Douglas County, Kansas, Shannon asks General Richardson, General Strickler, and Col. Sumner to supply troops and assist Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones in restoring order.
Object Type
Government Document
From George Collamore to G.L. Stearns
Title
From George Collamore to G.L. Stearns
Description
This letter was written on May 2 and 7, 1861 by George Collamore in Leavenworth, Kansas to G.L. Stearns in Boston. Collamore writes that Kansas is under threat of attack from Missouri and the Cherokee and Osage Indians, and that Kansas’s defenses are weak. He reports that Gov. Robinson offered him the position of Quartermaster General of the Kansas Militia, which he temporarily accepted. Collamore asks Stearns to send “thick colored blankets” and other items to Kansas, urging Stearns to keep his activities secret and to be cautious about what he writes in future letters.
Object Type
Letter
Date
May 2, 1861 and May 7, 1861
From Edmund G. Ross to My Dear Wife
Title
From Edmund G. Ross to My Dear Wife
Description
Edmund G. Ross, a captain in the 11th Kansas Cavalry, writes a letter to his wife on June 15, 1864. He informs her that he has just arrived in Olathe from Lawrence, Kansas, and has heard rumors of “a great scare along the border” of Kansas and Missouri. Ross predicts that Kansas troops will soon cross into Missouri to fight the Bushwhackers.
Date
June 15, 1864
From Daniel Woodson to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore
Title
From Daniel Woodson to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore
Description
This letter, dated September 3, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson at Lecompton, Kansas to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore on behalf of the Kansas State Central Committee. Woodson refers to Gen. James Lane’s recent raid on Franklin, Kansas and several other areas of the Territory. He reminds Hutchinson and Moore about the proclamation issued August 25, 1856, declaring Kansas to be in a state of insurrection, and also cites the recent general order issued to Gen. Richardson and Gen. Coffey forbidding the burning of houses under any circumstances.
Object Type
Letter
Date
September 3, 1856
From E.S. Lowman to Charles Robinson
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
From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Title
From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description
Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke writes a dispatch from camp in Nebraska to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on October 8, 1856. He reports on military operations near the Nebraska-Kansas border, and informs Geary that he is sending troops to Lecompton and Topeka.
Date
October 8, 1856
From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Title
From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description
Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke writes a dispatch to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary on September 23, 1856, informing him that Col. Johnston has received orders to march to the “Northern frontier.” Cooke asks Geary to relay any new information he might have.
Date
September 23, 1856
From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Title
From Thomas Carney to James L. McDowell
Description
This letter, dated February 9, 1864, was written by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney in Topeka, Kansas to Major General James L. McDowell. Carney orders McDowell to organize and assume command of the Topeka militia for the purpose of protecting the city and its vicinity from guerrilla attacks. Carney states that he will promptly grant any necessary assistance in securing the public safety.
Object Type
Letter
Date
February 9, 1864
Kansas Colored Volunteers Correspondence
Title
Kansas Colored Volunteers Correspondence
Description
This bound letterbook contains copies of letters exchanged between the Adjutant General’s Office in Fort Scott, Kansas and various correspondents including the War Department in Washington. The letters relate to the recruitment and commission of troops and officers for the Kansas Colored Volunteers. Participants in the correspondence include Major General James G. Blunt, Major General J.M. Schofield, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and Kansas Governor Thomas Carney.
Date
1863-1864
From Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Title
From Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Description
This letter, dated May 6, 1862, is from Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon. Ayres states that he was ordered, along with the 7th Kansas Volunteer Regiment, to report at Fort Riley. The 1st and 2nd Kansas Volunteer Regiments and the 12th and 13th Wisconsin Regiments are also at Fort Riley, Ayres says, and they are all preparing to move to New Mexico. Ayres suspects that the purpose of the relocation is to move the abolitionist soldiers away from “the vicinity of slavedom.”
Date
May 6, 1862
From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Title
From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description
This letter, dated June 23, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner. Shannon, who is leaving for St. Louis, instructs Sumner to station U.S. troops in areas where disturbances have recently occurred, and to station two companies at Topeka before the Free State legislative assembly meets on July 4th. Shannon believes that “if this body meets, enacts laws, and seeks to enforce them…civil war will be the inevitable result.” He orders Sumner to disband the assembly by force if necessary.
Date
June 23, 1856
From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie P. Huntoon
Title
From A.J. Huntoon to Lizzie P. Huntoon
Description
In this letter, dated July 17 and July 20, 1861, A.J. Huntoon writes to his wife Lizzie P. Huntoon. On July 17, A.J. writes from Camp Lincoln, headquarters of the 3rd Regiment, Kansas Volunteers, in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A.J. describes his trip from Topeka to Fort Leavenworth, stating that four companies are in camp there, while another five have gone to Kansas City. On July 20, A.J. reports he is in camp at Kansas City, where there are rumors of an imminent secessionist attack; he believes there is no great danger.
Date
July 17, 1861-July 20, 1861
From Edward Hoogland and John A.W. Jones to John W. Geary
Title
From Edward Hoogland and John A.W. Jones to John W. Geary
Description
In this November 29, 1856 letter, Edward Hoogland and John A.W. Jones report to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary about their recent expedition to southeastern Kansas. They inform Geary that they took depositions, issued warrants, and made arrests in relation to a number of crimes, including some committed during the Pottawatomie Massacre. They also report that they found and returned a substantial amount of stolen property. Hoogland and Jones ask Geary to station U.S. troops in southeastern Kansas, suggesting that “their presence would aid in restoring confidence.”
Date
November 29, 1856