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Title: From J.M. Vincent to Thomas Carney
Description: This telegram, dated May 11, 1863, is from J.M. Vincent in Washington, D.C. to Kansas Gov. Thomas Carney. Vincent denies Carney’s request for authority to raise a Home Guard, and informs him that U.S. Secretary of War E.M. Stanton “does not wish to raise more negro regiments at present.”
Object Type: Telegram
Date: May 11, 1863

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1864
Description: This military document is a return of ordnance and ordnance stores for Company "A" 8th Cavalry Regiment Missouri State Militia under command of Captain James J. Akard for the fourth quarter of 1864.
Date: January 10, 1865

Title: From Lewis Stafford to Kate Newland
Description: This letter, dated October 10, 1861 is from Lewis Stafford in Chillicothe, Missouri to Kate Newland. Stafford, a member of the 1st Kansas Infantry, Company E, expresses pride in his regiment and mentions their participation in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. He laments, however, that the regiment has lost a number of soldiers: “What sad havock war makes with the lives and health of men.”
Date: October 10, 1861

Title: From A.W. Mitchell to J.T. Sweringen
Description: This letter, dated May 29, 1861, is from A.W. Mitchell in Huntsville, Missouri to J.T. Sweringen in St. Louis. Mitchell notes that there has been some controversy over the U.S. providing arms to the Kansas Militia, and expresses concern that it will be detrimental to Missouri. He tells Sweringen that planting season has begun, and thus people are too busy "to attend much to politics," but adds that "no matter what our sentiments are we are all forced at this time to be Union men."
Date: May 29, 1861

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1865
Description: This military document is a return of ordnance and ordnance stores for Company "A" 8th Cavalry Regiment Missouri State Militia under command of Captain James J. Akard for the end of the company's service on January 25, 1865.
Date: February 19, 1865

Title: Diary of A.H. Lewis
Description: This diary, written between December 15, 1861 and March 19, 1862, records the experience of A.H. Lewis of Saline County, Missouri as a Confederate soldier and prisoner of war. Lewis’s company of Missouri State Guards was captured by Col. Davis in the Battle of Blackwater River on December 19, 1861. After being held for several weeks at the St. Louis military prison, the Confederate prisoners were moved to the penitentiary at Alton, Illinois. Although Lewis initially criticized prisoners who took an Oath of Loyalty to the Federal government to gain freedom, Lewis took the Oath himself on March 14, 1862 and was released.
Object Type: Diary
Date: December 15, 1861 - March 19, 1862

Title: Memorandum of Losses to Federal Troops, 1861-1863
Description: This table, written between 1861 and 1863, summarizes property losses sustained by Daniel A. DeWitt of Jackson County, Missouri during the war. Raided six times, DeWitt kept a careful record of each item lost to Union forces, listing its description and value and the name of the commanding officer responsible for the raid. Clothing, horses, livestock, farm equipment, and crops were among the items taken; the final raid, including the loss of “house and contents,” occurred on August 25, 1863 when DeWitt’s farm was burned out.
Object Type: Document
Date: 1861-1863

Title: From John A. Bushnell to Eugenia Bronaugh
Description: John A. Bushnell of Calhoun, Missouri writes to Eugenia Bronaugh in Hickory Grove, Missouri, reacting to news that her family has fallen victim to “outrages” perpetrated by “evil minded persons.” In the letter, dated July 12, 1864, he informs Eugenia that a Mr. Taylor and a Mr. Robinson have taken possession of two of his houses. He also makes reference to an attack on a black woman’s home, but he omits details because he does not want his words to be “wrongly construed.”
Date: July 12, 1864

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. Carte de visites were small photographs that were often used as calling cards and became very popular during the Civil War.
Object Type: Image

Title: From Charles W. Zuck to A. Comingo
Description: On March 21, 1864, Charles W. Zuck writes from Carrollton, Missouri to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri in Lexington, Missouri. Zuck reports that 58 "colored recruits" were enlisted in Carroll County, Missouri during January and February 1864. He adds that he does not yet know the number of white recruits enlisted.
Date: March 21, 1864

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 R.H. Kimball & Company of Leavenworth, 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

Title: William Gordon and Robert Henderson
Description: This black and white portrait, ca. 1861-1865, depicts Capt. William Gordon (on the left) and Capt. Robert Henderson (on the right). Gordon served in Company F, Sixth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and Henderson served in Company G, Sixth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.
Object Type: Image

Title: From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
Description: This letter, dated September 3, 1863, is from Major General John M. Schofield to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney. Schofield thanks Carney for offering the assistance of the Kansas Militia in protecting Lawrence and other border towns from Missouri rebels. Many of Schofield’s troops, he says, have left to fight with the regiments of Generals Grant, Steele, and Blunt. Schofield expresses a desire to avenge Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, and he hopes that the extra troops will be able to “destroy the guerrilla bands which have so long savaged the border.”
Date: September 3, 1863

Title: General Orders, No. 15
Description: This is Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis’s General Order No. 15, signed and dated October 23, 1864 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The order revokes General Order No. 54, which had established Martial Law north of the Kaw River. Curtis states that the enemy has moved south and that the area is no longer in danger. He adds that he is “glad to relieve the People from this burden.”
Date: October 23, 1864

Title: Applications of John Herndon
Description: These are John Herndon’s applications for compensation from the United States government for the military service of his slaves, Harrison Small and Reubin Herndon. The applications, dated November 19, 1866, include oaths of allegiance to the United States, a power of attorney transfer to Isaac C. Dodge, statements that John Herndon (of Howard County, Missouri) lawfully acquired his slaves, and the signatures of two witnesses and a notary public in Cooper County, Missouri. A note in pencil on the tenth page indicates that the application was rejected. Also included is Harrison Small’s enlistment form, signed and dated November 29, 1863.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 29, 1863 and November 19, 1866

Title: Missouri Militia Request for Recommendations for Enrolling Officers
Description: Missouri Militia Colonel Hosea G. Mullings requests that James J. Akard recommends "competent energetic and reliable men, for Enrolling Officers" in southwestern Missouri.
Date: September 3, 1866

Title: From Abishai Stowell to Margaret Torrence
Description: On October 14, 1864, Abishai Stowell writes from Fort Smith, Arkansas to his sister Margaret. Stowell, a member of Co. A, 2nd Kansas Volunteers, tells Margaret that her recent letter "was the third letter that I have got for over 8 months and I have written at least forty since that time." He adds that he hastens to answer her letter, "for soldiers don't know at what hour they may be called on to leave camp or how long they will have to stay away."
Date: October 14, 1864

Title: From James Beatty to William Fowler
Description: On August 29, 1864, James Beatty, Deputy Provost Marshal for the 20th Missouri subdistrict, writes from Milan, Missouri to Capt. William Fowler, Provost Marshal for the 7th District of Missouri, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Beatty reports that Wesley Griffith of Taylor, Missouri claims that the township is "entitled to many more credits for soldiers furnished" than appear in the draft documents. Beatty also states that he sent a soldier back to his regiment because his sick furlough had expired.
Date: August 29, 1864

Title: List of Colored Recruits Enlisted, 6th District Missouri
Description: This March 1864 military roll lists the names of "colored troops" enlisted in the 6th district, 28th sub-district in Chariton County, Missouri. The roll provides the soldiers' physical characteristics, occupations, birthplaces, and the names of their owners.
Date: March 1864

Title: Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley
Description: Two black-and-white portraits—displayed in a single wooden frame—depict Lt. William Bunkley and Sgt. Channing Bunkley in military uniform. The men’s birth and death dates are listed: William lived from 1842-1863 and Channing from 1844-1863. A note indicates that both men served under Confederate General Joseph Shelby; William was a color bearer.
Object Type: Image

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

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