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Title: An Abolition Trick Exposed!
Description: This broadside was written by B.F. Stringfellow in Platte County, Missouri on August 7, 1854. Stringfellow denies H. Miles Moore’s accusation that he declared that all men who labor for a living are slaves. He accuses Moore of being an abolitionist, a Freesoiler, and a “white slave.” The broadside includes statements by people who witnessed an argument between Stringfellow and Moore, and a statement signed by 22 citizens who denied that Stringfellow ever called laborers slaves.
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 2, 1854-August 7, 1854

Title: From Frederick Starr to Dear Father, Mother, and Boys Great and Small
Description: On October 18, 1854, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to “Father, Mother, and boys great and small.” Starr reports that the newly-formed Self Defensive Association of Platte County, Missouri has begun to "rid the country of all pests,” including “Emigrant Aid Societies, Abolitionists and free soilers.” Starr calls the Association a “mob society,” and says they have already arrested two men, ordered all free blacks to leave the area, and established a night patrol to secure slaves and “catch the Abolitionists.” Starr adds that he refused to sign the Association’s resolutions when invited to do so.
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 18, 1854

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 A.F. Cox to A. Comingo
Description: This letter, dated November 30, 1863, is from A.F. Cox, Deputy Provost Marshal of Platte County, Missouri, to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal of the 6th district of Missouri. Cox informs Comingo that there are inaccuracies in recent payrolls for two of his Enrolling Officers, Miles and Carson. He also states that he will print the names of all the soldiers who enlisted in Platte County, in obedience to orders from Washington.
Date: November 30, 1863

Title: From Frederick Starr to Unknown
Description: On December 29, 1854, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to an unknown recipient. He writes about attending a meeting of the Platte County, Missouri Self Defensive Association, which he began describing in a previous letter. Starr recounts that the Association accused him of several offenses, including allowing a slave to ride in his buggy on July 4. Starr explains how the situation came about and notes that many of the Association’s members often ride with their own slaves in their buggys.
Date: December 29, 1854

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: "An Abolition Trick Exposed!" Eh?
Description: This broadside was published by H. Miles Moore, a writer for the Weston Reporter in Platte County, Missouri, on August 12, 1854. Moore responds to B.F. Stringfellow’s accusations that he is a Freesoiler and “the secret tool of abolitionists.” He angrily denies the charges and claims to despise abolitionists. He includes a letter, signed by 17 other Platte County citizens, that accuses Stringfellow of publicly stating that “all who labor for their daily bread . . . are slaves” and “all females who labor for their daily bread are whores.”
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 12, 1854

Title: From Mary C. Irvine to Mr. Bohart
Description: On September 13, 1863, Mary C. Irvine writes to Mr. Bohart. Mary thanks Bohart for sending news of her son, who was wounded at Champion Hill. She asks Bohart to tell her son that many changes have taken place in the neighborhood, such as the escape of local slaves to Kansas: "Mr. Bedford's negroes have run off and took about $500 worth of horses with them." Mary adds that many of their neighbors are relocating to different states including Kentucky and Illinois, and that it would not be safe for her son to return home now.
Date: September 13, 1863

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

Title: From Thomas Fletcher to R.T. Van Horn
Description: This dispatch, dated October 20, 1866, is from Thomas Fletcher in Jefferson City, Missouri to Hon. R.T. Van Horn. Fletcher reports that his plans concerning troop movements within Missouri have changed. He had originally planned to send troops to Platte, Clay, Carroll, Ray, and Chariton counties, but is now occupied with political concerns: "The ablest men in the Conservative Party are detailed to the duty of getting up a disturbance between Genls Sherman[,] Hancock & myself, and it keeps me busy & watchful to prevent them making us trouble."
Date: October 20, 1866

Title: Kansas and Nebraska 1856
Description: This color map, entitled “Kansas and Nebraska 1856,” was printed by J.G. Wells in New York.
Object Type: Map
Date: 1856

Title: From James Henry Lane to E.M. Stanton
Description: This letter, dated February 8, 1862, is from James Henry Lane to E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War, in Washington, D.C. Writing from Leavenworth, Kansas, Lane states that he supports the proposal to extend the Platte County Rail Road from Weston, Missouri to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He urges Stanton to offer his support, arguing that the extension would help the government transport army supplies and troops.
Date: February 8, 1862

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