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Title: Letters Sent (Provost Marshal, Northern District of Kansas)
Description: This notebook contains copies of correspondence sent by the Provost Marshal's Office, Northern District of Kansas in Leavenworth, Kansas, between August and December 1865. The correspondence addresses topics such as enrollment, desertions, and recruitment efforts. Participants in the correspondence include Quarter Master General M.C. Miegs; Assistant Secretary of War C.A. Dana; and Capt. J. McCahon, Provost Marshal for the Northern District of Kansas.
Date: August 1865-December 1865

Title: From Sarah Fitch to My Dear Father and Mother
Description: In an emotional letter dated September 2, 1863, Sarah Fitch informs her husband Edward’s parents that he was killed during Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence. She estimates that 250-300 of Quantrill's men arrived in Lawrence on horseback and fired at everyone in sight, leaving bodies “scattered all over town.” She writes that they approached her home, “screaming and yelling like so many demons from the infernal pit,” then shot Edward in the heart and burned down their house. She suspects they targeted her family because her children had been playing "soldier" and had left a Union flag hanging on their woodshed.
Date: September 2, 1863

Title: From James H. Moss to A.W. Doniphan
Description: On October 3, 1863, James H. Moss writes from Liberty, Missouri to Col. A.W. Doniphan. Moss describes his recent efforts to restore order in Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri by raising a local military force. He writes that the newspapers have been publishing "reckless" lies about his activities, and urges Doniphan not to believe what he reads. Moss asks Doniphan to explain the situation to Gov. Gamble, adding, "We have had perfect quiet in Clay and Platte for five days and nights past."
Date: October 3, 1863

Title: Sentinel Extra: Mass Meeting at Platte City
Description: This September 12, 1863 article from the Platte County Sentinel describes a “mass meeting” held at Platte City, Missouri, on September 7, 1863. According to the article, attendees at the meeting passed several resolutions condemning the recent attacks on Lawrence. Attendees also passed a resolution calling for the immediate emanicpation of all the slaves in Missouri.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: September 12, 1863

Title: Letters Sent (Provost Marshal, Northern District of Kansas)
Description: This notebook contains copies of correspondence sent by the Provost Marshal's Office, Northern District of Kansas in Leavenworth, Kansas, between January and August 1865. The correspondence addresses topics such as enrollment, desertions, and reports of muster. Participants in the correspondence include Provost Marshal General James B. Fry and Capt. J. McCahon, Provost Marshal for the Northern District of Kansas.
Date: January 1865-August 1865

Title: Letters Sent (Provost Marshal General's Bureau)
Description: This notebook contains copies of correspondence between Kansas Provost Marshal Alexander R. Banks in Leavenworth, Kansas, and Provost Marshal General James B. Fry in Washington, DC. The correspondence, written between June and December 1863, covers topics such as guerrilla warfare in Kansas and the raising of military forces to address it; appointments to various government positions; and how to handle property brought into Kansas by escaped slaves.
Date: June 1863-December 1863

Title: From Thomas Carney to E.M. Stanton
Description: This telegram, dated May 9, 1863, is from Kansas Gov. Thomas Carney to E.M. Stanton, U.S. Secretary of War. Carney, writing from Leavenworth, Kansas, requests permission from Stanton to raise a regiment of Home Guards for border protection, as well as two or more “Negro Regiments for General service.” Carney adds that “A portion of the State will be depopulated unless protection given.”
Object Type: Telegram
Date: May 9, 1863

Title: From Daniel R. Anthony to Sister
Description: This letter, dated February 3, 1862, was written by Daniel R. Anthony in Mound City, Kansas, to his sister. Anthony’s command will march the following day to Humboldt, Kansas; he also plans to visit the Cherokee Nation where “there are 6,000 or 7,000 friendly Indians…ready and willing to fight all rebeldom.” He says that when his troops are on the march, they free and arm every slave they meet, hoping to incite a slave insurrection. Anthony notes that many men believe Frederick Douglass should come to Kansas and raise a regiment of blacks.
Date: February 3, 1862

Title: From George H. Hoyt to Charles Robinson
Description: On August 12, 1862, George H. Hoyt writes from Leavenworth, Kansas, to Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson. Hoyt states that Gen. Lane has given Col. Jennison “the authority…to organize the colored regiments in the State…with no conditions of any sort.” Hoyt says that Jennison will be pleased to receive suggestions from Robinson regarding this work.
Date: August 12, 1862

Title: From Frederick Starr to My Dear Father
Description: On March 19, 1855, Frederick Starr writes from Weston, Missouri to his father. Starr transcribes a recent article from the local newspaper “Liberty Platform,” in which he is accused of being a “political priest” in charge of a “gang” of abolitionists. Starr believes the article makes unjust and false statements about him, but admits “it may be the impression which has fixed itself upon the minds of the fire eating part of the community. If so I would not have it otherwise.” The article also describes the nomination of Gen. Whitfield as the Kansas Territory delegate to Congress.
Date: March 19, 1855

Title: From D.R. Anthony to Dear Sister
Description: D.R. Anthony writes a letter from Leavenworth, Kansas to his sister on September 10 and 11, 1858. He reports the results of a recent municipal election, which put into office three Democrats, two Whigs, and fourteen Republicans. He expresses dismay about local Irish-Americans voting Democrat and their desire to establish a “Free white state for white men.” Anthony decries the rampant racism of the times, as well as “the ignorance and prejudice of the Irish.” He tells his sister that his antislavery stance has earned him “the reputation of being one of the most radical men in Kansas.”
Date: September 10, 1858-September 11, 1858

Title: From R.G. Elliott to Dear Sister
Description: This letter, dated August 3, 1863, is from R.G. Elliott in Lawrence, Kansas to his sister. He responds to her complaints about Copperheads: "If you could only send them out here we would make them keep quiet." He writes about a political meeting in Leavenworth that ended in threats of violence. He adds that there has been an increase in guerrilla activity near the Kansas-Missouri border, and that the people of Kansas are preparing to defend themselves against attack.
Date: August 3, 1863

Title: From John Stillman Brown to John L. Rupur
Description: On September 1, 1863, John Stillman Brown writes a letter to John L. Rupur about Quantrill's August 21 Raid on Lawrence. He lists the names of friends who were killed in the raid, and describes watching the bushwhackers from a hill west of Lawrence "as they went to their work of death, burning and plunder." He also mentions seeing "the brave" Gen. James Henry Lane.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 1, 1863

Title: From Josiah Miller to Dear Father and Mother
Description: This letter, dated January 25, 1856, is from Josiah Miller in Lawrence, Kansas to his parents living in a Southern state. Miller tells his parents about a recent election for Kansas state officers that ended in a skirmish between Free State men and proslavery men, including some from Missouri. He predicts that "this slavery question" will result in civil war, and urges his parents to move to a free state.
Object Type: Letter
Date: January 25, 1856

Title: From Joseph Moore to Hugh Fisher
Description: Joseph Moore writes a letter from Marysville, Kansas to Rev. Hugh D. Fisher on August 8, 1863. Moore requests that Fisher send African Americans to work in Marshall County: “I understand you have charge of all the contrabands at Leavenworth, hence I write to you requesting you to send me a stout negro man. Quite a number could get good steady employment here at good wages.”
Date: August 8, 1863

Title: From Powell Clayton to John Halderman
Description: Powell Clayton writes a letter from Pine Bluff, Arkansas to Gen. John Halderman on October 21, 1864. He says that he is not convinced by Gen. Magruder’s threats to attack Pine Bluff; he believes that Magruder is attempting to detract attention from Gen. Price’s movements in Missouri. Clayton expresses hope that slavery will be abolished and that Lincoln will win the upcoming presidential election. He declares, “it is the duty of all Patriots, independent of past party predilections, to vote for Lincoln and Johnson.”
Date: October 21, 1864

Title: From George Henry Hoyt to George L. Stearns
Description: This letter, dated August 13, 1862, was written by George Henry Hoyt in Leavenworth, Kansas, to George L. Stearns. Written on the letterhead of “Office Recruiting Commissioner, Northern District, Kans.,” the letter addresses the organization of the 3rd Regiment of Colored Kansas. Hoyt states that the regiment is “armed, uniformed, and equipped precisely as other Kansas Regiments,” while its officers are all “men of tried and settled principles.”
Date: August 13, 1862

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

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

Title: From Joseph H. Trego to Alice Trego
Description: In this letter, dated November 23, 1863, Lieut. Joseph H. Trego of the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment informs his wife Alice that he has safely arrived at Fort Smith, Arkansas. He says that scouts from his regiment captured about a dozen Bushwhackers and that Gen. McNeil “is keeping them here to have them ready to hang to telegraph poles.” Trego also mentions that Gen. Blunt is at Fort Smith and is likely to be reinstated to his command.
Date: November 23, 1863

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

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