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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 Edward Fitch to Those...Who So Generously Responded to the Appeal for Help
Title
From Edward Fitch to Those...Who So Generously Responded to the Appeal for Help
Description
Edward Fitch writes a letter from Lawrence, Kansas to the people in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts on December 17, 1856. He thanks them for responding to his recent request for help by donating clothing to poor Kansas emigrants. He describes the people who have received their donations and the suffering they have endured. Many of them, Fitch says, have been robbed, attacked, or had their houses burned down by Border Ruffians.
Date
December 17, 1856
From James Henry Lane to R.M. Ainsworth
Title
From James Henry Lane to R.M. Ainsworth
Description
This is a copy of a letter written by Gen. James Henry Lane, labeled the first letter of the Wakarusa War. In the letter, dated December 1, 1855 and addressed to R.M. Ainsworth, Lane writes that a Free State man, Charles Dow, was “cowardly + brutally murdered by a gang of Proslavery men” in Lawrence, Kansas. Violence and threats followed, Lane says, and according to rumors, “this city is to be demolished without delay.”
Object Type
Letter
Date
December 1, 1855