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Title: From Charles Sumner to My Dear Hale
Description: Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner writes a letter from Washington to "My dear Hale" on March 1, 1856. Sumner criticizes Stephen A. Douglas, Lewis Cass, and the Know Nothing Party, and worries that "this Congress will do nothing for the benefit of Kansas." He expresses concern that Kansas will not be admitted to the Union due to its small population and the lack of support for its constitution.
Date: March 1, 1856

Title: The Western Dispatch.
Description: This is the August 17, 1856 evening issue of the Western Dispatch, printed in Independence, Missouri. The newspaper announces that war is "being waged by the Abolitionists," and reports that James Henry Lane, John Brown, and their forces have robbed several Kansas residents and driven them into Missouri. The paper also mentions that Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon requested aid from the U.S. military, but was refused. A last minute extra, printed at the bottom of the paper, states that Lane and his men have captured Lecompton.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: August 17, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description: Edward Fitch writes a letter to his father on September 19, 1855, four days after the Bogus Legislature’s Gag Law has gone into effect. He says he attended a meeting where he and others illegally spoke out against the Gag Law. He adds that Governor Shannon showed up “but refused to speak . . . he is a Dough face, Dough head + a Fool Knave Rascal and all.”
Date: September 19, 1855

Title: The Kansas War & Other Matters
Description: This poem was written in 1863 by S.S. Wiciszg, a soldier serving near Hardeeville, South Carolina. Wiciszg describes himself as "a soldier just from Lawrence" and decries the violence and guerrilla warfare in Kansas during the border wars. The poem condemns the Border Ruffians and the Doniphan Tigers. It also criticizes the political climate, and mentions the Free Soilers, Wilson Shannon, Horace Greely, and Arthur Tappan.
Object Type: Document
Date: 1863

Title: Correspondence of the Kansas Territory Executive Department
Description: This correspondence, dated January 7, 1858 through April 6, 1858, relates to contracts between the Kansas Territorial government and Charles A. Perry, Findley Patterson, and F.J. Marshall, to construct the capital building at Lecompton, Kansas. Perry, Patterson, and Marshall each claim that they have not been paid for contracted work on the capital building. Patterson’s letter dated March 10, 1858 refers to an upcoming Congressional vote on the "Kansas question."
Date: January 7, 1858-April 6, 1858

Title: Writ Relating to United States vs. James Lane, Wilson Shannon, and David S. McIntosh
Description: This writ, dated March 19, 1860, relates to the case Kansas Territory, U.S. District Court, 2nd District versus James H. Lane, Wilson Shannon, and David S. McIntosh for forfeited recognizance. The writ is signed by L. McArthur, Clerk of the Second U.S. District Court in Kansas Territory.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: March 19, 1860

Title: From Abelard Guthrie to James Henry Lane
Description: This letter, dated November 21, 1864, is from Abelard Guthrie in Quindaro, Kansas to James Henry Lane. Guthrie reports on the proceedings of a Supreme Court case to determine if Kansas has the right to tax land assigned to the Shawnee Indians. Guthrie argues that if the court exempts these areas from taxation, it will deprive "the counties of Douglass, Johnson, and Wyandot of about sixty thousand dollars of taxes which they sorely need."
Date: November 21, 1864

Title: Wakarusa Treaty (Draft)
Description: This document is a draft of the Wakarusa Treaty, signed by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon, Charles Robinson, and James H. Lane on December 8, 1855, ending the Wakarusa War. The signers declare that they "have no knowledge of the previous--present or prospective existence of any organization in [Kansas] Territory for the resistance of the laws." They agree to “aid the Governor in securing a posse” to execute the laws, provided that accused individuals are arrested with “legal process” and receive a hearing before a U.S. District Court judge.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: December 8, 1855

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description: In a May 26, 1856 letter to his father in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch describes the Sack of Lawrence that had occurred six days earlier on May 21, 1856. He mentions that Governor Shannon has called for protection “for fear we should rise up and exterminate him and the Pro-Slavery party.” He expresses his own fear that the Free State Party will be defeated and that Kansas will become a slave state. He also fears for his personal safety, saying he "shall not dare to stay at my cabin without a rifle or gun at my bedside." He adds that he hopes John C. Fremont will win the upcoming presidential election.
Date: May 26, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to Unknown
Description: This letter was written ca. December 25, 1855 by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon to an unknown recipient. Shannon states that on December 9, 1855, he was at a party in Lawrence, Kansas when Charles Robinson informed him that “a large irregular force” was threatening to attack the town. Robinson asked Shannon to give him and James Lane written authority to defend Lawrence by force. Shannon signed Robinson’s paper, but later discovered that the threatened attack was a ruse devised by “tricksters who by fraudulent representations were seeking to obtain an advantage over me.”

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

Title: Governor Wilson Shannon (1802–1877)
Description: Wilson Shannon, a former governor of Ohio, was appointed Kansas territorial governor by President Franklin Pierce. In contrast to his predecessor, Andrew H. Reeder, Shannon was outspoken in his proslavery stance and even failed to defend the town of Lawrence from a proslavery raid in May 1856. The "Bleeding Kansas" era began during Shannon's term in office, as the Pottawatomie Massacre and other threats of violence emerged. Admitting failure, Shannon left the territory on June 23, 1856 and his resignation was tendered on August 18, 1856. Still, Shannon's 9.5 month tenure was the longest of any of Kansas Territory's embattled governors.
Object Type: Image
Date: n.d.

Title: Correspondence of the Kansas Territory Executive Department
Description: This group of documents, dated between 1855 and 1856, comprises correspondence and other papers relating to the construction of the capital building at Lecompton, Kansas. Kansas Governors Reeder, Geary, and Shannon participated in the correspondence, which includes the appointment of Owen C. Stewart as Superintendent of Construction on October 20, 1855, and a contract for construction dated December 27, 1855.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1855-1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated May 21, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner at Headquarters, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Due to recent civil unrest in Lawrence, Kansas, Shannon instructs Sumner to station companies of U.S. troops at or near Lawrence, Lecompton, and Topeka, Kansas. Shannon explains that federal troops are the only ones he feels safe using in response to “these civil commotions.” He notes that the U.S. Marshal has made several arrests for the crime of high treason.
Date: May 21, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated June 23, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner. Shannon, who says he will soon leave for St. Louis, urges Sumner to attend the meeting of the Topeka legislature. Shannon indicates that he fears an outbreak of violence will occur if U.S. troops are withdrawn from Kansas, and says he will write to President Pierce saying so. Shannon requests that Sumner make no changes with the troops until he returns in ten days’ time.
Date: June 23, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated June 4, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner at Headquarters, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Shannon has received reliable information that the town of Franklin, Kansas was attacked by about 150 armed men the previous night, leaving one man dead and five or six taken prisoner. Shannon hopes that Sumner will take prompt action to stop “these outrages.” Shannon adds that a proclamation is being prepared and he will send copies to Sumner.
Date: June 4, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated June 4, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon to Col. E.V. Sumner. Shannon informs Sumner that Col. Preston, Deputy Sheriff of Douglas County, Kansas, will accompany the U.S. troops “so as to be ready to act as circumstances may require.”
Date: June 4, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated April 25, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner at Headquarters, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Shannon requests that a force of 30 U.S. troops be stationed at Lecompton in case of an emergency. Shannon asks Sumner to keep his troops ready to act at a moment’s notice “if required by me to enforce the laws and preserve the peace.”
Date: April 25, 1856

Title: From Wilson Shannon to E.V. Sumner
Description: This dispatch, dated April 20, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. Wilson Shannon in Lecompton, Kansas, to Col. E.V. Sumner. Shannon states that after Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones arrested a man named S.N. Wood, he was forcibly rescued by a band of men. In order to recapture Wood and make several additional arrests, Shannon instructs Sumner to send an officer and six U.S. troops to Lecompton to assist Jones. Shannon indicates that he prefers to employ U.S. troops for this purpose because of their political neutrality.
Date: April 20, 1856

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

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