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Title: 1860 Missouri Census Table
Description: This ca. 1860 printed document presents the results of the 1860 Missouri census, showing the population of whites, “free colored” and slaves in each county. The table lists the total state population as 1,182,012, with 1,063,599 whites, 3,572 Free Colored, and 114,931 slaves. Lafayette County has the largest slave population with 6,374 slaves. The table also reveals a small American Indian population in Gasconade and Jackson Counties.
Object Type: Government Document

Title: Report of Colored Recruits Enlisted, Warrensburg, Missouri
Description: This military roll, dated March 16, 1864, shows the "colored recruits" enlisted at Warrensburg, Missouri between November 1863 and March 1864. The roll lists each recruit's name, county, and owner. The document is signed by Lieut. J.H. Smith, Assistant Provost Marshal and Recruiting Officer, and addressed to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri.
Date: March 16, 1864

Title: Record of Dispatches Received and Referred
Description: This document contains information about two military dispatches from December 1863. The first, received at Lexington, Missouri on December 9, 1863, was referred to Capt. A. Comingo on December 10 "with the information that the escort can be furnished when called for." The second dispatch, received at Headquarters, 1st Cav. MSM in Warrensburg, Missouri on December 8, 1863, was referred to the commanding officer at Lexington, Missouri by order of Col. James McFerran, with T. Doyle's signature.
Date: December 8, 1863-December 10, 1863

Title: From James D. Eads to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated November 26, 1860, is from James D. Eads of Warrensburg, Missouri to Robert M. Stewart, Governor of Missouri. Eads offers Stewart the services of a company of volunteers “to march to our frontier for the protection of our citizens.”
Date: November 26, 1860

Title: From G.C. Bingham to Hamilton R. Gamble
Description: On June 8, 1863, G.C. Bingham writes from the Treasurer's Office in Jefferson City, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble. Bingham informs Gamble of his suspicion that Gen. Loan plans to cooperate with Kansas Jayhawkers "in subjecting Lafayette and Johnson Counties to the desolation which has depopulated Jackson and Cass." Bingham predicts that Loan is also plotting to overthrow the Missouri provisional government, and asks Gamble to appoint a "Loyal commander...before the meeting of the Convention."
Object Type: Government Document
Date: June 8, 1863

Title: Letters Relating to Enlistment in Missouri
Description: This is a bound volume of letters written by Col. E.B. Alexander, Chief Mustering Officer of the 10th United States Infantry. The letters, dated August 23 - October 10, 1864, relate to enrollments, quotas, and enlistments of troops in Missouri.
Date: August 23, 1864 - October 10, 1864

Title: From G.H. Forkney to Col. Peery
Description: This letter, dated June 13, 1856, is from G.H. Forkney in Basin Knob, Missouri to Col. Peery. Forkney discusses business dealings, then goes on to describe the "deplorable state of affairs" in Kansas Territory: "murders are common & occasionally the women & children fall victim to the fury of the northern fanatics." He reports that President Franklin Pierce has put Kansas under martial law, and that Missourians are preparing for "a war of extermination."
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 13, 1856

Title: From J.H. Smith to A. Comingo
Description: On March 17, 1864, Assistant Provost Marshal J.H. Smith writes from the Headquarters of the 3rd Sub-District, Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, presumably to Capt. A. Comingo, Provost Marshal for the 6th District of Missouri. Smith states that he is sending a list of "colored recruits" enlisted from Lafayette, Jackson, and Saline Counties since January 1, 1864.
Date: March 17, 1864

Title: War in Kansas!
Description: This 1856 broadside announces the commencement of civil war in Kansas. It urges the citizens of Lafayette County, Missouri to gather with their guns and horses in Lexington on August 20, and "put an end to Abolitionism in Kansas." The broadside, signed by twelve men, reports that John Brown, James Henry Lane, and their forces have launched several guerrilla attacks upon Kansas residents, and are now "advancing upon us--the next breath from Kansas may bring to our ears the death shrieks of our Fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, neighbors and friends."
Object Type: Broadside
Date: August 1856

Title: From M.C. Goodlett to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter, dated January 5, 1859, was written by M.C. Goodlett in the Senate Chamber, Jefferson City, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Goodlett states that he received a letter from a newly-formed military company in Johnson County, Missouri, tendering its services to the Governor. Goodlett says that he personally knows all the officers and soldiers of the Johnson Guards and hopes that Stewart will call on them “to assist in driving back the Plundering Murdering Horde” of Kansas outlaws.
Date: January 5, 1859

Title: Benjamin W. Grover
Description: This ca. 1861 sepia photograph depicts Benjamin W. Grover, a prominent early citizen of Warrensburg, Missouri. After a career with the railroad, Grover served in the 27th Missouri Infantry, U.S. Volunteers, and died October 30, 1861 from wounds received in the first Battle of Lexington. Grover is believed to have been a friend of General Grant; the coat he is wearing in the photograph may have been given to him by Grant.
Object Type: Image

Title: Benjamin W. Grover
Description: This ca. 1861 tintype depicts Benjamin W. Grover, a prominent early citizen of Warrensburg, Missouri. After a career with the railroad, Grover served in the 27th Missouri Infantry, U.S. Volunteers, and died October 30, 1861 from wounds received in the first Battle of Lexington. Grover is believed to have been a friend of General Grant; the coat he is wearing in the photograph may have been given to him by Grant.
Object Type: Image

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: Report on Price's Raid
Description: James Henry Lane wrote this report ca. October 1864 about his role in the campaign against Price's Raid. Lane states that he accompanied Gen. Blunt, Col. Moonlight, Col. Jennison, and Gen. Curtis on an expedition into Missouri to impede Sterling Price and his forces. Lane describes the Second Battle of Lexington, the Second Battle of Independence, the Battle of Byram's Ford, the Battle of Westport, and the Battle of Little Blue River.

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