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Title: U.S. vs. Charles Robinson
Description: These legal documents include a warrant, dated May 24, 1856, for the arrest of Charles Robinson for committing treason against the United States. Attached is a summary of a witness's testimony: “he had heard Charles Robinson, in common conversation, repeatedly urge upon the people the propriety and necessity of resisting the enforcement of the Territorial laws.” Also included is a motion to sever Robinson’s case from that of a co-defendant, as well as a motion for continuance, dated September 10, 1856. The court documents are from the First District Court of the United States, Douglas County, Kansas Territory.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: May 24, 1856 and September 10, 1856

Title: From the Kansas State Central Committee to Philip St. George Cooke
Description: This September 3, 1856 letter is from the Kansas State Central Committee to Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke. The committee members state that Free State supporters have been forced to take up arms to defend themselves against “the inhuman atrocities of organized bands of assassins” from Missouri. They claim that the civil authorities have not helped, and they ask Cooke for protection. The letter is signed by H. Miles Moore, secretary of the committee, as well as W.R. Frost, Morris Hunt, and J. Lawson.
Date: September 3, 1856

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: This letter, dated September 21, 1856, is from Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas to his parents in Massachusetts. He tells them that he and his army regiment marched to Franklin the previous week in an attempt to defend the town from Border Ruffians. The Ruffians rode into town, burned several buildings, robbed Fitch of everything he owned, and then “dispersed in different directions . . . stealing and murdering as they went.” Fitch mentions his suspicion that Governor Geary is a traitor who has negotiated with the Border Ruffians.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 21, 1856-September 28, 1856

Title: From John W. Geary to F.J. Marshall
Description: This dispatch, dated September 16, 1856, was sent by Kansas Gov. John W. Geary in Lecompton, Kansas, to Gen. F.J. Marshall, 1st Division, Northern Kansas Militia. Geary received Marshall’s dispatch about the threatened invasion of Gen. Lane’s troops and his proposal to station regiments of the Kansas Militia along the northern Kansas line. Geary replies that if such an invasion occurs, he will first employ U.S. troops to combat it, and then call upon Kansas Militia troops if necessary.
Date: September 16, 1856

Title: Report of Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs
Description: This report, dated September 27, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by Deputy U.S. Marshal William H. Tebbs. Tebbs informs Geary that he went to Ozawkie, Kansas and arrested eight men who had outstanding warrants issued by Judge Samuel Lecompte. Tebbs states that he heard a rumor that the day after the Battle of Hickory Point, Gen. Lane read Geary’s proclamation ordering all troops to disperse. According to the rumor, Lane then dispersed his troops and left the area.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 27, 1856

Title: Instructions to Gen. P.F. Smith
Description: This document comprises a series of instructions given by the Secretary of War to Gen. P.F. Smith, Commander of the Department of the West, between February 15, 1856 and September 5, 1856. Smith is instructed to “make every exertion in your power with the force under your orders to preserve the peace and prevent bloodshed.” The Secretary of War empowers Smith to act if armed resistance is made by citizens of any political persuasion. Smith is instructed not to interfere with the activities of the Kansas Militia.
Date: February 15, 1856-September 5, 1856

Title: From William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore to Daniel Woodson and Col. Cook
Description: This letter, dated September 2, 1856, was sent by William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore in Lawrence, Kansas, to Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson and Col. Cook. Hutchinson and Moore contend that after they sent two men to meet with Woodson about crimes against their property, these men were taken by a mob and detained in Lecompton, Kansas. They ask that Woodson explain why the two men continue to be detained when there are no legal charges against them.
Date: September 2, 1856

Title: From Israel B. Donalson to Daniel Woodson
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1856, was written by U.S. Marshal Israel B. Donalson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson. Donalson states that a large number of armed men, probably commanded by Gen. James Lane, are entering Kansas daily for the purpose of driving citizens from the Territory, robbing and burning houses, and committing murder. Donalson does not possess enough troops to suppress Lane’s men, and is submitting the facts of the situation to Woodson so he can determine a course of action.
Date: September 1, 1856

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated September 18, 1856, was written by Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke in camp near Lecompton, Kansas to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Cooke states that he received Geary’s recent dispatch, but objects to Geary’s instructions to divide his force at Lecompton and cross the river. Cooke argues that if his forces “meet an armed body…it would be under circumstances in which we could not legally stop them.”
Date: September 18, 1856

Title: From Daniel Woodson to Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke near Lecompton. Woodson instructs Cooke to proceed immediately with U.S. troops to Topeka, Kansas and disarm all insurrectionists, burn their fortifications and breastworks, and take as prisoner any man found in arms against the Territorial government. Woodson also directs Cooke to station a detachment of troops near the road leading from the Nebraska line to Topeka, to “intercept all aggressive invaders…that may make their appearance.”
Date: September 1, 1856

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore
Description: This letter, dated September 3, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson at Lecompton, Kansas to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore on behalf of the Kansas State Central Committee. Woodson refers to Gen. James Lane’s recent raid on Franklin, Kansas and several other areas of the Territory. He reminds Hutchinson and Moore about the proclamation issued August 25, 1856, declaring Kansas to be in a state of insurrection, and also cites the recent general order issued to Gen. Richardson and Gen. Coffey forbidding the burning of houses under any circumstances.
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 3, 1856

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to John W. Geary
Description: This dispatch, dated September 16, 1856, is from Lieut. Col. Philip St. George Cooke to Gov. John W. Geary. Cooke states that after returning to camp near Lecompton, he discovered that 101 prisoners who were taken at the Battle of Hickory Point are now being held at the camp. Cooke asks Geary to send a “proper civil officer” to take the prisoners into custody.
Date: September 16, 1856

Title: From Philip St. George Cooke to Daniel Woodson
Description: This letter, dated September 2, 1856, was written by Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke at Headquarters, in camp near Lecompton, Kansas, to Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson. Cooke contends that Woodson’s recent order to put down an insurrection at Topeka, Kansas is “simply a call upon me to make war upon the town of Topeka,” in defiance of both the law and his instructions from commanding officers. Cooke adds that Woodson’s order to "intercept aggressive invaders" from the north is “clearly inconsistent with my last instructions,” and therefore he cannot comply with it.
Date: September 2, 1856

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William P. Richardson
Description: This order, dated September 1, 1856, was sent by Acting Kansas Governor Daniel Woodson in Lecompton, Kansas, to Major General William P. Richardson, Kansas Militia, Northern Division. Woodson reminds Richardson that General Order No. 1, issued August 21, 1856, directed that all peaceable Kansas citizens and their property were to be protected regardless of their political views, and that no houses were to be destroyed unless they were proven to be used as forts or arsenals against the territorial government. Woodson directs Richardson to use the “severest penalties” against soldiers violating the order, and prohibits the burning of dwellings.
Date: September 1, 1856

Title: From Daniel Woodson to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore
Description: This letter, dated September 3, 1856, was written by Acting Kansas Gov. Daniel Woodson at Lecompton, Kansas to William Hutchinson and H. Miles Moore in behalf of the Kansas State Central Committee. Woodson states that he received their letter asserting that a deputation from their committee is being illegally detained at Lecompton. Woodson replies that although he met with two men from the committee, they did not represent themselves as a deputation and were rightly arrested as spies.
Date: September 3, 1856

Title: Map Showing the Progress of the Public Surveys in Kansas and Nebraska
Description: This black-and-white map, signed by Mark W. Delahay, Surveyor General, was issued by the Surveyor General’s office in Leavenworth, Kansas on September 2, 1861. The map shows the progress of the public surveys in Kansas and Nebraska, and was produced to accompany the Surveyor General’s report of 1861.
Object Type: Map
Date: September 2, 1861

Title: Letter From Judge Lecompte
Description: This September 13, 1856 newspaper article is an open letter from Judge Samuel Lecompte to James A. Stewart, a Maryland Congressman. In the letter, Lecompte defends himself against several charges; he denies that he packed the jury in a murder trial, that he was in possession of illegal whisky, that he misrepresented the crime of treason to a grand jury, and that he participated in a meeting of the Law and Order Party. He states that he is aware of threats to remove him from his post as Chief Justice of Kansas Territory, but he insists that he has been a fair and impartial judge.
Object Type: Newspaper Article
Date: September 13, 1856

Title: From O.C. Stewart to John W. Geary
Description: This letter is from O.C. Stewart, mayor of Lecompton, Kansas, to Gov. John W. Geary. In the letter, dated October 3, 1856, Stewart informs Geary that he has issued a proclamation prohibiting the use and sale of liquor in Lecompton. He asks Geary for help enforcing the proclamation, “as I have no law to justify me in destroying the liquor of persons selling under law.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 3, 1856

Title: Statement of C.W. Babcock
Description: This is C.W. Babcock’s sworn statement to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary. Dated October 11, 1856, the statement claims that a man named Castleman, posing as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, unlawfully arrested Babcock in Topeka, forcibly moved him to Lecompton, and held him there for three hours.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 11, 1856

Title: From O.C. Stewart to John W. Geary
Description: O.C. Stewart, mayor of Lecompton, Kansas, writes a letter to Gov. John W. Geary on October 11, 1856. Stewart asks Geary to send troops to Lecompton to seize an illegal supply of liquor that someone has been selling to soldiers.
Date: October 11, 1856

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

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