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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 Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown
Description: This letter is from Daniel L. Chandler to John Stillman Brown. Chandler writes from West Point and Kansas City, Missouri, and Mapleton, Kansas on September 25 and 28, and October 1 and 6, 1861. Chandler, a steward at a military hospital, describes caring for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Dry Creek and the Sacking of Osceola. Chandler shares his fears about the future: "The condition of the State of Missouri is indeed most gloomy, and if the war continues a year longer the territory will be turned into a desert."
Object Type: Letter
Date: September 25, 1861-October 6, 1861

Title: From Samuel Worthington to My Dear Father
Description: Samuel Worthington writes a letter from Fort Riley, Kansas to his father on October 12, 1864. He has just received news that Gen. Price is advancing his forces, and he expresses fear that Kansas does not have enough troops to defeat him. He also mentions the possibility of a new treaty with the Indians. In a postscript, Worthington reports that Rebels have just arrived in Kansas City, and tells his father “goodbye—If I dont return remember I fought for the right.”
Date: October 12, 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 Elias Stover to William Sayer Blakely
Description: Elias Stover writes a letter from Camp Blair, Kansas on March 25, 1862 to his friend William Sayer Blakely. Three days prior, Stover says, he marched into Missouri along with Maj. Pomeroy and 70 other men from the 2nd Kansas Cavalry Regiment. They ambushed a house where William Quantrill and his men were staying; they killed eight people, took six prisoner, stole horses and arms, and burned down the house, but Quantrill escaped.
Date: March 25, 1862

Title: From William Nelson to Kate Newland
Description: William Nelson, a Union soldier, writes a letter from Fort Riley, Kansas to Kate Newland on June 1, 1862. Nelson regrets that his regiment is stationed in Kansas, and admits that “My career as a soldier certainly does not seem destined to be a brilliant one.” He writes that he would prefer to serve in the South, despite rumors of rampant illness there, because he feels that his place is “where the danger is most threatening.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 1, 1862

Title: From Persifor Smith to M.C. Dickey
Description: This letter, dated July 23, 1856, is from Persifor Smith, a U.S. Army Major at Fort Leavenworth, to M.C. Dickey and “others, conductors of emigrating companies.” Smith responds to a letter in which Dickey and the others request military protection from armed bodies guarding the Kansas border. Smith denies their request: “I have no evidence that any parties are in arms to oppose you . . . I cannot act on your vague suspicions.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: July 23, 1856

Title: Report of the Secretary of War
Description: This is Executive Document No. 50, 2nd Session, 33rd Congress, presented to the Senate on February 14, 1855 by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The report contains copies of correspondence “respecting a claim advanced by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the military reservation at Fort Leavenworth; together with the result of his investigation of the alleged interference of certain army officers…with the rights of the Delaware Indians.”
Object Type: Government Document
Date: February 14, 1855

Title: From A.J. Sexton to Catherine
Description: This letter was written on April 29, 1862, by A.J. Sexton in camp at Fort Riley, Kansas, to his wife Catherine. A.J. writes of his plans to send Catherine $20.00 after he is paid on May 1st. He reports that the health of his regiment is good, and he believes they will be sent next to Mexico. A.J. refers to the Battle of Shiloh, and writes with regret about the death of Wisconsin Gov. Harvey shortly after the battle.
Date: April 29, 1862

Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Dear Lizzie
Description: On April 26, 1861, A.J. Huntoon writes a letter from Topeka to his wife Lizzie. He informs her that Kansas is preparing for war and that he plans to start a company of mounted riflemen in Williamsport Township. He says that rumors have circulated about a possible attack by the Osage tribe, and that Governor Robinson responded by warning the Osage to leave the white settlers alone. Huntoon also says he heard a rumor that Indians attacked Fort Riley. He does not believe the rumor, and yet “We are preparing for the worst.”
Date: April 26, 1861

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