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Title: From A.J. Huntoon to My Beloved Wife and Boy
Description: This letter, dated September 15, 1861, is from A.J. Huntoon to his wife Lizzie and son Prentice. He writes from Mapleton, Bourbon County, Kansas, where he is assisting at a military hospital for General Lane’s Brigade. He reports that his regiment, the 5th Kansas Cavalry volunteers, recently arrived at Mapleton from Fort Lincoln along with Wier’s, Montgomery’s, and Jennison’s regiments. He expresses a desire to return to the battlefield, saying that “it is impossible to lay idle . . . when treason shows its dragon head in every settlement.”
Date: September 15, 1861

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: Letters Sent (Assistant Provost Marshal for Missouri)
Description: This notebook contains copies of correspondence sent by Col. E.B. Alexander, Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General for Missouri, in St. Louis, Missouri, during 1864 and 1865. The correspondence contains information regarding military enrollment, enlistments, and quotas, broken down by district.
Date: 1864-1865

Title: Will of Cecil D. Ball
Description: This is the will and testament of Cecil D. Ball of Little Osage County, Missouri, dated April 16, 1859. In this document, Ball bequeaths $5,000 to the Presbyterian Church of Little Osage as long as the church never employs a preacher who promotes “in public or private any abolition or anti-slavery doctrines or principles.” Ball stipulates that if the church fails to comply, the bequest will be forfeited. A codicil dated November 15, 1860 voids this stipulation.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: April 16, 1859

Title: From Fred Brown and Sara Ann Brown to Michael H. Jose
Description: Fred Brown and his wife Sara Ann write a letter to Michael Jose on October 14, 1866 to share news of mutual acquaintances, including several that were killed by Bushwhackers or by members of the Missouri Militia during the War. They describe an atmosphere of political unrest in Vernon County but express a hope for peace in the aftermath of the conflict, stating “lets all do our next fighting at the Ballot Box.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: October 14, 1866

Title: Martial Law or Order No. 11
Description: Depiction of Order No. 11, which was issued by Union General Thomas E. Ewing at the District of the Border Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri on August 25, 1863. The order commanded residents of Jackson, Cass, Bates, and northern Vernon counties to leave their homes and move away from the area within fifteen days. Ewing issued the directive four days after Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, in an attempt to suppress guerrilla violence.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1868

Title: From Charles Kribben to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on August 25, 1858 by Charles Kribben in St. Louis to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Kribben writes that he disagrees with Stewart’s decision to send troops to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri: “Think of the expense & the hue & cry of our opponents!...The step to send troops there now will make a noise in the world; it may give our enemies a hold again on the Kansas question.”
Date: August 25, 1858

Title: 1860 Presidential Election Returns from Vernon County, Missouri
Description: This document presents the election returns from Vernon County, Missouri for the Presidential election held on November 6, 1860: John C. Breckenridge and Joseph Lane received 380 votes; John Bell and Edward Everett received 207 votes; and Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson received 151 votes. Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin are not listed on the document. S.D. German received 174 votes for Circuit Attorney. On November 7, DeWitt C. Hunter, Clerk of the Vernon County Court, certified the results.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: November 7, 1860

Title: General Orders, No. 11
Description: This is a copy of the infamous Order No. 11, issued by Union General Thomas E. Ewing at the District of the Border Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri on August 25, 1863. The order commands residents of Jackson, Cass, Bates, and northern Vernon counties to leave their homes and move away from the area within fifteen days. Ewing issued the directive four days after Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, in an attempt to suppress guerrilla violence.
Date: August 25, 1863

Title: From Dewitt C. Hunter to J.F. Snyder
Description: This letter, dated January 21, 1861, is from Dewitt C. Hunter in Nevada, Missouri to Col. J.F. Snyder. Hunter describes himself as a "secessionist in favor of separate state action and immediate secession." He believes that Missouri is in danger of invasion from Kansas, and he urges Snyder to organize a regiment, procure arms, and prepare to defend the border.
Object Type: Letter
Date: January 21, 1861

Title: Pass for Paralee Hudspeth
Description: This pass, issued by Headquarters, Central District Missouri and signed by E.B. Brown, permits Paralee Hudspeth “to enter the Border Counties of the State of Missouri, for the purpose of securing property abandoned while obeying General Order No. 11.” The pass, dated November 18, 1863, was issued from Jefferson City, Missouri by special order of Brigadier General Thomas L. Ewing, Jr.
Date: November 18, 1863

Title: From James Mooney to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on January 4, 1859 by Capt. James Mooney in West Point, Missouri to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Mooney describes several recent incidents of robbery, property destruction, and murder perpetrated against the citizens of Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri by guerrillas from Kansas. Mooney states that a company of 100 men has been organized within the counties; he requests that the company be “properly armed and equipped” and accepted into the service of the state. The final page of the letter is an endorsement of Mooney’s statements by J.A. Pigg and four other men.
Date: January 4, 1859

Title: From Jacob Hall to My Dear Daughter
Description: This letter, dated February 7, 1864, was written by Jacob Hall in Independence, Missouri, to his daughter. Jacob writes that the counties of “Jackson, Cass, Bates and the Southern portion of Vernon have been reattached to the District of Missouri and placed under the command of Gen. Brown – and Gen. Ewing has left for Kansas with nearly all his command.” He adds that “Col. Fort is in command of…the above named counties.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: February 7, 1864

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

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