Civil War

Title: Home of John Wornall
Description: The home of John Wornall served as a field hospital for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Westport. It has since been restored and converted into a museum, at 6115 Wornall Road in Kansas City, Missouri
Object Type: Image
Date: October 2008

Title: Examination of Robert H. Miller
Description: This is Robert H. Miller's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Miller, a 41-year-old Virginia native, states that he resides in Liberty, Missouri and served in the militia during the war. He says he was arrested during the war "because I published the correspondence of John D. Hughes." The oath is No. 174 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: Oath of Loyalty of Dennis Gaughan
Description: This document establishes that Dennis Gaughan has taken an oath of loyalty to the United States and to the state of Missouri. It declares that Gaughan will support the Constitution, obey the laws of the United States and of the provisional government of Missouri, and “do all in my power to discourage and put down the present rebellion.” The oath is dated February 16, 1862 and is signed by Gaughan, a witness, and a clerk.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: February 16, 1862

Title: From John M. Schofield to Thomas Carney
Description: This letter, written on the letterhead of Headquarters, Department of the Missouri and dated September 3, 1863, was sent by John M. Schofield in Kansas City, Missouri, to Kansas Governor Thomas Carney. Major General Schofield expresses his agreement with Gov. Carney on the necessity of preempting a potentially violent meeting in Paola, Kansas. Schofield states that he will issue an order preventing armed men not in the U.S. service from entering Missouri. He also accepts Carney’s offer of the services of the militia to help avert “any irregular action.”
Date: September 3, 1863

Title: From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Description: In this August 10, 1856 letter to his parents in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch reports a rumor that Border Ruffians plan to attack Lawrence, Kansas. He says he has been gathering firearms in preparation, but worries that “this may be the last letter” he ever writes. He also tells them about the Battle of Franklin and relates a rumor that Colonel Lane was there.
Date: August 10, 1856

Title: Examination of Thomas R. Martin
Description: This is Thomas R. Martin's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Martin, a 39-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Kentucky and that he served as a Union soldier in the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 101 in a bound volume, was signed by Martin on October 6, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: October 6, 1866

Title: From J.M. Vincent to Thomas Carney
Description: This telegram, dated May 11, 1863, is from J.M. Vincent in Washington, D.C. to Kansas Gov. Thomas Carney. Vincent denies Carney’s request for authority to raise a Home Guard, and informs him that U.S. Secretary of War E.M. Stanton “does not wish to raise more negro regiments at present.”
Object Type: Telegram
Date: May 11, 1863

Title: From D.A.W. Morehouse to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This letter was written on June 7, 1858 by D.A.W. Morehouse in Papinsville, Missouri, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart in Jefferson City, Missouri. Morehouse refers to “the troubles on the border of the state touching Kansas,” and requests that a company of Rangers be stationed on the state line to protect local citizens. Morehouse asks Stewart for permission to organize such a company himself because he is "familiar with those characters Resident in the Territory."
Date: June 7, 1858

Title: John Brown
Description: Painting of John Brown by Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 1870.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1870

Title: Examination of William Brining
Description: This is William Brining's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Brining describes himself as a 46-year-old resident of Liberty, Missouri, who was born in England. He states that he felt "Grief beyond Description" when he heard that Gen. Sterling Price had captured Gen. Mulligan and his army at Lexington, Missouri. The oath, labeled No. 30 in a bound volume, was signed by Brining on September 29, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1866

Title: Examination of J.H. Timms
Description: This is J.H. Timms's Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Timms, a 47-year-old resident of Clay County, Missouri, states that he was born in Virginia and remained loyal to the United States Government during the Civil War. The oath, labeled No. 62 in a bound volume, was signed by Timms on September 29, 1866.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: September 29, 1866

Title: Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1864
Description: This military document is a return of ordnance and ordnance stores for Company "A" 8th Cavalry Regiment Missouri State Militia under command of Captain James J. Akard for the fourth quarter of 1864.
Date: January 10, 1865

Title: Charles Ransford Jennison
Description: Photograph of Charles R. Jennison posing in fur hat, coat, and gloves, with his rifle, and a dog at his feet.
Object Type: Image

Title: Examination of S.P. Clarke
Description: This is S.P. Clarke's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Clarke, a 42-year-old North Carolina native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 40 years and manifested his loyalty during the war by obeying "all the laws and the requirements of the military, I stayed at home." The oath is No. 181 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: The Homestead Act, 1862-1962 : 4 Cents, U.S. Postage
Description: U.S. postage stamp commemorating the 1862 Homestead Act.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1962

Title: From W.B. Spaulding to Daniel Peterson Woodbury
Description: This letter, dated April 17, 1858, is from W.B. Spaulding in Quincy, Illinois to Daniel Peterson Woodbury in New Hampshire. Spaulding criticizes James Buchanan for approving the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas Territory, and predicts that it will cause trouble for his administration and for the Democratic Party. He adds that "the whole proceedings seem to have been a farce."
Date: April 17, 1858

Title: From Charles Adair to Samuel Lyle Adair
Description: On September 30 and October 1, 1860, Charles Adair writes from Akron, Ohio to his father Samuel Lyle Adair. Charles says that he is now staying at Cousin Jason’s house near Akron. He reports that he and Jason attended a Republican meeting in Copley, Ohio: “there were a great many people at the meeting, the Akron wideawakes were out...they made a grand show.”
Date: September 30, 1860-October 1, 1860

Title: Examination of Granvill M. Farnsworth
Description: This is Granvill M. Farnsworth's 1866 Oath of Loyalty to the United States. Farnsworth, a 21-year-old Virginia native, states that he has lived in Missouri for 12 years and served 16 months in the militia during the war. The oath is No. 192 in a bound volume.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1866

Title: From Lewis Stafford to Kate Newland
Description: This letter, dated October 10, 1861 is from Lewis Stafford in Chillicothe, Missouri to Kate Newland. Stafford, a member of the 1st Kansas Infantry, Company E, expresses pride in his regiment and mentions their participation in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. He laments, however, that the regiment has lost a number of soldiers: “What sad havock war makes with the lives and health of men.”
Date: October 10, 1861

Title: David Rice Atchison
Description: Half-length daguerreotype portrait of David Rice Atchison, facing three-quarters to the left. Atchison served as Democratic Senator from Missouri from 1843-1855.
Object Type: Image
Date: 1844-1860

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

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