G.W. Veale to General George W. Dietzler
Creator: Veale, George Washington, 1833-1916
Date: October 30, 1864
A letter from G.W. Veale to General George W. Dietzler, Commander of the Kansas State Militia. Veale, who was colonel of the Second Kansas Militia, recounts his role and his regiments, in the Battle of the Blue.

Northern division and independent companies, Kansas Territory militia
Date: 1855-1856
Correspondence relating to the militia, Northern division and Independent companies of the Kansas Territory. Some of the companies mentioned are the Kickapoo Rangers, Doniphan Tigers, Palmetto Rifles, Round Prairie Guards, and the Hampden Militia Company.

B.F. Dawson to Colonel of the Second Kansas militia
Creator: Dawson, B.F.
Date: Between 1865 and 1866
A letter from B.F. Dawson to the Colonel of the Second Kansas Militia, in Topeka, Kansas. The letter contains Dawson's recollections of the Battle of the Blue, which happened on October 22, 1864 in Jackson County, Missouri.

James L. McDowell correspondence
Date: 1860-1892
Letters to James L. McDowell. Correspondents include Thomas Carney, Senator Preston Plumb, General Thomas Ewing, members and staff of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, individuals working for the Kansas State Fair Association, staff of the Department of the Interior - General Land Office, and others. The letters from Thomas Carney focus on topics such as the Fugitive Slave Law, the Kansas militia, and Missouri border trouble. McDowell held a number of public positions in his lifetime, from notary public to city mayor to U.S. Marshal and major-general of the Kansas militia (including organizing to defend the state during Price's Raid in 1864) to postmaster for Leavenworth. He was also actively interested in agriculture, helping to organize the first and later state fairs for Kansas.

Kansas State Central Committee to Colonel Cooke
Creator: Kansas State Central Committee
Date: September 03, 1856
A letter from the Kansas State Central Committee to Colonel Philip St. George Cooke, in Lecompton. At the time of border conflict, this free-state committee sought protection from possible attack by Missourians.

Draft of the Wakarusa treaty
Creator: Shannon, Wilson, 1802-1877
Date: December 08, 1855
On November 21, 1855, Charles W. Dow, a free-state man, was shot by Franklin N. Coleman, a pro-slavery leader of Hickory Point, Jefferson County, in a dispute over a claim. Sheriff Jones, of Douglas County, arrested Jacob Branson, who lived with Dow. Branson was subsequently taken from Sheriff Jones by a group of free-state men. Sheriff Jones and approximately 1500 militia volunteers from Missouri laid seige to Lawrence, claiming there was a rebellion. By December 8, the free-state forces, led by James Lane, Charles Robinson and Lyman Allen, convinced Governor Shannon that they were only planning to defend Lawrence, not go on the offensive. These documents, from what came to be called the "Wakarusa War," include an officer's commission and several discharges of members of the Kansas Rifles No. 1--the free-state militia--and a draft of the treaty that was signed by Lane, Robinson, and Governor Wilson Shannon to end the "war."

William Brown to Sarah Brown
Creator: Brown, William
Date: October 26, 1864
This letter, written by William R. Brown from Lawrence, Kansas, was addressed to his sister Sarah Brown, who was away at a teaching position in Massachusetts. William described his role as a soldier in the state militia during the Battle of the Blue and the Battle of Westport and rejoiced in the Union victories there. He also discussed the emotional state of the troops, of whom he says many were at first unwilling to fight and were a "disgrace to Kansas." William related news about the battles and the ultimate defeat of Sterling Price and the "rebel" troops, who were forced to retreat south. William also mentioned riding a railroad line back to Lawrence.

Captain Lewis Hanback's final report
Creator: Hanback, Lewis
Date: 1875
This document is Captain Lewis Hanback's final report of an 1875 investigation into a conflict between Captain Ricker's company of state militia and a band of Osage Indians that occurred in 1874. The Osage Indians had filed a complaint with the Department of the Interior, claiming that the U. S. military had attacked a peaceful Indian encampment and stolen their horses and other property. Captain Lewis Hanback was ordered to take down testimonies and determine the circumstances surrounding the conflict. This final report summarizes these testimonies and includes a short history of Barbour County where the altercation took place.

First Regiment State Guards, Parsons, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1889
This is a photo of the 1st Regiment State Guards marching down a business street in Parsons, Kansas. A large crowd watching.

General Order No. 9
Creator: Kansas. Militia
Date: August 23, 1861
General Order No. 9, issued by commander of the Western Department, United States Army, Major General John C. Fremont, authorizes Governor Robinson to raise three regiments of volunteers during the Civil War. On the three regiments, one will serve as the Home Guard while the other two will serve in New Mexico.

General Order No. 10
Creator: Kansas. Militia
Date: August 29, 1861
General Order No. 10, dated August 29, 1861, addresses the formation and organization of the Kansas Home Guard regiment created after the issuance of Major General John C. Fremont's General Order No. 9. It also lists the superintendents who will oversee the organization of the companies from Leavenworth, Atchison, White Cloud, Hiawatha, Grasshopper Falls, Junction City, Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, and Wyandotte. In addition, General Order No. 10 mentions that Colonel W.R. Judon, of Fort Scott, is raising another regiment of Home Guards in which loyal Kansans may serve.

Henry Newman to Thomas Carney
Creator: Henry Newman
Date: August 25, 1863
Henry Newton, a Kansas merchant working in Boston, Massachusetts, is responding to the news of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence. Newton uses the event to try an elicit increased protection for the citizens and businessmen of Osawatomie, Kansas. In particular, Newton requests that a company of soldiers be sent to protect that area, and he mentions that Osawatomie will house said troops rent free. Newton also explains that troops are needed because he and other businessmen will not send any more goods to Kansas as long as they feel that there is a lack of sufficient protection for their merchandise.

John R. Everett to Kansas Central Committee
Creator: Everett, John R.
Date: November 5, 1856
This letter, written by John Everett from Osawatomie, described the wounds suffered by George Cutter the day before the battle of Osawatomie. Everett and his family had cared for Mr. Cutter for about ten weeks and desired some monetary compensation for their efforts. An annotation added in 1895 by Thaddeus Hyatt, president of the National Kansas Committee, demonstrated Hyatt's annoyance that this letter presented a $60 bill for services rendered. There is also another annotation from 1895 referring to Hyatt's travels in Kansas Territory.

Settlers on Little Sugar Creek
Creator: Stewart, John E.
Date: c. 1856 or 1857
This listing of the settlers along Little Sugar Creek includes information about each settler, the resources in the area, and local buildings. It also includes an account of an attack by the Missouri ruffians in which a number of men were carried off to Westport, Missouri. It was most likely compiled by John E. Stewart at the request of Thaddeus Hyatt, president of the National Kansas Committee.

Peter Page to Thaddeus Hyatt
Creator: Page, Peter
Date: July 6, 1856
Peter Page wrote from Chicago, Illinois to Thaddeus Hyatt, president of the National Kansas Committee, concerning the shipment of relief to free-state settlers in Kansas Territory and the emigration of settlers into Kansas. The author wrote a lengthy account of the committee's frustrated attempts to arrange suitable transportation into the territory, since the water route on the Missouri River was unsafe due to persistent harassment from border ruffians.

James Madison Harvey
Date: Between 1869 and 1873
Carte-de-visite photo of James Madison Harvey, fifth governor of Kansas, in his military uniform.

James Montgomery
Date: Between 1858 and 1860
Photograph portrait of James Montgomery, 1814-1871, came to Linn County, Kansas Territory, early in the territorial period after living in Ohio, Kentucky and Missouri. He was active in the free state cause and was involved in most of the conflicts between pro-slavery and free state forces in that area. He raised a militia troop that was active in 1857.

James Henry Lane, United States Senator from Kansas
Date: Between 1860 and 1866
Portrait of James Henry Lane, Republican and militant supporter of a free-state constitution. He served as United States Senator from Kansas between April 4, 1861 to July 11, 1866. On the first day of the Civil War, April 14, 1861, Lane enlisted more than a hundred men in a military group known as the "Frontier Guard." For three weeks the company served as a special guard for Lincoln and the White House.

James Henry Lane, United States Senator from Kansas
Date: Between 1860 and 1866
Portrait of James Henry Lane, Republican, from Lawrence. He was a radical Free-State party leader, and served as Kansas United States Senator from April 4, 1861 to July 11, 1866.

James Henry Lane
Date: Between 1858 and 1861
A portrait of James Henry Lane, 1814-1866, who was a leader of the abolitionist movement during the turbulent period before Kansas Territory was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1861. Lane was Kansas' first U. S. Senator, and served from April 4, 1861 until his death on July 11, 1866.

James Henry Lane, United States Senator from Kansas
Date: Between 1861 and 1866
Portrait of James Henry Lane, first United States Senator from Kansas. He served from April 4, 1861 to July 11, 1866.

James Henry Lane, United States Senator from Kansas
Date: 1861
Portrait of James Henry Lane, Republican, from Lawrence, Kansas, served as the first United States Senator from Kansas, 1861-1866.

James Henry Lane, United States Senator from Kansas
Date: Between 1856 and 1860
Portrait of James Henry Lane, 1814-1866, United States Senator from Kansas, 1861-1866.

James Henry Lane
Creator: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
Date: August 17, 1861
An illustration depicting James Henry Lane, 1814-1866, as copied from the August 17, 1861 issue of "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper."

Proclamation Activating the 19th Kansas Volunteer Regiment
Creator: Crawford, S. J. (Samuel Johnson), 1835-1913
Date: September 14, 1868
This proclamation, signed by Governor Samuel J. Crawford in 1868, activated the 19th Kansas Volunteer Regiment. This regiment was created specifically to fight in any impending conflicts between native tribes and the U.S. government. According to this proclamation, the 19th Kansas would be composed of five companies of cavalry (80 to 100 each) serving for a period of three months.