137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division, Germany
Creator: United States Army Signal Corps
Date: February 06, 1945
This photograph shows members from the 137th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade of the 35th Division waiting to move on a reconnaissance mission between the German towns of Heinsberg and Unterbruch.

229th Platoon U.S. Marine Corps in San Diego, California
Date: 1943
A photograph showing members of the 229th Platoon United States Marine Corps in San Diego, California. Lewis Glynn Magouirk from Cimarron, Kansas, is second from the right in the second row.

6th Company, 14th Provisional Regiment, U. S. Officers' Training Camp at Fort Riley, Kansas
Creator: Anderson
Date: 1917
This is a panoramic photograph showing members of the 6th Company, 14th Provisional Regiment, U. S. Officers' Training Camp at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Albert D. Searl to Thaddeus Hyatt
Creator: Searl, Albert D
Date: August 21, 1856
The author wrote from Tabor, Iowa to Thaddeus Hyatt, president of the National Kansas Committee. He began the letter by mentioning a skirmish between pro-slavery and free state forces somewhere between Lawrence and Topeka. This correspondence also deals with emigrant settlements within the territory, the shipment of weapons and provisions, and the morale among the emigrants as they struggled to make ends meet. Furthermore, Searl mentioned a great deal about James Lane and his activities within Kansas Territory.

American Legion members, Rossville, Kansas
Date: 1961
The Rossville American Legion Jimmie Lillard Unit 31 color guard and firing squad give their respects to fallen veterans on Memorial Day of May 1961. This photograph is provided through a pilot project to host unique cultural heritage materials from local libraries on Kansas Memory and was accomplished by mutual agreement between the Northeast Kansas Library System, the Rossville Community Library, and the Kansas Historical Society.

American troops in WW II
Creator: Signal Corps : Bureau of Public Relations War Department
Date: June 7, 1944
American Troops moving onto a beachhead in northern France.

Amos A. Lawrence to James B. Abbott
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: August 24, 1855
Amos A. Lawrence wrote from Boston to James B. Abbott in Hartford, Connecticut, to confirm his receipt of a shipment of rifles. Lawrence advised Abbott that at least half of them would be required by free state forces in Topeka.

Amos A. Lawrence to James B. Abbott
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: August 11, 1855
Amos A. Lawrence wrote from Boston to James Abbott in Hartford, Conneticut, with shipping instructions for the 100 Sharps rifles he would procure. Lawrence requested that they be "packed in casks like hardware" and that Abbott bill him for expenses incurred.

Amos A. Lawrence to James B. Abbott
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: August 20, 1855
Amos A. Lawrence wrote from Boston to James Abbott in Hartford, Connecticut, referring to a recent shipment of carbine rifles he had sent, which was "far from being enough." Lawrence advised Abbott to take good care of them, as they might be used as reimbursement to those investors who had subscribed money to the free state cause once "it is settled that Kanzas shall not be a province of Missouri."

Army unit, Cimarron, Kansas
Creator: Hungate, Frank
Date: Between 1950 and 1959
This is a photograph of an unidentified Army unit, possibly National Guard, posed with their weapons and a United States' flag in Cimarron, Kansas.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows soldiers cleaning their weapons while traveling on an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train.

Brass Trigger Guard from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1864
This brass trigger guard surrounded the trigger and protected it from accidental discharge. It was recovered during the 1990 survey and excavation at the Mine Creek Battlefield by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists and crew. The site was the location where on October 25, 1864 Union and Confederate forces fought one of the largest cavalry battles in the Civil War.

C. G. Allen's response to Redpath and Hinton's call for information about John Brown
Creator: Allen, C. G.
Date: December, 1859
Allen, a "minister of the Gospel" at Cottonwood Falls, Kansas Territory, writes in response to James Redpath's and R. J. Hinton's call for "anecdotes & reminiscences" concerning "the brave & philanthropic [John] Brown," who the preacher first met in 1856 in Lawrence, Kansas. Allen left Lawrence when a call came for volunteers to aid in the defense of Osawatomie, Kansas, in August of that year. While there engaged, he saw his first "Border Ruffians," whom he described as "miserable specimens of humanity. They were ragged & dirty. Their cloths & faces were to a considerable extent covered with tobacco spit." Allen and the men with whom he traveled missed the Battle of Osawatomie by moving south before the attack in an effort to find the attackers before they reached the town.

Caddo Brave
Date: Between 1860 and 1870
This carte de visite shows a Caddo Brave holding a percussion rifle while seated on a log of wood. The identification on the photograph indicates that it was "Procured by C. L. Wilson, Co. L., 11the Kansas. 1870's."

Cadets at Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan, Kansas
Date: Between 1895 and 1900
This is a photograph showing cadets drilling at the Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan, Kansas.

Camp Funston during World War I
Creator: Carlson, Richard
Date: July 22, 1918-February 04, 1919
Here are 16 postcards showing soldiers at Camp Funston during World War I.

Camp William Cary Sanger, Fort Riley, Kansas
Creator: Pennell, Joseph Judd, 1866-1922
Date: October 1903
Members of Co. L, First Kansas at Camp William Cary Sanger, Fort Riley, Kansas. The soldiers are in formation in front of tents. Railroad passenger cars are visible in the background.

Charles A. Wright to Hiram Hill
Creator: Wright, Charles A.
Date: June 16, 1856
Charles Wright wrote from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, to Hiram Hill. Wright spoke passionately about the free state cause after the Sack of Lawrence and the Pottawatomie Massacre, imploring "eastern friends" for help. In Wright's words, "talk will do no good that time is past what we now need is men money and rifles". He added that southerners were "using every effort" to drive free staters from the Territory. U.S. Troops were attempting to disband the ruffians, though according to Wright they only dispersed and reorganized elsewhere.

Charles Robinson to Eli Thayer
Creator: Robinson, Charles, 1818-1894
Date: April 2, 1855
Charles Robinson, writing from Lawrence, Kansas Territory to Eli Thayer in Worcester, Massachusetts, described voting irregularities in the March 30, 1855 election of members to the territorial legislature. Robinson maintained that the election was "controlled entirely by Missourians" who came to the territory, took over the polling places, and cast illegal ballots to ensure that proslavery supporters were elected to the legislature. Robinson also reported that free staters in Lawrence had formed themselves into four military companies, and urged Thayer to send Sharps rifles and cannons for these forces.

Charles Robinson to Eli Thayer
Creator: Robinson, Charles, 1818-1894
Date: July 26, 1855
Charles Robinson, free state leader and activist, wrote to introduce James Abbott to Eli Thayer, organizer of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. Robinson described Abbott as trustworthy and "true as steel to the cause of Freedom in Kansas." He wrote that the rifles previously shipped to Lawrence had had a "very good effect," and suggested that Thayer procure more. On the back of Robinson's letter, Charles Branscomb, Secretary pro tempore of the New England Emigrant Aid Company, wrote an endorsement of Robinson as an agent for the Company, and added his own support of James Abbott.

Charles Robinson to Reverend Edward Everett Hale
Creator: Robinson, Charles, 1818-1894
Date: April 9, 1855
Charles Robinson, writing from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, to Edward Everett Hale, commented that Free State supporters were forming military companies in response to perceived "outrageous conduct" by Missourians during the March 30, 1855, election of representatives for the territorial legislature. Robinson asked Hale to send two hundred Sharp's rifles and two cannon for the use of Lawrence settlers.

Dr. John Doy's carbine
Date: 1859
Dr. John Doy used this Sharps carbine fighting border disputes in Franklin County, Kansas Territory, and at Ft. Titus. In January 1859, Doy was captured near Lawrence by pro-slavery Missouri forces and charged with aiding in the abduction of fugitive slaves. For six months Doy was held in a St. Joseph, Missouri, jail. Doy was rescued by ten of his free-state friends, led by Major James Abbott. Engraved in the carbine's stock is the phrase, "Successful Agent of the Irrepressible Conflict."

Enlisted men's barracks, Fort Leavenworth
Date: Between January 01, 1872 and December 31, 1872
Photo of the interior of the enlisted men's barracks showing Springfield rifles locked in stands.

Frederick Law Olmsted to James B. Abbott
Creator: Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822-1903
Date: October 4, 1855
Frederick Law Olmstead, a New York free state fundraiser and landscape architect, wrote to James B. Abbott, informing him of his recent trouble securing contributions enough to purchase substantial amounts of weapons. Olmstead repeated to Abbott advice he had received from a veteran military officer, who suggested that "M's" [muskets] would serve the militia forces well enough for general use, with "S's" [Sharp's rifles] reserved for "special service." Thus, Olmstead concluded, he would send Abbott either "M's" or an "H" [howitzer, a type of cannon].

George Armstrong Custer
Creator: Reveille
Date: 1872
This is a copy of a 1872 studio portrait of George Armstrong Custer, 1839-1876, and Duke Alexis, as published in the February 15, 1895 issue of "The Reveille."