.54 Caliber Bullets from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1864
Shown are three of the many bullets recovered during the 1990 survey and excavation at the Mine Creek Battlefield by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists and crew. All of the artifacts are .54 caliber lead bullets. The one of the far left was manufactured by Sharps and has three grease rings. The other two bullets both have concave or hollow bases. 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.

Adjutant General's report, Kansas Colored Volunteers correspondence
Creator: United States. Adjutant General's Office
Date: 1863-1864
This bound letter book contains copies of letters sent and received by the Adjutant General's Office in Fort Scott, Kansas. They were assigned to recruit a regiment of colored soldiers. Letters were received from the War Department in Washington, D.C. and from the Office of the Governor in Kansas. The letters focus on the recruitment and commissioning of troops and officers for the Kansas Colored Volunteer's regiments. Many of the letters were written by or sent to General James G. Blunt. It appears the book was kept by Major T. J. Anderson, Assistant Adjutant General. Names of many individuals appear in the volume.

Ammunition from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1864
This ammunition was recovered from the Mine Creek Battlefield site in Linn County during a survey and excavation in 1990 by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists and crew. On October 25, 1864, Union and Confederate forces met at the site and fought one of the largest cavalry battles in the Civil War. Shown here are three different types of ammunition. The larger round ball is grapeshot and was fired along with a number of similar sized balls from a cannon. The shorter round nosed one is a .70 caliber bullet with a concave or hollow base. The longer one is a Sharps .45 caliber bullet.

Axe Head from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1864
This axe head was recovered during the 1990 survey and excavation at the Mine Creek Battlefield by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists and crew. There are many variations on axe heads styles, this one is similar to a cabin or New England axe. The butt end has been used as a hammer or an anvil. This axe was cleaned by electrolysis which passes an electrical current through a liquid solution to separate the rust from the artifact. 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.

Battle of the Marais Des Cygnes or Osage or Mine Creek
Creator: Scott, William Forse
Date: October 25, 1864
This is a map showing the Battle of Marais Des Cygnes or Osage or Mine Creek. The map was copied from The Story of a Cavalry Regiment, The Career of the Fourth Iowa Veteran Volunteers, from Kansas to Georgia, 1861-1865.

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.

Brigadier General Alfred Sully to Assistant Adjutant General Department Northwest, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Creator: Sully, Alfred
Date: December 30, 1864
This is a letter from Brigadier General Alfred Sully, Dubuque, Iowa, to Assistant Adjutant General Department Northwest, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, concerning Fanny Kelly who was a captive of the Huck-pa-pa Sioux. The letter contains details of her capture and negotiations for her release. Also, Brigadier General Sully requested reimbursement for clothing purchased for Mrs. Kelly and horses offered to the Sioux.

Bullets and Balls from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1864
These six different types of ammunition were recovered during a 1990 survey and excavation at the Mine Creek Battlefield by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists and crew. Mine Creek Battlefield was the location where on October 25, 1864, Union and Confederate forces fought one of the largest cavalry battles in the Civil War. All of the ammunition shown here was made of lead. On the top row from left to right are a 40-63/70 Ballard ball and a .58 caliber Berdan ball. On the bottom row (all ammunition for use in a pistol) are, from left to right, a .38 caliber ball, a .44 caliber Merwin and Hulbert bullet, a .38 caliber bullet, and a .357 caliber bullet.

Campaign against Sterling Price
Creator: Davis, George
Date: 1864
This is a map showing the campaign against Sterling Price. It accompanied a report by Major General S. R. Curtis, U. S. Army and was copied from the Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865 [War of the Rebellion], Series 1, Vol. XLI, Part 1.

Captain Edward A. Jacobs to John Jacobs
Creator: Jacobs, Edward A.
Date: November 13, 1864
A letter from Captain Edward A. Jacobs, Fort Larned, to John Jacobs, Clinton, Kansas, November 13, 1864. The letter was written 16 days prior to the Sand Creek Massacre in southeast Colorado on November 29, 1864.

Civil War Valentine
Creator: W. Momberger
Date: between 1861 and 1865
Joseph Forrest sent Valentines to Elizabeth Ehrhart during the Civil War. They were residents of Macon County, Illinois, and became engaged in 1858. Joseph enlisted on July 25, 1861 at Decatur, Illinois and fought as a private with Co. A of 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The couple married Aug. 9, 1863. The Forrests moved to Jewell County, Kansas in 1872, where Joseph served as a Methodist Minister. In 1875, they moved to Minneapolis, Kansas.

Civil War Valentine
Date: between 1861 and 1865
Joseph Forrest sent Valentines to Elizabeth Ehrhart during the Civil War. They were residents of Macon County, Illinois, and became engaged in 1858. Joseph enlisted on July 25, 1861 at Decatur, Illinois and fought as a private with Co. A of 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The couple married Aug. 9, 1863. The Forrests moved to Jewell County, Kansas in 1872, where Joseph served as a Methodist Minister. In 1875, they moved to Minneapolis, Kansas.

Civil War Valentine
Date: between 1861 and 1865
Joseph Forrest sent Valentines to Elizabeth Ehrhart during the Civil War. They were residents of Macon County, Illinois, and became engaged in 1858. Joseph enlisted on July 25, 1861 at Decatur, Illinois and fought as a private with Co. A of 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The couple married Aug. 9, 1863. The Forrests moved to Jewell County, Kansas in 1872, where Joseph served as a Methodist Minister. In 1875, they moved to Minneapolis, Kansas.

Coins from the Iowa and Sac and Fox Mission, 14DP384
Date: 1854-1864
Shown are two coins that were recovered from the excavations at the Iowa and Sac and Fox Mission in Doniphan County by Kansas Historical Society archeologists and Kansas Anthropological Association volunteers. The Presbyterian Mission was built in 1845 and closed in 1863. After that, part of the building was razed, the rest was used as a residence until 1905. The State of Kansas acquired to property in 1941. The 1854 half dime shows a seated Liberty, 13 stars, and an arrow on each side of the year on the obverse side. The arrows indicate that that the coin weight had been reduced. The reverse of the half dime shows the face value of the coin, a wreath, and the words "UNITED STATES of AMERICA." The 2¢ coin's obverse side shows a shield with "IN GOD WE TRUST" on the banner and the mint date of 1864. The reverse side is too corroded to discern what was present.

Colonel John M. Chivington to Major General S. R. Curtis
Creator: United States. Congress. Senate
Date: December 16, 1864
This copy of a letter by Colonel John Chivington, commander of the 1st Colorado Cavalry, was included in the report of a military commission called to investigate the Sand Creek massacre in Colorado Territory. In the letter, Chivington describes his pursuit of "hostile" Indians and his actions at Sand Creek. According to Chivington, he took no prisoners, leaving between five and six hundred Indians "dead upon the field." He also captured around 550 ponies and horses, as well as other Indian property. This letter is included in a larger published report, titled Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of February 4, 1867, a copy of the evidence taken at Denver and Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, by a military commission, ordered to inquire into the Sand Creek massacre, November, 1864.

Colored Battery at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Date: 1864
A carte de visite photograph showing the men of the Independent Battery, U.S. Colored Light Artillery, positioned in front of the guard house at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. The battery was commanded by Union officer Captain H. Ford Douglas and has often been referred to as "Douglas's Battery." Captain Douglas himself was one of the few black officers in the Union Army during the war and worked tirelessly to better the conditions under which his men served.

Cyrus Leland letters
Creator: Leland, Cyrus, 1841-1917
Date: 1862-1864
These letters were written by Cyrus Leland, primarily, during his time in the Civil War. Leland served in the 4th Kansas and later the10th Kansas Infantry, after the 3rd and 4th Kansas were consolidated to form the 10th. Many of the letters concern his efforts to be appointed as an aide-de-camp to General Thomas Ewing, Jr, and another mentions Preston Plumb and his actions during a charge by William Quantrill. Leland writes letters from Kansas City, Leavenworth, St. Louis, Rolla, and other places the regiment went. In a letter from Kansas City, MO, dated June 29, 1863, he asks his mother to send him $25 and to make him two white shirts. He also writes that he is staying at the Union House, along with some female prisoners. On stationery printed with "Headquarters District of the Border," he writes that General Schofield "has issued an order preventing the military of either Missouri or Kansas from crossing the state line without permission." A short letter written in pencil on October 12, 1863, about a military engagement near Booneville, Missouri, presents a contrast of letters written in the field to those written at Headquarters. Another letter written October 18, 1863, from "Camp near Carthage, MO, describes the capture of thirty Confederate troops. The letter written November 14th, 1863, describes an incident at a dance near Neosho, MO, that end with shooting. Leland ejected a soldier from "Blunts scouts" that was "a little more noisy than the rest" but when the soldier returned to Fort Scott, he told people he had been bushwhacked. Leland was from Troy, Doniphan County, KS. After the war, he served several terms in the Kansas House of Representatives.

Daniel K. Harden
Date: 1863-1864
A photograph of Lieutenant Daniel K. Harden, a member of the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry, Company H.

Denver in 1864
Date: 1864
This is a photograph capturing a view of Denver, Colorado in 1864.

Descriptive roll, Second Regiment, Cavalry, Kansas Civil War Volunteers, volume 2
Creator: Kansas. Adjutant General's Office
Date: April 1862-April 1865
This is the descriptive roll for Civil War soldiers in the Second Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Information includes description, marital status, nativity, residence, muster information, and remarks. The index to the Kansas Adjutant General's Report, 1861-1865, (see link below) also gives the regiment and company the soldier served in.

Edmund G. Ross correspondence
Date: 1856-1865
Correspondence to and from Edmund G. Ross. A number of letters are from Ross to his wife Fannie Lathrop Ross. There is one letter from S. C. Pomeroy about Ross's request to raise a company of men. There are also a number of telegrams relating to military activities. During the Civil War Ross served in Company E of the 11th Kansas Cavalry. In 1866 he was appointed by the governor to fill the unexpired United States Senate term of James Lane, who had committed suicide. Ross served in the Senate until 1871. Transcriptions of some of the letters are included with the images of the originals.

First Regiment, Infantry, muster in rolls, Kansas Civil War volunteer regiments, volume 3 (AR114)
Creator: Kansas. Adjutant General's Office
Date: Between 1860 and 1865
This is the muster in rolls for Civil War soldiers in the First Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Infantry. Information includes description, marital status, nativity, residence, muster information, and remarks. The index to the Kansas Adjutant General's Report, 1861-1865, (see link below) also gives the regiment and company the soldier served in.

Flintlock Lockplate from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1864
This flintlock lockplate was recovered during the 1990 survey and excavation at the Mine Creek Battlefield by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists and crew. The artifact was likely from a pre-Civil War single shot horse pistol that belonged to a Confederate cavalryman. It was cleaned by electrolysis which passes an electrical current through a liquid solution to separate the rust from the artifact. 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.

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Date: 1864
Colored battery & guardhouse in distance; Ft. Leavenworth, KS 1864; Ft. Leavenworth-Military

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Date: 1864
This photograph of Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, was taken in 1864 by an unidentified photographer. The building in the background is the guardhouse, and in the foreground is an African-American battery. This battery appears to be the precursor to the 9th and 10th Colored Regiments, formed in 1866.