Battle of Hickory Point
Creator: Reader, Samuel J.
Date: between 1856 and 1914
Painting by Samuel Reader depicting the Battle of Hickory Point. Reader, an early settler of Shawnee County, was a member of a volunteer Free State company. On September 13, 1856, General James Lane heard that proslavery men were committing outrages in the town of Grasshopper Falls (Valley Falls). Lane marched to Ozawkie and recruited Free State settlers. Shortly thereafter, he heard that the proslavery forces were at Hickory Point, north of Oskaloosa, and so redirected his men there. The proslavery forces, which included about 40 South Carolinians, were under the command of Captain H. A. Lowe. According to Reader's accounts, only one Free State man was injured, but between 5-6 proslavery men were killed when these forces collided. Reader was an amateur artist and kept diaries of his life in territorial Kansas. The exact date Reader produced this painting is unknown; many of his historical art works were painted from memory at the end of the 19th century.

Battle of Indianola
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: 1906
This handwritten section of Samuel J. Reader's autobiography, which was based on Reader's diary from the same period, deals with the "Battle of Indianola," which occurred on August 30, 1856, near Indianola, in Shawnee County, Kansas Territory. Reader describes the day's events, in which no actual fighting occurred, when the local militia gathered to prevent theft and burning by proslavery supporters.

Battle of the Big Blue
Creator: Reader, S. J.
Date: 1897
This painting depicts Union forces fighting Confederate soldiers at the Battle of the Big Blue River on October 22, 1864, the day before the defeat of Price at Westport. The artist, Samuel Reader, fought for the Union as part of the Second Kansas State Militia, whose members were was almost all from Shawnee County. Reader served as an officer in the "field and staff" of the militia with the rank of First Lieutenant, Assistant Quartermaster. In the Battle of the Big Blue he was captured by Confederates, who were on their way to Texas when Reader escaped and returned to his farm in southeast Kansas. In this painting, which is housed in a gilded wood frame (not shown), timber fences flank both sides of a tree-lined road. A stone building and horse-drawn caisson (ammunition chest) are visible to the right, and a mounted cannon is on the left. Armed men, wearing brown and blue coats, are scattered along the road. The Union infantry skirmish line, marked by a federal flag, recedes into the background. Confederate forces, with Confederate flag, are visible in the background to the left. Elizabeth Reader, the daughter of the artist, donated the painting in 1909.

Biographical circulars
Date: 1890-1899
This collection consists of biographical forms sent by F. G. Adams, secretary of the Kansas Historical Society, to individuals whose names appeared in historically significant materials in the collections of the Kansas Historical Society. The responses are arranged alphabetically by last name. Biographical information may include full name, place and date of birth, place and date of settlement, present residence, place and date of death, official positions, and/or addresses of family members.

Directing John Brown to the Free State Camp
Creator: Samuel J. Reader
Date: 1906
Abolitionist John Brown disguised himself as a surveyor to monitor the activities of proslavery forces in the Kansas Territory. This painting by Samuel J. Reader depicts Brown approaching a Free State camp on Pony Creek in Brown County, Kansas Territory, on August 3, 1856. Reader is the sentry approaching him.

It went against us, the Battle of Mine Creek
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: October 25, 1864
This color illustration from volume three of Samuel Reader's autobiography depicts the Battle of Mine Creek, an engagement between Union and Confederate forces that took place in Kansas on October 25, 1864, during the Civil War. The Battle of Mine Creek was one of the largest cavalry engagements of the Civil War and contributed to a Confederate retreat. After the battle Union forces continued their pursuit of Price's Confederates through Missouri, Arkansas and into Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). The Confederates never again threatened Kansas. Following Price's retreat the Confederate effort west of the Mississippi River was minimal. The battle was one of the last significant engagements fought in the west. The Civil War ended in April 1865. The title "It went against us" quotes a Confederate summary of the battle. This original color illustration appears between pages 98-99 of volume three of Samuel Reader's autobiography (unit 206900).

Kansas pioneers, Shawnee County, Kansas
Date: September 25, 1904
A photograph taken in 1904 of five Shawnee County, Kansas, pioneers. Identified from left to right: J. H. McNown, 1855; John Armstrong, 1854; S. J.(Samuel James) Reader, 1855; H. K. Winans, 1855, and J. Orcutt, 1856.

Price Raid
Creator: Reader, Samuel James
Date: 1865
This watercolor with pencil shading was done by Samuel J. Reader of Indianola, Kansas. The painting depicts Confederate soldiers marching Union prisoners of war while a haystack burns in the background. The artist was an eyewitness to the scene, having been captured with other members of the Second Kansas Militia following General Sterling Price's Raid into Kansas. The Price Raid was a multi-day running battle that happened very near the Kansas-Missouri border in the fall of 1864. Samuel Reader was Quartermaster for the Second Kansas during the raid's Battle of the Big Blue on October 22, where Union forces were routed. The prisoners later were marched to Tyler, Texas. Reader escaped by tricking his captors into believing he was a Confederate soldier. A four-day walk brought him home to Indianola, just north of Topeka, where he recorded his adventures in a journal.

Salmon Brown
Creator: Moore
Date: March 11, 1907
This is a photograph of Salmon Brown, a son of John Brown. Salmon was wounded at the battle of Black Jack on June 2, 1856. He later moved to Oregon where he raised sheep on a 3,000-acre ranch.

Samuel J. Reader
Samuel J. Reader lived in Shawnee County, Kansas Territory, and participated in some free state activities. He wrote about his daily life (including descriptions of the Battles of Indianola and Hickory Point) in his diary, which he used as the basis for an autobiography he illustrated with drawings and watercolor paintings. This photograph is a copy that Reader made from a daguerreotype taken of him in 1855 at age eighteen. The copy was produced on March 1, 1894, in La Harpe, Hancock County, Illinois.

Samuel J. Reader
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: 1898
This is a cabinet card showing Samuel J. Reader (1836-1914), who was born in Pennsylvania. He began a diary at the age of 13 and continued it until his death in 1914 at the age of 78. The diary--and the autobiography he wrote from it--describes his move to Kansas Territory in 1855, his claim near Topeka, his military experiences, farming, and his later service as Soldier Township trustee and school district clerk. He liberally illustrated his diary and recorded these events on canvas. His best known works are his drawings and paintings of territorial and Civil War experiences including the Battle of the Blue, which he is working on in this photograph. Although rather naïve in style, Reader's illustrations provide a valuable record of early Kansas history, its social and political events.

Samuel J. Reader's autobiography, volume 1
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: 1901-1908
"Autobiography of an old Jayhawker" gives an early account of Samuel James Reader's childhood and family (1849-1856) written when Reader was in his sixties. This autobiography is of particular interest because the first volume of Reader's diary, which covered a similar time period, was destroyed by a fire. It also includes a number of illustrations drawn by Reader. It describes his life in Virginia and Illinois, before he came to Kansas. In the early pages, Reader writes about a cousin Sydney Rigdon who was a Mormon and lived in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Samuel J. Reader's autobiography, volume 2
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: 1896
This autobiography consists of two sections titled "Border War, Kansas Territory, 1856" and "Hickory Point." Sketches and watercolors by Reader accompany portions of the text. The Border War section describes events in which Reader participated as part of a free state militia. This section provides detail about Reader's militia activities, as well as his contact with John Brown and Aaron Stevens (Captain Whipple). The second section describes the Battle of Hickory Point, which occurred on September 13, 1856. The accounts in the autobiography are based on Reader's diaries.

Samuel J. Reader's autobiography, volume 3
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: October 12-30, 1864
This autobiography is based on entries from Samuel Reader's 1864 diary. The diary entries and personal recollections of the Battle of the Big Blue, Price's Raid, and the Battle of Mine Creek were used to compile the autobiography. The autobiography also includes a number of water color and pen illustrations drawn by Reader.

Samuel J. Reader correspondence
Date: 1895-1914
These letters from numerous individuals were received by Samuel James Reader. Only two of the letters, dated September 24, 1898, and October 11, 1899, were written by Reader. Many of the letters refer to the Battle of the Blue, which was Reader's only war experience. The battle occurred on October 22, 1864, in Jackson County, Missouri. The authors of some letters wish to thank Reader for sending them photographs relating to the battle, and others are former comrades from the 2nd Kansas Regiment responding to Reader's letters. Reader received letters from Salmon Brown, the surviving son of John Brown, and Jesse R. Grant, son of Ulysses S. Grant. Six of the letters, dated 1908 and 1909, come from Reader's "boyhood acquaintance" Joseph Smith III, who lived in Independence, Missouri. In one letter, Smith reminisces on time spent in La Harpe, Illinois, where Reader once lived. Smith also acknowledges that he was an abolitionist, who "sympathized with Kansas and her Free State men who prevented the accomplishment of the wicked intent of the Missouri Compromise."

Samuel James Reader
Date: May 26, 1855
A portrait of Samuel J. Reader, who was a participant in some of the free state activities in Kansas Territory. He wrote about his efforts in his diary, including descriptions of the Battles of Indianola and Hickory Point. His diary accounts also describe his daily life and were used as the basis for an autobiography which he illustrated with drawings and water colors. He lived in Shawnee County, Kansas Territory.

Samuel Reader's cane
Date: 1903
Simple hand-carved maple walking stick with brass ferrule at tip. Carved lettering: S. J. READER. / MAY 29 / 1903. / NORTH TOPEKA KANS. / FLOOD AND FIELD / BIG BLUE. / OCT. 22d 1864. / GAR. This cane was carved and used by Samuel James Reader, who settled near Topeka in Kansas Territory in 1855. Staunchly antislavery, Reader mustered into the 2nd Kansas Infantry as Quartermaster during the Civil War. His only wartime experience came on Oct. 22, 1864, at the Battle of the Big Blue, where Union forces were routed and all survivors taken prisoner. Reader escaped by tricking his captors into believing he was a Confederate soldier. After the war, Reader married and lived with his family near Topeka. This cane was likely used at the end of Reader's life when he suffered from arthritis. The "GAR" carved on the head refers to the Grand Army of the Republic, the Union veterans' organization. The date May 29, 1903, refers to the flooding of Soldier Creek during the massive 1903 floods. Reader was an avid diarist, and in volume 15 of his diaries describes his inability to escape the rising water due to rheumatism.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 10
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: May 1, 1880-June 30, 1885
Volume ten of Samuel J. Reader's diary. During this period, several deaths in his family occurred, including his brother-in-law, his father, who died on April 20, 1884, and his daughter, who died on April 29, 1885. In addition to English, Reader writes the diary in shorthand. Reader also attached newspaper clippings of personal interest to some pages of his diary and doodled illustrations on several pages.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 11
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: July 1, 1885-August 20, 1887
Volume eleven of Samuel James Reader's diary. Inside the front cover is a photograph of Reader at the age of fifty. In addition to English, Reader writes the diary in shorthand. Newspaper clippings, commencement programs, election tickets and illustrations are found in the diary. During the period charted by this volume, Reader's public duties expanded to clerk of the new School District No. 93, his daughter enrolled in the Topeka Business and Normal College, and Reader bought a typewriter.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 12
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: August 21, 1887-June 15, 1891
Volume twelve of Samuel James Reader's diary. Events recorded in this volume include the destruction of his farmhouse resulting from a fire on April 8, 1890. Several illustrations, newspaper clippings, and election tickets are found inside. In addition to English, Reader writes some of the diary in shorthand.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 13
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: June 16, 1891-September 6, 1895
Volume thirteen of Samuel James Reader's diary. In this volume, Reader expresses his enjoyment of reading and photography. After taking pictures, Reader would number the prints in the margins of his diary as he developed them in his home photo lab. In November 1892, Reader voted the People's Party ticket writing in the name of Charles Curtis for Fourth District Congressman. In 1894, he voted for Governor Lorenzo Lewelling on the Prohibition ticket and for the suffrage amendment to the Kansas constitution. In addition to English, some of the diary is written in shorthand.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 14
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: 1895-1903
Volume fourteen of Samuel James Reader's diary. Reader gives a daily account of the weather, activities, and his physical condition. An entry made on March 30, 1898 comments on the death of his wife, Lizzie. Reader also attached newspaper clippings of personal interest to some pages of his diary.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 15
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: March 31, 1903-July 22, 1913
The last volume of Samuel James Reader's diary. Reader gives a daily account of the weather, activities, and his failing health. Reader describes the May 1903 flooding that affected Soldier Creek. Some pages have newspaper clippings of personal interest attached and illustrations drawn by hand. Two cyanotype photographs of Reader are attached to the April 10, 1907 and October 16, 1907 entries.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 2
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: June 1, 1853-December 31, 1853
Volume two of Samuel James Reader's diary written while his family lived in La Harpe, Illinois. Reader was only seventeen years old at the time, and the entries describe the daily life of a teenager. This is the earliest of Samuel Reader's diaries available as volume one was destroyed by a fire in 1890. A complete, searchable transcription is available by clicking on "Text Version" below.

Samuel Reader's diary, volume 3
Creator: Reader, Samuel James, 1836-1914
Date: Between January 1, 1854 and December 31, 1857
Volume three of Samuel Reader's diary documents his life in La Harpe, Illinois, his travels to Kansas Territory, and his life in Kansas Territory. Reader describes daily activities as well as events related to the territorial struggle. He settled in Shawnee County north of Topeka and participated in a militia group at the battles of Indianola and Hickory Point. Reader was an amateur artist and some of the diary pages contain his sketches and water color paintings. This volume has been scanned and presented in its entirety. All pages and sections are included. A searchable transcription is not yet available.