Abraham (Bullet Hole) Ellis
Creator: Martin Leonard V.
Date: Between 1862 and 1889
This sepia colored photograph shows Abraham (Bullet Hole) Ellis. Abraham was elected to the Kansas Territorial Legislature in 1858 and to the first Kansas state legislature of 1861. In 1862, Ellis was shot by William Quantrill, the bullet passed through a sash and fur cap, crushing both plates of the skull and lodging against the inner lining. It lay buried in the wound for seventy hours. Abraham wouldn't fully recover from the wound for five months. The ball and twenty-seven pieces of bone are now in the Army and Navy Medical Museum in Washington, D.C.

Alex E. Case collection
Date: 1866 - 1917
In this small collection, Alex E. Case, a state representative from Marion, Kansas, describes his experiences in Kansas in the 1860s. He recounts a conversation with an Irish immigrant named Sallie Young, who told Case about her encounter with Quantrill's raiders as they rode towards Lawrence. Case also relates his memories of the Cheyenne Indian raids on Marion in 1868 and shares stories about his neighbors A. A. Moore and William Henry Roberts. A searchable transcription is available by clicking "Text Version" below. Funds for digitization provided by Mr. Steve Peckel in memory of William Chalfant.

Benjamin Talbot Babbitt to Governor Thomas Carney
Creator: Benjamin Talbot Babbitt
Date: December 30, 1863
In this letter, prominent New York soap manufacturer B.T. Babbitt writes to Kansas governor Thomas Carney to offer 100 packages of his soap to the victims of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence.

Charles Wolcott Smith
Date: Between 1880s and 1900s
This photograph shows a formal portrait of Charles Wolcott Smith, (1831-1907). Smith a native of Portage County, Ohio, migrated to Lawrence, Kansas in 1854 from Lowell, Massachusetts as a member of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. A carpenter by trade, Smith was fortunate to escape from danger during Quantrill's Raid, on August 21, 1863, as he worked on a building west of town. When he received word of the raid, Smith immediately came to the rescue to build wooden boxes for the dead. On July 30, 1907, Smith died at the age of seventy-five at the home of his daughter Allie Homestead in Lawrence, Kansas.

Charles Wolcott Smith
Date: Between 1880s and 1900s
This photograph shows a formal portrait of Charles Wolcott Smith, (1831-1907). Smith a native of Portage County, Ohio, migrated to Lawrence, Kansas in 1854 from Lowell, Massachusetts as a member of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. A carpenter by trade, Smith was fortunate to escape from danger during Quantrill's Raid on August 21, 1863, as he was working on a building west of town. When he received word of the raid, Smith immediately came to the rescue to build wooden boxes for the deceased. On July 30, 1907, Smith died at the age of seventy-five at the home of his daughter Allie Omstead in Lawrence, Kansas.

Claims (Indian, Price & Quantrill raids, etc.)
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1873-1877 : Osborn)
Date: 1874 - 1876
The documents in this file concern claims made and filed by individuals in relation to Native American attacks, Price and Quantrill Raids, as well as other affairs. A letter on September 23, 1873, from A. M. Crockett to Adjutant General, Captain C. A. Morris sends orders to authorize the issuance and delivery of the scrips to which the members of company "B" are entitled. A letter on November 26, 1875, from Mrs. O. F. Short, informs Governor Osborn she has a bill that will be in Congress in the winter and requests help from the Governor in getting it passed. A letter on July 15, 1875, from Mrs. E. M Bark, widow of Philip Burk, who was killed six years ago by Native American's, asks if there is any aid Governor Osborn can offer. A letter on May 2, 1876, from J. D. Allen of Shawnee, Kansas, states there are many citizens interested in the reports of the audit of the Quantrill Raid claims.

Claims : Price Raid ; Quantrill Raid ; "war claims" ; Cheyenne Raid
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1877-1879: Anthony)
Date: 1878
The following documents in this file concern claims made in relation to the Price Raid, Quantrill Raid, war claims, and the Cheyenne Native American raid. This description only covers a few of the claims made in this file. A claim filed on November 29, 1878, by A. N. and B. W. Chadsey of Cherokee, Kansas, state the losses sustained on the sheep caused by the raid of the Cheyenne Native Americans equaled to $678. A letter on January 18, 1877, from G. W. Brown, states he was in the Price Raid and has received his scrip in which he sent to Topeka but has not collected any money and asks for the Governor's help. A letter on April 20, 1878, from J. S. Beller Jr., informs Governor Anthony he has military scrips issued from Topeka in 1867 and asks what he can get for them.

Claims, Quantrill Raid
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1883-1885
These letters are from various residents of Kansas regarding Quantrill Raid claims to Kansas Governor John Martin. The individuals requested claims since the raids either wounded them or damaged their property. The name of William Clarke Quantrill was already known before he led his band of guerillas in a deadly raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863. Claiming to fight for the confederacy, Quantrill organized a band in December 1861. Quantrill's raid also attacked Olathe, Kansas in 1862.

Claims : Quantrill Raid
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1879-1883 : St. John)
Date: 1880
This file contains a copy of a Certificate of Loss due to the invasion of guerrillas in 1861 to 1864. In this letter D. Ellison asks Kansas Governor St. John when will the certificate be paid. Similarly, is a letter from J. A. Wacker of Glenwood, Kansas asking Governor St. John to inform him whether claims can be made for losses sustained by citizens during the Quantrill Raid, he then tells the governor that he holds a certificate for losses.

Crime and criminals, Miscellaneous
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1877-1879: Anthony)
Date: 1877 - 1878
The documents in this file pertain to various matters concerning crime and criminals in Kansas. J. A. Wells of Lawrence, Kansas, asks Governor Anthony if he knows of anyone wanted by the State of Kansas that engaged in the massacre and burning of Lawrence during the Quantrill Raid. A letter on August 21, 1877, from G. M. Doolittle of Lampasas, Texas, requests a list of the fugitives from Kansas and what they are charged with. A letter on October 13, 1877, from the F. E. Wilson, Sheriff of Comanche, Texas, writes to requests a list of fugitives from Kansas. The remainder of the documents are Special Orders from the Army Headquarters in Washington, D.C., by the direction of the Secretary of War, concerning the sentences of specific individuals.

Destruction of the city of Lawrence and massacre of its inhabitants by so-called rebel guerrillas
Creator: Harpers Weekly
Date: September 5, 1863
This is an illustration of the August 21, 1863, raid led by William Clarke Quantrill, 1837-1865, on Lawrence, Kansas. Quantrill and a group of 300 Confederate guerrillas attacked Lawrence at dawn. They shot down every man they saw and fired into the windows as they rode by, killing nearly 200 people. Banks, stores, and saloons were all looted, along with dozens of houses. Much of what could not be carried off was burned and the town was covered with smoke. By nine o'clock in the morning, it was all over and Quantrill escaped into the Missouri hills. The illustration was copied from the September 5, 1863, issue of Harper's Weekly.

Edward E. Dix
Date: 1912
This black and white photograph shows Edward E. Dix, copied from the book "Kansas: a Cyclopedia of State History", edited by Frank Blackmar. Edward, the son of Ralph C. Dix and Jette Graham Dix, was born March 21, 1860 in Lawrence, Kansas. During Quantrill's Raid on August 22, 1863, his father Ralph was one of the nearly 200 people killed.

Edward Payson Fitch
Creator: Clark's Daguerreotype Rooms, No. 59 Court Street, Boston.
Date: Between 1853 and 1863
Cased ninth plate daguerreotype portrait of Edward Payson Fitch, a native of Massachusetts, who arrived in Kansas Territory in 1854 as a member of the third group of settlers sponsored by the New England Emigrant Aid Company. On August 21, 1863, he was killed in his house by one of William Quantrill's raiders during their infamous attack on Lawrence. The daguerreotype was made by Clark's Daguerreotype Rooms of No. 59 Court Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth Fisher
Date: Between 1861 and 1865
This is a portrait of Elizabeth Fisher, wife of Hugh Dunn Fisher, a Methodist minister that settled in Lawrence, Kansas. She helped her husband survive Quantrill's raid.

Esther Anna Brown Murtha Hulse
Date: 1933
A black and white photograph of Esther Anna Brown Murtha Hulse(1844-1938), a survivor of Quantrill's Raid, taken from the book "Illustriana Kansas". Esther, the daughter of Mathew R. Brown and Nancy Jane Fuller Brown, was born November 4, 1844 in Richmond, Indiana. She later moved with her family to Lawrence, Kansas where her father Mathew Brown was killed in 1861 by Missouri bushwhackers. Within a month of Esther's marriage to Thomas Eugene Murtha on July 4, 1863, he and nearly 200 people were killed on August 22, 1863 during Quantrill's raid on Lawrence. Now a young widow, Esther worked as a dress marker at the Crane General Store in Lawrence until she moved to Chanute, Kansas. There, she met and married her second husband, Civil War veteran Richard James Hulse, on March 4, 1875. The couple remained in Chanute for a few years before moving to Cherryvale, Kansas, where Esther became an active member in the community. For three years she managed the New York Drygoods Store and was instrumental in organizing a Red Cross chapter. When her second husband died on March 15, 1901, Esther continued to serve her community as a member of the Women's Relief Corps and the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic.

H.M. Simpson to Hiram Hill
Creator: Simpson, H.M
Date: September 7, 1863
H.M. Simpson, of the Banking House of Simpsons Brothers in Lawrence, Kansas, wrote this letter to Hiram Hill of Massachusetts that provides many details concerning the number of dead and the extent of the destruction caused by Quantrill and his men during their August 21, 1863, raid on Lawrence. Chillingly, the letter vividly details how several of the victims of the attack met their end at the hands of Quantrill's raiders, including one man who paid the attackers $1,000 to spare his life, only to be shot and killed immediately after he turned the money over.

Hugh Dunn Fisher
Date: Between 1861 and 1865
A portrait of Hugh Dunn Fisher, a Methodist minister that settled in Lawrence, Kansas, during the Civil War. He served as chaplain of the Fifth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Fisher survived Quantrill's raid by hiding in a cellar under his home. He wrote a autobiography "the Gun and The Gospel".

Hugh Fisher correspondence
Date: 1861-1865
The collection consists of incoming and some outgoing correspondence and personal recollections of Hugh Fisher, involving the military, Fisher family members, and others; as well as recollections of Quantrill's 1863 raid against Lawrence from both Reverend Fisher and his son Charles. Fisher served as chaplain and was commissioned captain with the 5th Regiment Kansas Volunteers.

James C. Horton correspondence
Creator: Horton, James C., 1837-1907
Date: 1904-1907
This is miscellaneous correspondence between James C. Horton and George W. Martin, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, regarding Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas.

John Stillman Brown to John L. Rupur
Creator: Brown, John Stillman, 1806-1902
Date: September 1, 1863
This letter was written by John Stillman Brown from Lawrence, Kansas, addressed to John L. Rupur. Brown gives a detailed and emotional account of William Quantrill's August 21, 1863, raid on Lawrence. Brown lists individual men and groups such as African Americans and Germans who were killed in the attack. He witnessed much of the violence from a hill above the city, and describes the destruction of life and property. Brown mentions that the town had no warning before the attack and that there was a second panic the following evening when townspeople feared another raid. He also describes how the community's churches came together for a memorial service. A complete transcription is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Leigh R. Webber to Mrs. Brown
Creator: Webber, L. R.
Date: September 5, 1863
A letter written by Leigh R. Webber from Natchez, Mississippi, addressed to Mrs. Brown, wife of John Stillman Brown, a Unitarian minister who lived west of Lawrence, Kansas. Webber discusses reading accounts of the raid on Lawrence in the Cincinnati newspapers. He also describes camp life in Natchez, and shares a rumor that the troops may soon go to Kansas.

List of Quantrill's raid survivors, Lawrence, Kansas
Date: 1891
This is a list of the people who survived Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, Kansas. On August 21, 1863, William Quantrill and his followers attacked Lawrence, a free-state stronghold. After a four-hour siege, they had destroyed the town. Businesses and homes were looted and the town was burned. Quantrill and his men rounded up many men and boys into the middle of the town and as their wives and daughters watched, they were executed.

Mary E. B. to Sarah Brown
Creator: B., Mary E.
Date: August 31, 1863-September 5, 1863
This letter, written by Mary E. B. from West Acton, Massachusetts, was addressed to her cousin Sarah Brown, daughter of John Stillman Brown, a Unitarian minister who lived west of Lawrence, Kansas. Mary expressed her thankfulness that the Brown family was safe following the attack on Lawrence and the anxiety she and other family members felt reading national accounts of it. Mary added to her letter the following week, again mentioning the "desolation and destruction abroad in our beloved country." She also briefly mentioned political conflict with Japan.

On to Lawrence, Kansas
Creator: Donald, Jay
Date: Around 1883
An illustration titled "On to Lawrence" showing Confederate guerilla leader William Clarke Quantrill, 1837-1865, and his men moving toward Lawrence, Kansas. Early in the morning of August 21, 1863, guerilla forces led by Quantrill attacked Lawrence, killing nearly 200 people and burning most of the town. The illustration was created by L. Braunhold and copied from the book "Life and Adventures of the James Boys" written by Jay Donald.

Quantrill massacre
Creator: Colman, Cosma Torrienta
Date: August 21, 1913
This is a recollection of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas written by Cosma Torrienta (C. T.) Colman. Colman was born October 8, 1845 in Concord, Massachusetts. He came to Kansas Territory with his parents in 1854 where he lived on the family farm west of Lawrence, Kansas. At the beginning of the Civil War, Colman joined the 14th Kansas Cavalry. When Quantrill attacked Lawrence on August 21, 1863, he was camped with fellow recruits at New Hampshire and Berkeley streets in Lawrence. Early in the morning of August 21, Quantrill attacked the camp and killed many of the soldiers. Colman was among the four survivors. His recollection gives a detailed account of the raid and attack on the camp. The recollection was written for the 50th anniversary of the Lawrence massacre.