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 Chadwick to Hiram Hill
Creator: Chadwick, Charles
Date: February 4, 1865
Charles Chadwick of Lawrence, Kansas, writes to Hiram Hill of Massachusettes detailing many of the events surrounding Confederate General Sterling Price's invasion and the steps Kansans took in preparation for an expected attack. In particular, Chadwick discusses the back and forth battles along the Missouri/Kansas border between Price and Union commander, General Alfred Pleasonton, that took place in the Fall of 1864.

Charles D. Puckett to Arthur Capper
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: July 11, 1915
This letter from Charles D. Puckett of Dallas, Texas, to Kansas governor Arthur Capper of Topeka discusses claims from the Price Raid of 1864. Puckett's in-laws, Washington and Mary Ann Boggs, had property confiscated during the Price raid. Following the raid, Puckett's in-laws were given bonds totaling $500. However, the bonds were given to a lawyer and lost. Consequently, Puckett's letter is intended to receive compensation from Kansas for the elderly Mrs. Boggs.

Charles Ransford Jennison
Creator: Addis' Brothers
Date: Between 1861 and 1865
This is a portrait of Charles Ransford Jennison, Colonel of the Fifteenth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Jennison was commisioned a Colonel, for the second time during the Civil War, by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney shortly after William Quantrill and his raiders attacked Lawrence, Kansas, on the night of August 21, 1863. During this period, Col. Jennison commanded a brigade made up of both militia and volunteers from Kansas.

Colonel James Montgomery appointment
Date: June 24, 1861
This document officially appoints and commissions James Montgomery as a Colonel of the Third Regiment of Volunteers, State of Kansas--part of General Lane's Brigade. Montgomery was an obvious choice for such a post due to his experience as a Jayhawker during the Bleeding Kansas period that followed the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, as well as his ardent support of the Union at the eve of the Civil War.

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.

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.

E. S. Whitney to Hiram Hill
Creator: Whitney, E.S.
Date: August 20, 1856
E. S. Whitney wrote from Sumner, Kansas Territory, to her uncle, Hiram Hill. Whitney apologized for the long delay in communicating with him, and explained that her husband, Thaddeus Whitney, had been very busy lately and was doing his best to complete Hill's home. She also described her experience watching the border ruffians invade Lawrence, and her friends' and neighbors' reactions to the situation. Despite the violence and uncertainty, she was "not sorry yet" that she had come to Kansas, and told Hill that her husband would write him shortly to discuss business matters.

General James Gillpatrick Blunt's Court-martial at Little Town
Creator: Sramek, Mavis
Date: 1867
This drawing shows Colonel James Gillpatrick Blunt's court martial of pro-slavery soldiers on September 18, 1861. Pictured left to right are W.A. Johnson, Garnett; Col. Blunt, Fort Scott; Dr. Lisle, Chetopa; Preston B. Plumb, Emporia; Lt. Brook; and two unnamed soldiers. The trial took place in Little Town (now Oswego) in the home of pro-slavery supporter John Allen Mathews. Mathews had been killed by union soldiers from Fort Scott under Col. James G. Blunt's command.

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.

General Order, No. 4
Creator: Kansas. Adjutant General's Dept.
Date: September 1, 1861
This document outlines the basic command structure of forces under the Kansas Brigade of General James H. Lane, and Acting Assistant Adjutant General, Abram Cutler. In addition, it stresses that Kansas troops must do all in their power to respect the rights and property of fellow Kansans and all other Union supporters they might encounter during their service. Finally, this order warns against the taking of enemy property for personal gain and encourages all Kansas troops to remain vigilant in order to prevent an invasion.

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.

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.

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".

H.W. Farnsworth to Governor Thomas Carney
Creator: H.W. Farnsworth
Date: May 18, 1863
U.S. Indian Affairs agent H.W. Farnsworth's letter provides a brief account of a guerilla raid in the vicinity of Council Grove, Kansas, and the arrest of several innocent men in place of the real perpetrators who managed to escape to Missouri. In addition, Farnsworth requests that Governor Carney send forces to help protect against such raids in the future as he, and many of his fellow Unionists in the area, do not have confidence in the abilities of either the local sheriff or General James G. Blunt.

Inaugural Address of Governor Thomas Carney
Date: January 14, 1863
Governor Thomas Carney's 1863 inaugural address deals with a number of issues including the Civil War and the sacrifices of Kansas soldiers, the financial condition of the state, war bonds, the importance of agriculture to the state's future development, education, public institutions, establishment of a state university, establishment of a penitentiary, internal improvements such as roads, the extinction of Indian titles to land, railroads, the importance of land surveys, out-of-state insurance, building a state capitol, among other issues.

Independent Kansas Jay-Hawkers
Date: August 24, 1861
Broadside recruiting men for the Independent Kansas Jay-Hawkers, 1st Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Charles R. "Doc" Jennison was colonel of the regiment and, as a consequence of his position, was responsible for the recuritment of the men under his command.

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).

James Gillpatrick Blunt
Date: Between 1865 and 1870
This black and white photograph shows General James Gillpatrick Blunt in a military uniform. Gen. Blunt commanded Union forces during the Civil War in engagements such as the Battle of Old Fort Wayne, the Battle of Prarie Grove, the Battle of Honey Springs, and the first and second Battle of Newtonnia. At the end of the Civil War, Gen. Blunt commanded the District of South Kansas.

James Henry Lane
Creator: Brady, Mathew B., 1823 (ca.)-1896
Date: Between 1861 and 1866
This is a portrait of James Henry Lane, 1814-1866, United States senator from Kansas, 1861-1866. The photograph taken by renowned Civil War-era photographer Matthew Brady.

John Allen Mathews
Date: Between 1851 and 1861
John Allen Mathews a pro-slavery supporter from Labette County, who conducted several raids against Free Staters in southeast Kansas, was killed by the 6th Kansas Cavalry under the command of James G. Blunt near Chetopa, Kansas on September 18, 1861.

Proclamation! The state is in peril!
Creator: Kansas. Militia
Date: October 08, 1864
This broadside conveys the urgency the State of Kansas felt with regard to Confederate General Sterling Price's invasion of Missouri, and the possible threat that it posed to Kansas. The body of the broadside contains portions of one letter, and two telegraphs, sent to Governor Carney from Major General Samuel. R. Curtis. In addition, Gov. Carney issues a call for Kansas men to rally to defend the state against invasion. Finally, the broadside ends with a General Order issued by Major General George W. Deitzler, Kansas State Militia, directing all Kansas militias to muster at various locations throughout the state in anticipation of Price's invasion.

Quantrill's raid
Creator: Fisk, Lauretta Louise Fox
Date: between 1866 and 1919
This black and white water color on paper was created by Lauretta Louise Fox Fisk, wife of Washburn College sociology professor Dr. D.M. Fisk, shows Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863. Confederate guerilla forces led by William Clarke Quantrill, 1837-1865, attacked Lawrence, Kansas, killing nearly 200 people and burning most of the town.

Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence
Creator: Enderton, Sherman Bronson
Date: between 1868 and 1880
This pencil drawing on wood pulp paper shows Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, drawn by Sherman Enderton. Early in the morning of August 21, 1863, Confederate guerilla forces led by William Clarke Quantrill, 1837-1865, attacked Lawrence, Kansas, killing nearly 200 people and burning most of the town. Enderton was a private in Co. E, 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry during the Civil War.