Archy Thomas’ undated memoir reflects on the Battle of Carthage, Missouri on July 5, 1861. While Thomas’ recollection is embellished, it is consistent with the official reports and secondary accounts of the Battle. It is unknown if Thomas was a soldier in the Missouri State Guard or a civilian living near Carthage. His account imply his association with the Missouri State Guard, but he offers little detail about his personal involvement or enlistment with a specific company. Furthermore, he only refers to the Missouri State Guard in the third person, thus disassociating himself from the soldiers. Additional information about the author and his potential connection to the MSG warrants further investigation.

The Chadwell Leavenworth Collection comprises a series of letters between family members. Gideon and Lucinda Chadwell’s son, Alexander, served in the Missouri State Guard and later in the 2nd Missouri Cavalry (CS). His letters home tell of his service in the military. Alexander had three sisters, Nancy Amanda, Martha and Mary Emma. The family resided in the Ste. Genevieve area. Although Alexander fought for the Confederacy, the family remained in correspondence with their extended Union sympathetic family in Illinois.

The Hunter-Hagler collection provides rare documentation on how women endured the War in the Ozarks. The letters are written by Elizabeth Hunter and her daughters, Priscilla A. Hunter and Charlotte Elizabeth (Hunter) Hagler. The Hunters write Margaret Hunter Newberry, who married and left the family farm. The letters describe how the Hunter family survived harsh winters, sold goods at the market, and provide graphic details of murder, theft and destruction caused by bushwhackers in Jasper and Lawrence Counties. Perpetual violence caused the Hunter family to leave their beloved homestead, and flee to Illinois in late 1864. Elizabeth wrote her daughter affectionately and often, and through these letters Elizabeth relates the brutal conditions in which the family endured.

John Harvey Doran, a carpenter in Springfield, Missouri kept a journal of his daily activities from August 13, 1864 through September 24, 1865. Doran had steady business building shelves, coffins, framing houses, and other general construction jobs. The journal entries include business notes, news from family and friends, and information about Doran’s brief service in the Enrolled Missouri Militia.

The Lizzie Gilmore collection is a series of letters written by Elizabeth C. Gilmore, primarily to her cousins in Crittenden County, Kentucky. Through her letters, “Lizzie” notes political differences among her family, guerrilla warfare in Missouri and Kentucky, and the hardships she faced in Laclede County. She commented on the fears of living among the war split community of Lebanon and the nature of co-existence. Lizzie declared her loyalty to the Union, but she specifically states, “but that is as far as I go.” It is unknown if she was opposed northern aggression, advocated for states rights, or supported slavery. This collection provides a glimpse of life for a Laclede County citizen facing the struggles of war and reconstruction in the Ozarks.

Lyman Gibson Bennett enlisted in the 36th Illinois Infantry in 1861. Prior to the War he trained as a surveyor and civil engineer, working for the railroad. The military utilized Bennett’s skills as a cartographer, and assigned him to survey battlefields, road systems, and fortifications. Bennett’s diaries document his daily duties as both a soldier and an engineer for the military. His regiment participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge, which he describes in vivid detail.

The Moses J. Bradford collection consists of forty letters written to his wife, Malissa Jane, and family. Bradford joined the Missouri State Guard under General James H. McBride, and later served in the 10th Missouri Infantry (CSA). In July of 1863, Bradford was captured in Helen, Arkansas. Bradford was incarcerated with other Confederate officers at five different Union prisons: Johnson’s Island in Ohio, Camp Hammond in Maryland, Fort Delaware in Delaware, Morris Island in South Carolina, and Fort Pulaski in Georgia. Bradford wrote ten letters while in the Missouri State Guard and 10th Missouri Infantry. The remainder of the collection was written from the prison. These letters tell of the worsening conditions Bradford faced as a prisoner of war, and the resolve of his dedication to the Confederate States of America.

The Murray Collection contains 16 letters detailing the activities of the 20th Iowa Infantry as they marched through the Ozarks. The letters are addressed to Thomas Murray from his brother William Murray and his cousin, Thomas Murray, serving in the 20th Iowa. William wrote the bulk of the wartime letters, offering his perspective of the Ozarks and the events that unfolded in the region. The 20th Iowa marched through St. Louis, Rolla, and Springfield. They camped at Newtonia in early October 1862. William reported to his brother about the 1862 Battle of Newtonia that took place there only a few days before his arrival. In December of 1862, the 20th Iowa then participated in the Battle of Prairie Grove in Arkansas. William was severely wounded in the Battle, and died shortly after. The collection contains three post-war letters, in which Thomas inquires about his brother’s grave in Arkansas. Thomas Murray continued to write his cousin, as the 20th Iowa traveled to Mississippi and participated in the Siege of the Vicksburg.