Charles G. Upton was born in Osceola, Missouri in 1852. He would go on to write a memoir about his life in Missouri prior to the start of the Civil War and how his family survived the horrific event. Upton mentions in his account the Burning of Osceola by General James Henry Lane and his Brother Thomas’s service in the Union Army. The Upton family would have to leave Missouri and settled in Illinois to escape Confederate soldiers. Upton would go on to marry Mary Ellen Woodcock in 1871 and the two resided in Leavenworth, Kansas. Upton died in 1941 and is buried in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Richard Henry Roberts was born on November 11, 1843 in Brookville, Indiana to Billingsley and Emily Roberts.1 In the spring of 1853, he moved to Cedar County, Missouri where he lived until 1864 when Guerrilla violence forced his family to relocate to Nebraska.2 He received letters from two of his cousins in the Union army, […]

Henry Z. Curtis was born in Mansfield, Ohio in October 1836. Henry was the son of Union General Samuel R. Curtis.1 After moving to the Nebraska territory in late 1860, he established the first daily newspaper in Omaha, the Daily Telegraph. Curtis managed the newspaper until the summer of 1861 when he left to join […]

James Lane served as Indiana lieutenant governor from 1849 to 1853, and then was elected to Congress as a Democrat. He voted for the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and moved to the Kansas Territory in April 1855. Lane became active in territorial politics, repeatedly being elected president of free-state conventions. When Kansas entered the Union in 1861, Lane became a U. S. senator and acquaintance of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln appointed Lane a brigadier general of volunteers in 1861. Through various means, Lane managed to hold both his military appointment and his Senate seat simultaneously. This collection highlights Lane’s savvy political skills and the influence and power he held in the Federal government.

W.T. Stone corresponded with a friend in England, about his travels to Kansas and his stops in Lawrence and Leavenworth. Stone commented on the strong abolitionist sentiment in Lawrence and how the town is modeled after Boston, Massachusetts. There is little information about W.T. Stone, but according to the 1870 Census there was a W.T. Stone living in Shawnee, Kansas living with the White family. He was approximately 26 years old and working as a farmer.

John S. Gray enlisted in the 1st Light Artillery (Kansas) on July 24, 1861. In March 1863, Gray wrote a friend in Springfield, Missouri, describing conditions in the area. Gray observed that the threat of guerrilla attacks had diminished greatly. Although a number of Native American soldiers were deserting the Confederate cause and joining the Federals, Gray complained they were of little use to the Union cause. Gray also described how 87 Confederate prisoners escaped from Springfield and headed back to Confederate lines. Finally, Gray expressed hope that General James G. Blunt would soon be transferred to Missouri.

Joseph Dean, a St. Louis merchant, traveled through the newly created Kansas Territory in late 1857 and early 1858. Dean recorded his impressions of the troubled territory in a letter to his sister on February 24. The violence had taken a tremendous toll on the population and its stark results were readily apparent to Dean. He enlisted in Company C, 1st Missouri Infantry (C.S.) at Memphis, Tennessee in July 1861. Dean was mortally wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862.

The Tallman and Brown families lived in Miller County, Missouri, and kept correspondence with family members during the war. The principal correspondents were John, Martha, and Matthew Tallman who wrote to their brother, Jeremiah, while he served in the 1st Missouri Light Artillery, and John D. Brown, of the same regiment, who wrote to his sister, Hannah M. Brown. This collection of letters is the result of the marriage of Jeremiah W. Tallman and Hannah M. Brown. The collection spans from 1860-1865 and covers a variety of topics from family relations, conditions in the military camps, wartime communication, the economy, and life after the war.

Thomas Alexander was a resident of Jackson in Jasper County, Missouri in 1860 with his wife Mary and their large family. Alexander filed a law suit against Rice Challas and Hugh Challas on July 4, 1865 for burning and destroying his house and for contributing to the death of his daughter, who was burned to death in the fire. Alexander sought $3,000 in damages from the defendants. Alexander believed the defendants were guerrilla fighters, not from Missouri, and therefore the judge ordered that their summons to appear in court be published in the local paper for several weeks so that the defendants would know to appear in court. The results of case are unknown.

Jasper County’s location along the Missouri-Kansas border made guerrilla warfare a constant threat to its citizens. Bushwhackers or those who were not officially aligned with either side took advantage of the chaos for their benefit. These bands of men were responsible for huge amounts of violence and destruction in the county.

The Peter Wellington Alexander papers contain a significant collection of documents from Thomas C. Hindman’s military service from 1862-1863. Hindman assumed command of the Trans-Mississippi District on May 31, 1862, and his papers cover actions in southern Missouri, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory; including battles at Newtonia, Missouri and Cane Hill and Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The collection consists of military orders, telegrams, correspondence, military reports and other documents.

Lee P. Grey, who was 23 years old in 1860, and lived with his father and four other siblings in Jasper County, Missouri. The Greys owned a small amount of land, which they farmed. Due to its proximity to the Kansas State line, Jasper County experienced a heavy amount of guerrilla warfare between 1854 and 1865. Most of the towns were destroyed at some point during that period that the county became vastly depopulated. Lee Grey claimed that John Dale stole two of his horses, valued at $300, on December 14, 1861. Grey filed his lawsuit against Dale in July 1865. The results of case are unknown, but case represents the wide ranging depredation taking place throughout the Ozarks. Once the war concluded, many civilians spent the post-war years in court filing claims of restitution.

John M. Weidemeyer was born January 10, 1834, in Charlottesville, Virginia. By 1850, John and his parents moved to Osceola, St. Clair County, Missouri. Weidemeyer married Lelia V. Crutchfield in 1856, and the couple resided in Osceola until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Weidemeyer and his family supported the Confederacy and Missouri’s secession from the Union. Weidemeyer recorded in his diary and letters to his wife, Lelia, the struggles of military life for a Confederate soldier. He also gave a first-hand account of the raid and burning of Osceola by James H. Lane and Charles Jennison’s Jayhawkers. John M. Weidemeyer was Captain of Company F of the 6th Missouri Infantry CSA and served in Missouri, Arkansas, but the regiment primarily assisted the Confederate Army on the East coast. After the war, Weidemeyer rejoined his family in Texas, before moving them to Clinton, Missouri, where they lived the remainder of his life. John M. Weidemeyer died on January 12, 1911, at 77 years old.

George Washington Williams served in Company D of the 7th Missouri Cavalry from 1862 thru 1864. His letters are addressed to his wife, Jane, in Sage Town, Illinois, which is present day Gladstone, in Henderson County, Illinois. He described the conditions he and the rest of his unit faced while fighting Confederate forces throughout Arkansas. Williams expressed great concern for his family’s safety and well-being, but voiced little concern for himself. His letters exhibit the difficulties faced by families trying to survive during the conflict. Williams died at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on November 25, 1864 from chronic diarrhea.

The Isely Family Papers contain correspondence and other documents dating from the late 1850s through the 1930s. A significant portion of the collection consists of letters written during the Civil War between Christian H. Isely and his wife, Marie Elizabeth “Eliza” Dubach. Christian served in the 2nd Kansas Cavalry and they traveled throughout Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; which was then Indian Territory. During the war, Eliza went to live with Christian’s parents in Ohio, rather than stay with her father in Willow Dale, Kansas, due to the unstable conditions in the Kansas-Missouri border region. The Isely’s were a profoundly religious family and their correspondences depict the deeply rooted connection between religion and political convictions and how their beliefs often divided their family.

In September 1863, William Gray claimed his life was threatened by William F. Steele a local neighbor along Wilson Creek in Greene County, Missouri. The dispute over a past business transaction, escalated into a violent conflict, which ended with William Gray’s wife being threatened at gun point by Steele and the Gray’s daughter being wounded by a misfired bullet. The Grays filed a complaint with Chesley Cannefax, a Justice of the Peace, for Greene County and Steele was imprisoned; although he was later released from jail on the grounds that the “evidence showed no legal and sufficient cause for the commitment.” This court case embodies the struggles among communities during the War and the polarizing effect the two parties had on individuals’ personal relationships. While the primary issue related to the case was a compromised business deal, the fact that William Gray was a Confederate supporter and William F. Steele a loyal Unionist, added further tension and hostility to the proceeding conflict. It is unknown which events in this case are true and which are exaggerations, but we know similar events occurred in communities throughout the Ozarks.

Major General Henry W. Halleck commanded the Department of Missouri and Department of the Mississippi from November 1861 through July 1862. He was then appointed General-in-Chief, and served as a military advisor to Abraham Lincoln. Contained within the Halleck papers is a single order placed on March 12, 1862 just months prior to being ordered to Washington. Halleck requested Major William Prince at Fort Leavenworth to advance regiments from there to Kansas City and Independence, Missouri. His orders were to clear the border counties of “marauding bands of rebels.”

On September 15, 1865 Amanda Ireland filed a law suit in Jasper County against a group of men for the wrongful death of her husband Austin Ireland in 1861. Amanda sued for five thousand dollars in damages. The Ireland proceedings expose the deadly and dire consequences of guerrilla tactics used during the War and also how individuals used the circumstances of the War to seek monetary wealth and revenge.

On August 13, 1866 Joseph B. Munsey filed a claim against William L. Kelly for stealing his horses and destruction of property. Kelly was arrested and found guilty of the crimes. This court cases embodies the violence and depredations taking places throughout the Ozarks, and documents how the Civil War turned acquaintances against one another.

Alfred Dexter Morgan recorded his experiences in the 17th Illinois Cavalry from 1864 to 1865. Morgan and his company saw duty primarily in Missouri, but were also stationed in Kansas at the end of the war. His diary documents encounters with Bloody Bill Anderson and Confederate General Sterling Price, during his 1864 raid into Missouri. The collection consists of two diaries. The second diary concludes in 1866, after Morgan returns home.

Ellen Cox Ewing was a native of Ohio and the wife of Union General Thomas Ewing. Mrs. Ewing lived in Leavenworth, Kansas with her children to be near her husband who was stationed at Fort Leavenworth during the war. Mrs. Ewing’s 1861 letter to her aunt and sister recalls the adventurous train ride home from visiting family in Ohio. On the journey she rode with notorious Jayhawker Charles R. Jennison, whose presence caused fear and panic among the other passengers.

William G. Bulgin and his wife Elmina lived with her sister Mary and her husband David Holsman in Carthage, Missouri in 1860. On July 31, 1865, Bulgin filed suit against, John F Vestal, John Shirley, and John L Fuller for damaging and destroying his property during the war. Bulgin alleged that the men were a band of guerilla fighters, who supported the Confederacy. Due to the vicious nature and predominance of the guerrilla warfare in Missouri, many county court rooms were filled with civilian claims of restitution in the post-war years. The final verdict of Bulgin’s lawsuit is unknown, but the case represents types of depredation committed throughout the region and how civilians were left to recover their losses.

The Young-Corman Family Papers are the culmination of the marriage of James B. Young and Alice Corman. Young served in the 9th Kansas Cavalry with Isaac and Edward Corman, Alice’s brothers. The three men wrote Alice and the rest of their families throughout the Civil War. Young and the Corman brothers saw little military combat, but heavily patrolled the western frontier. Their letters reveal the political atmosphere of the time and difficulties faced by citizens who remained on the Kansas-Missouri border.

In March 1866, Elisha Estes and John Kelly filed a lawsuit against James Hamilton for theft of $467.50 worth of personal property during in 1863. The final verdict of the case is unknown, case represents the various types of depredation committed throughout the region and how civilians were left to recover their losses in the post-war time period.

Stephen Julian sued the estate of Leonidas Campbell on October 11, 1865 for ten thousand dollars. Julian claimed Campbell illegally and wrongfully imprisoned him in a cell on November 25, 1861. Julian further stated Campbell threatened his life and placed the bodies of dead men in his cell to terrorize him. Leonidas was dead by the time the case was brought to court, so his widow, Elizabeth Campbell, the administrator of his estate, was brought to court. Elizabeth remarried before the case concluded, and thus was removed from being the administrator of Leonidas’ estate.

In November 1866, Mary Rush filed a lawsuit against 21 men for the murder of her husband, John Rush. March claimed the men killed her husband without provocation, and asked for $5,000 in damages. The defendants denied involvement in Rush’s death. The final verdict of the case is unknown, but it represents the vicious nature of warfare that continued after the war in Missouri.

John Henry filed a lawsuit against 26 men after the war, claiming they imprisoned him for a month in October 1862. The men held him against his will for his loyalties to the Union. Eventually Henry was able to escape from the men, and he asked for $20,000 in damages. The defendants denied having taken part in the Henry’s imprisonment and harassment. The final verdict of the case is unknown, but it represents the vicious nature of guerrilla warfare in Missouri.

On November 17, 1864 Alvis Sheppard filed a law suit against George W. Messick and Harvey T. McCune for false imprisonment and abuse. Sheppard asked for five thousand dollars in damages for his pain and suffering. Messick and McCune were very familiar with the judicial system as multiple lawsuits were filed against them during the War. With widespread guerrilla warfare across the country there was a surge in the number of law suits brought against individuals and groups for radical criminal acts. The Sheppard case demonstrates how courts tried to maintain justice, during a time of turmoil and conflict.

On May 25, 1865 Joseph Degraftenried filed suit against Harvey T. McCune, George W. Messick, John Hagler, John Conley, Linsey Conley, and Gransom Holden for wrongful imprisonment and theft of a gun in August 1861. Degraftenried sought five thousand dollars in damages for the alleged transgression against him by the defendants. This was one of several law suits brought against McCune and Messick for crimes they allegedly committed during the Civil War. All of the cases involving McCune and Messick included imprisonment, destruction of property, false accusations of treason, theft, and abuse. McCune and Messick were Southern supporters and likely participated in guerilla warfare during the Civil War.

Michael Jose lived in Cass County, Missouri in 1850, but by the start of the Civil War he and his family moved west to California. F. Brown, an old friend of Michael Jose’s, still lived in Missouri after the War and wrote to Jose about their mutual friends in Henry, Bates, and Vernon County. Brown discusses the death of neighbors, the local agriculture, economy, and politics, and how former Confederates and Unionist were getting along living post-war. Brown’s letter highlights the changes within communities and the country tired to rebuild itself.

William H. Mengel, a native of Germany, lived in California, Missouri before the War. Mengel was pressed into service as a teamster for the Missouri State Guard in May 1861. He was released a after a little less than a month and he enlisted in the 1st U.S. Reserve Corps, Missouri Home Guards. Mengel was taken prisoner at the Battle of Lexington, where he fought against the Missouri State Guard. After being paroled, he joined the 26th Missouri Infantry, and was sent to Mississippi and Tennessee. Mengel was eventually mustered out of service in January 1865.

Corporal Frederick August Kullman, a soldier in the 13th Missouri Cavalry, kept a journal, recording the conclusion of the American Civil War. Kullman documented his perspective as a German-American soldier in the Union Army. His diary describes social interactions, camp life, and leisure activates of a Union soldier. Kullman also gave his thoughts on Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and other national events. Kullman ended his diary in late April 1865 with news of Joseph E. Johnston’s surrender. Twenty-seven years later, Kullman began recording his daily activities again in the fall of 1892.

Franklin S. Denny was born 7 October 1825 in Bond County, Illinois. Before the Civil War, he was a blacksmith in Platteville, Wisconsin, and married Mary Ann Pennington, who died in 1859. Denny enlisted in Company C, 1st Missouri Cavalry on August 1, 1861. He was elected third sergeant, and in February 1862 he was promoted to first sergeant. In his diary, Denny recorded the actions of the 1st Missouri Cavalry as they travelled across Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas from 1862 through 1864. He noted engagements with bushwhackers and rebel soldiers, personal thoughts on Kansas Jayhawkers, the impact of the War on civilians, and the routine of military life. Denny was discharged from the service on September 17, 1864. In 1868, Denny mar¬ried Susan Dule¬bon at Freeport, Illinois. By 1874, Franklin and Susan Denny lived in Springfield, Missouri, where Franklin operated a carriage shop. They died in 1902 and 1917, re-spectively.

William J. Rountree was born in Springfield, Missouri on October 17, 1847. Rountree lived in St. Louis until his father decided to venture west in search of gold, at that time he was sent to live with his grandfather in Springfield. William’s grandfather, Joseph Roundtree, was one of the earliest settlers to Greene County and helped build the first schoolhouse in the area. Rountree describes in his autobiography the events that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War in Missouri and how he and his family were directly affected. Rountree recalls the Battle of Wilson’s Creek and the occupation of Springfield by both Confederate and Union forces. He enlisted into the Union army when he was sixteen, noting the army was so desperate for men they overlook the fact that he his was underage. Rountree’s autobiography gives a first-hand account of a young man who lived in Springfield through the war.

Douglas R. Bushnell was born 17 June 1824 at Norwich, Connecticut. He was educated as a civil engineer, and moved to New Hampshire as a young man to begin a career in railroad engineering in that state and in Vermont. Bushnell moved to Illinois in 1855 with his wife and family. In May 1861, Bushnell enlisted in Company B of the 13th Illinois Infantry. Bushnell participated in campaigns in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee.

John Dryden wrote his wife while on a cattle drive on the Miami Indian Reserve in Linn County, Kansas in July 1863. Dryden noted in his letter about the large band of bushwhackers in Harrisonville, Missouri and how the Union troops along the Missouri-Kansas border retreated to Paola, KS. Dryden was not tied to either military, although the language he uses in his letter suggests he was a loyal Unionist.

B.L. Niggins was a businessman and landowner near Fort Scott, Kansas. Niggins and his family fearing for their safety fled Bourbon County for Shawnee Kansas in September 1861. Niggins wrote to Mr. A. Baker about his business and affairs in Bourbon County, and asked Baker to help close his accounts. Niggins noted regional events including the growing violence in northwest Missouri, but primarily discussed his business dealings.

In February 1865, A. Halley wrote his daughter in Calhoun, Missouri regarding the sale of confederate property in the region. Halley forewarned his daughter that Captain Henry Jennings was “assessing the property of the copperheads in this county to pay the loss.” The term copperhead was slang used during the Civil War for a northerner sympathetic to the southern cause. Proceeds from the property liquidation would be given to civilians to cover depredation restitution from guerrilla warfare.

Dr. Albert Badger was among the early Caucasian settlers in Vernon County, Missouri. He built the first “modern” house in the area and owned over 2,000 acres of land. During the Civil War he served in the Missouri State Guard and Union Navy, and participated in the Battles of Carthage and Wilson’s Creek. The collection contains correspondence and records related to Badger’s military service.

The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry was one of the earliest African-American regiments organized during the Civil War. This regimental order book documents correspondences, general orders and special orders between 1863 and 1864. During this period the 1st Kansas Colored was stationed in southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, western Arkansas, and Indian Territory, Oklahoma.

In October 1862, Soldiers from the regiment engaged Rebel troops at the Battle of Island Mound in Bates County, MO. This skirmish earned them the distinction of the first African-American troops from a northern state to see action as soldiers. The 1st Kansas Colored became seasoned veterans by the end of the war, participating in several battles and engagements. On December 13, 1864, the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry was re-designated as the 79th U.S. Colored Troops.

Martha Hood married William B. Hood on July 30, 1854. The couple had five children and lived in Carthage, Missouri. On July 20, 1864, Martha claimed fifteen men unlawfully detained her husband at gunpoint. The men restrained William while Richard Fisher shot him at point blank range with his pistol. The bullet passed through the right side of William’s body, and the men left him for dead. He lingered in great misery and bodily pain for eight days until he died on July 28. Martha sued the fifteen men for five thousand dollars in damages to the quality of her life and her ability to raise, cloth, feed and educate her children.

On July 20, 1864, fifteen men without civil or military authority kidnapped Orange Clark at gunpoint. While their prisoner, Clark was executed. His wife, Martha, sued David Rusk, Monroe Scott, Hugh Challes, Thomas Halsell, Edward Halsell, Thomas Hockins, Hubbard Johnson, Daniel Johnson, John M Wilson, Wiley Webb, John Webb, James Tunnel, William A McRea, Isaac Scott and Richard Fisher for five thousand dollars in damages sustained from the murder of her husband, loss of quality of life and her ability to feed, cloth and educate her children.

Randolph Harrison Dyer wrote to one of his sister two days after the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, describing the general activities of the engagement. Dyer was a veteran from the Mexican-American War serving in the 1st Missouri Mounted Volunteer Cavalry in New Mexico. Dyer described troop movement, positions and the opening shots of the Battle outside of Springfield, Missouri. Dyer’s service records could not be found, and his letter offers little detail about his regimental affiliation.

The Ozias Ruark collection contains correspondence and a diary detailing the service of a captain in the 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. Throughout his diary, Ruark comments on four underlying themes: the impact of the war on civilians, foraging, engagements with guerrillas and the daily routine of camp life. He also notes weather, towns and the Ozarks landscape. Ruark’s perspective as a soldier provides a valuable portrait of military life in the region.

Jane Page’s postwar letter notes family affairs and struggles during the Civil War. Jane lived with her husband, David Page, in Kingsriver, Arkansas until he was killed in March 1865 while Federal troops raided their home. She discussed the major battles and engagements in the Ozarks, and mentioned her difficulties during the postwar period.

This extraordinary diary contains entries written by both Union and Confederate soldiers. It originally belonged to George Falconer, enrolled in Col J. J. Clarkson’s Confederate Cavalry. During the Battle of Locust Grove, 3 July 1862, Falconer was taken prisoner, and Maj. Albert Ellithorpe, Indian Home Guards, 1st Kansas Infantry, captured the diary. Most of the entries are written by Ellithorpe, who described engagements with Confederate soldiers, Kansas politicians and bushwhackers. Ellithorpe participated in several battles including Locust Grove, Cane Hill, Prairie Grove and a smaller engagement with Thomas Livingston’s bushwhackers.

The Thomas R. Livingston Collection consists of three civil law suits related to the estate of the notorious Confederate soldier. These suits include depositions from several of Livingston’s friends and family members. Livingston and his band of Confederates conducted raids throughout the Ozarks to contest the Union’s control of the region. Livingston was known for committing acts of arson, murder, robbery, and disrupting Union supply lines. His ruthless tactics outraged Union officials and civilians. Before the War, Livingston had been a successful and prominent business man. He owned a general store, hotel, saloon, real estate in three counties, and actively traded livestock. His assets were sought as restitution for his actions.

“Old Age,” written by Clinton Owen Bates in 1949, reflects on the life of a young boy growing up in Arkansas during the Civil War, and his career as a teacher. Bates was born in 1857, and grew up on a farm in Fayetteville. The Bates family had split loyalty among the North and South, and even as a young child, Bates remembered the tension that the War brought into their home. Bates recalled the bloody conflict along the border of Missouri and Kansas, encounters with runaway slaves, and various Trans-Mississippi Theater battles. After the War, Bates began his career as a teacher. He taught at the Cherokee Headquarters on the Tahlequah Indian Reservation and later held a position in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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.

Joseph H. Trego, a Lieutenant in the 5th Kansas Cavalry, wrote his brother Thomas Trego about his experiences around Kansas City in early October 1861. The 5th Kansas Cavalry was organized on July 12, 1861, and many of its companies were stationed along the Kansas and Missouri border. Trego made several remarks about the poor leadership and judgment of Samuel D. Sturgis, and at one point humorously called him “Prince Sturges.” Trego provided accounts of Union forces raiding civilians in Missouri, and of a Confederate spy who destroyed an ordinance wagon in their camp. Trego informs his brother that he might be marching south again to protect southern Kansas from invading Missouri and Cherokee soldiers. This single letter exemplifies many of the hardship that faced civilians in Missouri and Kansas during the Civil War.

Lucy M. Garrett of Greenfield, Missouri writes this letter to her brother. She recently learned that her brother had been taken prisoner by Confederate Soldiers, and writes to him about the conditions in Greenfield. She notes the number of bushwhackers in the area, and comments that they were forced to sell their slaves in fear that they would be stolen by Rebels. The letter indicates while the Garrett family owned slaves, they supported the Union.

The Minos Miller letters are a collection of correspondence written by Miller to his mother, Martha Hornaday, in Indiana. Miller served in the 36th Iowa Infantry, and his letters home describe the strange and often life altering events that he experiences in the Arkansas. Stationed at Helen, Miller resigned from the 36th Iowa Infantry, and accepted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Arkansas Infantry (African Descent). He wrote his mother about the condition and development of the African American soldiers. Miller participated in the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, but spent the remainder of the war in a support capacity.

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.

The Sarah Jane Smith collection consists of documents related to her imprisonment for guerrilla activity in Southwest Missouri. Sarah destroyed the telegraph line between Rolla and Springfield twice in 1864. Sarah and her noted guerrilla cousins destroyed three to four miles of telegraph wire and cut down several telegraph poles outside of Springfield in May 1864. In August 1864, she was paroled in Rolla. She destroyed another section of telegraph wire outside of Rolla in September of 1864. After the second incident, Sarah was sentenced to imprisonment for the duration of the War, and sent to Alton Military Prison in Illinois.

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. Bennett was discharged from the military in August 1864.

In 1865, Bennett joined the engineering department of General Samuel R. Curtis as a civilian. He mapped the 1864 battlefields of Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition. Bennett was then assigned to survey fortifications in Nebraska and Colorado, and eventually served as an engineering officer on the Powder River Expedition of 1865. Bennett’s diaries provide colorful insight to his perception of the Ozarks and its inhabitants.

John H. Utz served under General Sterling Price, and participated in the Battles of Lexington and Pea Ridge. Utz returned home after his “six months service” was up, and took the oath of allegiance to the Union sometime in 1862. He married Sarah Elizabeth (“Sallie”) Duncan in February 1863, and their first child was born in July 1864. In the fall of 1864, Utz attempted to join Sterling Price in his expedition through Missouri, which resulted in his imprisonment.

The John H. Utz collection is a series of sixty plus letters compiled by his descendents. The letters were self-published by the family in Biographical Sketches of the Bartlett Marshall Duncan and Henry Utz Families. Very limited copies of the book are available to the public, and the letters in the collection are reproduced as they were printed in the book. This collection depicts Utz experiences as a prisoner of war from 1864 through 1865

John W. Fisher’s diary documents his duties in the Missouri State Guard from mid October, 1861, through the first week of January, 1862. Fisher was born in Virginia, and lived in Westport, Missouri prior to the War. Fisher served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Missouri State Guard. The diary cites Fisher’s movement through Missouri and Indian Territory. Fisher survived the war, ending his days in a Confederate Veterans home in Harrisonburg, Missouri, in 1910.

The Bowers Mill Collections include two court cases brought by George, John and William Bowers after the burning of their grist mill in October 1863. Bowers Mill was located on the Spring River in the Oregon settlement of Lawrence County. The Bowers operated the grist mill and wool carding machinery, and maintained a storage facility for flour, wheat, corn, wool and assorted dry goods.

The civil suits stemmed from the destruction of the mill, machinery, stored goods, and the three homes owned by the Bowers. The importance of regional grist mills to rural Ozarks communities cannot be overstated. Mills served myriad functions to the regional economy, and their preservation and continued operation was important to maintain a sense of hopefulness and security in the Ozarks during the War.

Jasper County filed suit in 1865 against John R. Chenault, and 37 others defendants for damages suffered in Carthage between July 1861 and October 1863. The County claimed the defendants burned and destroyed the circuit court records and books, the Courthouse, the Carthage jail, and the Seminary building, which was being used as a school.

On August 17, 1861 Missouri Governor Hamilton R. Gamble ordered a proclamation establishing the Missouri State Militia for defense of the State against guerrilla activity. Gamble soon realized the need for additional troops, and on July 22, 1862 he issued General Order Number 29 organizing the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM). General Colley B. Holland assumed command of the 4th Military district, consisting of the counties in southwest Missouri, on October 30, 1862. Based in Springfield, Missouri, roughly 2,500 men reported for duty, operating under the jurisdiction of the State of Missouri. Holland’s documented all activities related to his command in the enrolled Missouri Militia order book for the 4th Military District in Southwest Missouri, from November 1862 through May 1863. His reports cover the Battles of Springfield and Hartville and also include details about depredation in Southwest Missouri and the extensive guerrilla activity that took place in the region.

The Mack Collection offers valuable insight into the lives of Union sympathizers in the Ozarks. In many ways, their experiences are typical of Southern Unionists, though their home in Missouri placed them squarely in a border region. The war was bitter and personal for the Mack family. Their experiences as refugees and those who fighting guerrillas in the 1st Arkansas Cavalry (U.S.) hardened their feelings towards Confederate sympathizers. As Radical Republicans, the Macks entered the political arena only to find themselves at odds with fellow Unionists.

Regrettably, the Mack collection contains only half of the correspondence between the family members. The surviving letters were written to those serving in the army. While the soldier’s responses are missing, the existing letters provide researchers with a unique perspective on the civilian experience in southwest Missouri.