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.

Harry Custer supported the Free Soil movement and helped fight to ensure that Kansas would enter the Union as a Free State. Custer battled against pro-slavery supporters from Missouri, who wanted to continue the spread of slavery in the western territory. This volatile period became known as the Bleeding Kansas Era and was a prelude to the violence and destruction that would ravish the Trans-Mississippi in the 1860s.

Andrew Williams was a slave belonging to Henry Williams near Mt. Vernon, in Lawrence Co., Missouri. He fought with General Sterling Price in Arkansas in 1861, but was freed by the 6th Kansas Regiment in 1862. While in Lawrence, Kansas, Williams witnessed the infamous raid of the city by William Quantrill and his men on August 21, 1863. He worked for the 7th Kansas Cavalry until they went farther west from Topeka. After the war ended, Williams worked as a gardener for William Connelly from 1908 to 1910. It was Connelly who convinced Williams to write down his life experiences.

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.

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.

On April 13, 1865, Higdon R. Jarrett filed suit against Joseph T. Morton for failing to fulfill a contract made in 1862, regarding the exchange of two slaves. In an effort to keep two slave families close together, Jarrett and Morton had entered into an agreement to swap their male slaves so that they could remain close to their wives. The fact that the slaves in question received their emancipation on January 1, 1863, by virtue of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation proved to have minimal influence on this case. To further complicate the case, Morton’s son, John A. Morton, re-exchanged the slaves with Jarrett without his father’s permission. After numerous depositions Jarrett and Morton settled out of court. Jarrett did not drop the suit however, even though Morton paid him the court ordered amount. Disputes over slave contracts and trades were common. They increased after the slaves were freed because many owners faced a significant loss in equity. Also, Confederate money was the only tender in circulation during this period and held little value, so neither man wanted to make an exchange using that as currency. The Jarrett Case represents the complexity of slave trading and the complications emancipation posed for slave holders’ post-1863.

John Wesley Park moved to Smithville, in Clay County, Missouri in the mid-1850s. Park enjoyed life on the plains and even ventured to Colorado in search of gold. His papers primarily consist of correspondence with his sister Sarah Park in Ohio. In his letters, Park commented on the tension between Missourians and Kansans, and how the issue of slavery and border ruffians dominated social conversation. He did not conceal his feelings on any subject and wrote very honestly and opening about his personal political beliefs and the state of affairs in Missouri leading up to the Civil War.

George and Lycurgus Remley were brothers from Oxford, in Johnson County, Iowa who joined Company F of the 22nd Regiment of the Iowa Infantry. The brothers spent most of their time in service at Rolla, Missouri, but travelled further south and participated in the Battle of Port Gibson, in Georgia and the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. George and Lycurgus frequently corresponded with their parents, the Reverend James Remley and their mother Jane back in Iowa, telling them of the conditions of military life and their movements across the country. They also sent letters back and forth to their Uncle William Zoll who lived in Warrensburg, MO. Unfortunately, both brothers did not survive through the war. Lycurgus died in camp near Vicksburg from illness in June 1863. George died at the Battle of Opequan in Winchester, Virginia in September 1864.

The Act to Define the Status of Freedmen and their Descendants sought to establish the rights and privileges of African Americans within the Cherokee Nation. The document defined freedmen as those who resided in the Cherokee Nation at the commencement of the American Civil War, those who were at that time slaves of any Cherokee or other citizen, those who were liberated by voluntary act or by law, and those who had not return to the Cherokee country within the time specified within the Treaty of 1866. These men became adopted citizens of the Cherokee Nation, and were granted the corresponding rights and privileges as adopted citizens. The Act was written after 1880, and a proposed date of 1881 has been established, but it has not been possible to define an exact date.

E. A. Coleman was born in 1810 in Gosine County, Connecticut in 1810. She was living on a farm in Texana, Texas in 1861. Coleman’s father and sisters lived in Kansas. Coleman was apparently in higher society as she had access to the Texas state legislature and frequently attended “meetings.” Coleman was a strong supporter of the Southern cause and in her letter to her sister Lucinda; she describes the conditions in Texas now that the state have officially succeeded from the Union.

Charles Wadlow was involved in a legal case against Benjamin Perryman in May of 1858. The dispute was over the condition of a female slave Perryman sold to Wadlow. The Probate court did not allow some evidence to be heard in the case and therefore ruled in favor of Mr. Perryman. Wadlow took his appeal all the way to the State Supreme Court, where the judges found that the lower courts had erred and overturned the decision. Slaves were only deemed valuable if they were healthy and able to work for their owners. Therefore, if an individual sold a slave knowing that they were not healthy and did not divulge that information to the buyer, it was considered a breech of contract.

Coleman Bruce wrote to his children William and Martha Jane Jackson regarding the political tension within Missouri and the United States. While Bruce’s children supported the Union, he cited in his letter several injustices committed by Northern men. Bruce’s use of derogatory terminology conveyed his feelings about the Union troops. He also, commented on poor market values for crops and recent news from the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Bruce even stated that Sample Orr, an 1860 Missouri gubernatorial candidate, robbed a Springfield bank of $24,000. Allegedly, the money was taken to Rolla to remain in Union hands. Little documentation on this event exists. Bruce encouraged his children to share this letter with their friends and family, perhaps in an attempt to persuade others to support the Confederacy. The letter draw attentions to the impact the War had on family dynamics as well as the crumbling economic condition in the country.

Peter Marselis Van Winkle developed several lumber mills across Northwest Arkansas. He built a vast road network to expedite the shipment of lumber and urbanization. During the war the Van Winkle family fled their home for refuge in Texas. In 1866, they returned to Arkansas to rebuild their lives and the surrounding community. Peter supplied much of the goods to reconstruct homes and businesses. And perhaps Peter Van Winkle may have single handedly shaped the development of the Ozarks, and rejuvenated the region as the country attempted to restore civilization after the Civil War.

In 1847, Drew, a slave belonging to Edward Thomson, poisoned a fellow slaved named Lige. The exact details of the murder may never be known, but the court records include depositions of several slaves, two physicians and a grocery store owner who provide their perspective of the events that unfolded. These depositions offer valuable insight into the lives and living conditions of slaves in Greene County, Missouri.

John Polk Campbell was one of the first pioneers of European ancestry to settle in present day Springfield, Missouri. He and Louisa T. Campbell had ten children before his death in 1852. Four of John’s sons served in the Confederacy, and the Campbell family was forced from their home in Springfield after Union forces secured the town. Included in this collection is Louisa T. Campbell’s exile order from Springfield, Missouri, several letters reflecting on the war’s impact on the family and letters written by former family slaves.

In 1855, Louisa T. Campbell sued Samuel Sproul for damages and custody of a mulatto girl named Margaret. Louisa claimed her husband, John Polk Campbell, left her as the rightful owner of Margaret. She asked the court for $1,000 in damages sustained by the wrongfully and unjustly detainment of the girl.

In September 1857, the Kansas Constitutional convention met in Lecompton, determined to make Kansas a slave state. The Lecompton Constitution included a provisional article that guaranteed a slaveholder’s right to retain ownership of their slaves currently living in the territory, but it also prohibited future importation of slaves to Kansas. Heated debates took place in the Senate over the admission of Kansas, under the proslavery. This collection contains speeches from Missouri Senator, Trusten Polk and Illinois Senator, Steven A. Douglas on the admission of Kansas to the Union under the Lecompton Constitution.

On Monday June 3, 1861, three slaves ran away from their owners in Springfield, Missouri. G. P. Shackelford, Louisa Campbell and H. Fulbright filed a joint runaway slave announcement. The announcement appears to be designed for publication in a Springfield newspaper; however, the description provides more detail than is commonly found in a traditional runaway handbill.

On May 7, 1856, John and Joseph McMahan, administers of James McMahan’s estate in Wright County, sold an African American slave named Henry to Kindred Rose, a resident of Greene County. Rose purchased the nineteen year old slave for $2,025. The McMahan’s claimed Henry to be “sound, sensible, healthy and a slave for life.”

A Confederate Girlhood, the memoir of Louisa Cheairs McKenny Sheppard, reflects upon the life of a young lady raised in the Ozarks during the Civil War. While her reminiscence is decidedly sentimental, it is a compelling representation of wartime and economic struggles and refugee life. Louisa was twelve when the War began, and she recalled the impacted it had on Springfield. Her family eventually fled Missouri for her uncle’s plantation in Mississippi. Over time the family moved to Arkansas, and did not return to Springfield until after the War. A Confederate Girlhood is a recollection of Louisa’s youthful adventures and a tribute to her beloved grandmother.

“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.

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 Freedom Papers comprise of a series of court documents regarding a petition for freedom filed on October 30th, 1843, in Greene County, Missouri, by a female African American slave named Mary. This twelve page collection is a classic example of the personal strive and injustices African Americans were forced to endure before emancipation. Mary filed a petition in Greene County, Missouri for her freedom, and for that of: Jefferson, Mariah, and Jerry, her three minor children. Mary claimed that she had been freed in the will of her former owner, Matthew McClain, Sr. in the County of Henderson in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mary claimed that McClain Sr. “forever freed” her upon his death. However, the Administrator of the estate, ignored the wishes of McClain Sr. as stipulated in his will, and sold her to William B. Edwards. Edwards later brought her to Missouri. In Missouri, Edwards sold Mary and her children again, this time to William T. Buffard, of Niangua County.

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 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 Cass Township Slave schedule cites the number of slaves and slave owners residing in the Greene County Township in 1863. This unique record provides a census of slavery in the middle of the Civil War. A Federal slave schedule was completed in 1860, providing a census of slaves and slave owners before the War. The emancipation of slaves prevented a post-war slave schedule from being completed. The historic value of this document resides in its comparison with the 1860 schedule and other slavery documents from Greene County. Through this comparison, researchers may draw conclusions about the impact the war, the Emancipation Proclamation and other events possibly had on number of slave owners and slaves in Greene County, Missouri.

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 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 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.

Rector v. Danforth is a complicated probate case involving a dispute over property. Celia Jane Rector’s claims to be the daughter, and only living heir, of James Danforth. John V. Danforth, James’ brother, was the administrator of James Estate. Celia’s mother, Eliza Hacking, was, as best we can ascertain, a slave once belonging to James. […]

The Stirman Davidson Collection is a spirited group of letters written to Rebecca Stirman Davidson, of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The bulk of the letters are from her brother Erasmus “Ras” Stirman, while serving in the Civil War. The letters tell the story of Erasmus service in the Confederate Army, his fears and doubts about winning the War, and leading his company of sharpshooters into certain death. Erasmus loved meeting new women, and his letters to Rebecca are full of candor and humor, often telling a larger tale of the social and cultural customs of the era to which he opportunistically flaunted. Erasmus’ successes in the military, coupled with his family’s access to political and societal privilege, combine to tell a wonderful story of upper class life in the Civil War of the Ozarks.

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.