15th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Date: Between 1861 and 1865
This tintype shows Captain Oran Curtis standing with sword just left of center with members of the 15th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, Company F. Captain Curtis was the father of U.S. vice-president Charles Curtis.

15th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
Date: Between 1860 and 1870
This tintype shows Captain Oran Curtis, to the left, with members of the 15th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, Company F. Captain Curtis was the father of United States Vice President Charles Curtis.

1866 Three cent coin from Fort Hays, 14EL301
Date: 1867-1889
This three cent coin was recovered by Kansas Historical Society archeologists during excavation at historic Fort Hays in Ellis County. The three cent coin was minted from 1851 to 1889, first in silver and then in 1865, in nickel. This coin was minted in 1866 and has a Liberty head on the obverse side and a Roman numeral III on the reverse. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is a State Historic Site.

1867 flood, Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: June 08, 1867
This photograph represents buildings that survived the flooding on June 8, 1867 in Fort Hays, Kansas. At the time of the flood, the buildings standing in the photograph had been built approximately five months prior. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

1st Kansas Colored Infantry flag
Date: between 1862 and 1864
Blue silk regimental flag of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, the first African American regiment from a northern state in the Civil War. Recruitment began August 1862, although they weren't mustered into Federal service until January 13, 1863. They saw their first action at Island Mound, Missouri on October 29, 1862. The flag bears the names of eight battle honors. In 1864 the regiment was redesignated the 79th United States Colored Regiment.

2nd Kansas Colored Infantry flag
Date: 1863
Blue silk regimental flag of the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry. The flag bears the names of six battle honors. The 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry was organized in mid-1863 and saw action in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Its commander was Colonel Samuel J. Crawford, who later served as the governor of Kansas.

34-star American flag playing cards
Date: between 1861 and 1863
This deck of thirty-five glossed paper cards depicts two 34 star American flags on the back. The reverse contains the suits with no numbers in the corners. Kansas is the 34th State admitted to the Union (in 1861), which dates these to the early Civil War between 1861 and 1863. Prior to 1880 playing cards typically did not have numbers in the corners.

4th Cavalry musician with helicon at Fort Riley, Kansas
Date: Possibly between 1864 and 1884
This is a photo of a 4th Cavalry musician, holding a helicon (a predecessor of the sousaphone), at Fort Riley, Kansas.

4th Kansas Infantry muster rolls
Date: 1862
These are the muster rolls of the 4th Kansas Infantry. The muster roll identifies the officers and enlisted men, their age, birthplace, the location from which they came to Kansas, and their Kansas residence.

.54 Caliber Bullets from the Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, 14LN337
Date: 1864
Shown are three of the many bullets recovered during the 1990 survey and excavation at the Mine Creek Battlefield by Kansas Historical Society Archeologists and crew. All of the artifacts are .54 caliber lead bullets. The one of the far left was manufactured by Sharps and has three grease rings. The other two bullets both have concave or hollow bases. The site was the location where on October 25, 1864 Union and Confederate forces fought one of the largest cavalry battles in the Civil War.

5th Infantry Band, Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: 1869
This photograph shows the 5th Infantry Band parading on the streets of Fort Hays, Kansas, in front of the officer's quarters. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

6th Kansas Cavalry flag
Date: 1861
This national flag was carried by the 6th Kansas Cavalry during the Civil War. Established at Fort Scott, Kansas, in July 1861, the unit started out as a "Home Guard," meant to protect citizens living in counties along the state's eastern border from guerilla raiders. In the spring of 1862, the unit was organized as a cavalry regiment. During the course of the war, the 6th Kansas fought in skirmishes in Missouri and Arkansas, preventing Confederate troops from moving farther north. The unit also participated in the Camden Expedition, a Union military campaign meant to secure Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas in Northern hands. As part of the expedition, they fought in the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry and the Battle of Prairie Grove, among others. The 6th Kansas mustered out on August 27, 1865, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

7th Cavalry Camp, Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: 1867
These two photographs represent different views of the 7th Cavalry Camp near Fort Hays, Kansas. In one photograph, men can be sitting in a field outside tents. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

7th Cavalry parade, Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: 1867
This photograph represents an evening parade by the 7th Cavalry near Fort Hays, Kansas. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

8th Kansas Volunteer Infantry
Date: 1862
This tintype shows members of the 8th Kansas Volunteer Infantry, Company E. Soldiers in the tintype are: (standing) Elisha D. Rose, James Hunter, Volney Brown, Henry Davidson, (kneeling) Lewis V. Bryan, Richard Russell, William Wendall, and Cyrus Grant.

8th Kansas Volunteer Infantry flag
Date: between 1862 and 1866
This flag belonged to Eighth Kansas Volunteer Regiment, which was recruited in 1862 and mustered out in 1866. The Eighth Kansas went farther east than any other Kansas unit, fighting in the battles of Chickmauga and Chattanooga, and taking part in the Atlanta campaign.

9th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, Company D
Date: Between 1861 and 1864
This is a poster for the 9th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, Company D. It contains the names of officers, enlisted men, and those soldiers that were transferred, discharged, died, and deserted. The home towns of the soldiers are listed also. The poster has colored illustrations depicting the Civil War. The company was organized in Iola, Kansas. A history of the company is at the bottom of the poster but it is difficult to read. Portions of the poster have deteriorated.

Aaron Kuykendall
Creator: Morse, A. S.
Date: Between 1861 and 1865
This is a carte de visite of Private Aaron Kuykendall from Moline, Illinois, who served in Company I of the 8th Kansas Volunteer Infantry. The carte de visite was removed from an album belonging to Lt. Charles H. Slawson, who served in Company I of the 8th Kansas Volunteer Infantry. The photographer was A. S. Morse in Nashville, Tennessee.

Abbie Bright correspondence
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1861-1903
Abbie Bright was born on a farm near Danville, Pennsylvania, on December 17, 1848. She had three brothers, Dennis, Hiram and Philip, all of whom enlisted in the army when the Civil War broke out. Abbie had three sisters, Rebecca, Peninah, and Mary, all of whom aided the war effort. In 1870 Abbie traveled to Indiana and Kansas to visit Hiram and Philip and wrote an account of her trip in a diary (also available on Kansas Memory as record unit 223662). While in Kansas she acquired 160 acres as an investment. This series of correspondence includes letters describing the brother's wartime activities. There are also letters to and from other individuals who were involved in the Civil War. These writings make a significant contribution to Civil War research. Other letters pertain to Philip and Abbie Bright's westward migration. Philip moved to Wyoming, Kansas, Texas, and Arizona but died in 1873 and the letters at that time mostly concern his death. The 1902 and 1903 correspondence apparently regards the sale of Abbie's land in Kansas. A complete transcription is available by clicking on "Text Version" below.

Abbie Bright diary
Creator: Bright, Abbie, 1848-1926
Date: 1868-1921
Born in Pennsylvania in 1848, Abbie Bright traveled to Kansas in 1870 as a young woman and her diary is primarily an account of this trip. It gives excellent accounts of daily life and settlement activities. The "diary" is actually composed of two different manuscripts and both are presented here. The first is an eighty-six page loose-leaf diary with consistent entries from September 2, 1870 - December 20, 1871. The second is a bound composition book with 129 written pages. This book begins with a childhood reminiscence written in Iowa in 1914 (p1-23), followed by a reminiscence of her Kansas trip written in Iowa in 1921 (p24-36) that covers Aug 23, 1870 - Jan 30, 1871. The book then includes some recipes dated 1868-1871 and a receipt dated 1884 (p37-41), and finally consistent diary entries from February 2, 1871 - December 21, 1871 (p41-129). A complete, revised transcription of both manuscripts is available by clicking on "Text Version" below. A previous, annotated transcription that combines the 1870-1871 entries from both manuscripts was published in the Kansas Historical Quarterly in 1971 and is available through a link below.

Abbott Howitzer
Creator: Leonard & Martin
Date: Between 1880s and 1890s
This sepia colored photograph shows the artillery piece known as the Abbott Howitzer. The cannon, manufactured by the Ames Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, was purchased in 1855 by free-state activist James Burnett Abbott. The howitzer protected Lawrence, Kansas, during the sacking of the city on May 21, 1856. It was later used during the Civil War by James Henry Lane's brigade in Missouri. At the end of the war, the cannon was returned to Lawrence where it remained until Abbott donated the artillery piece to the Kansas Historical Society.

Abishai Stowell to Margaret Stowell Torrence
Creator: Stowell, Abishai
Date: February 1, 1862 - April 22, 1865
Eighteen letters written by Abishai Stowell to his sister Margaret Stowell Torrence, Gambles, Alleghany County, Pennsylvania. The letters were written while he served in the Civil War. Stowell was a private in the Second Kansas Infantry, Company E, he enlisted May 14, 1861 and was mustered out October 31, 1861; re-enlisted in the Second Kansas Cavalry, Company A, November 6, 1861 and was promoted to corporal April 15, 1862; re-enlisted in the Second Kansas Cavalry, Co. A, January 5, 1864 and promoted to sergeant March 25, 1864; and re-enlisted in the Second Kansas Cavalry veterans of Co. A and was assigned to Co. B, January 5, 1864 and mustered out June 22, 1865 at Ft. Gibson.

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.

Abraham Burnett and John Peyton
Date: 1860s or 1870s
Portrait of Pottawatomie chief Abraham Burnett with, possibly, John Peyton standing by his side.

Abraham Lincoln
Date: 1862
An engraving of Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States. He successfully led the country through the Civil War, saving the Union and ending slavery, only to be assassinated as the war was virtually over. Before becoming the first Republican elected to the Presidency, Lincoln was a lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a member of the United States House of Representatives.