The Civil War in Kansas

by Bisel, Debra Goodrich; Myers, Richard B.

• ISBN13: 9781609495633
• ISBN10: 1609495632
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-17
• Publisher: History Pr

Summary

No other state's history is so entwined with the American Civil War as that of the Sunflower State. By the time the war officially began in 1861, Kansas and Missouri had already been fighting for six years. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act left the Kansas Territory wide open for white settlement, and the stage was set for a battle that would ignite the nation. From the hopes and dreams of settlers and the exploits of John Brown to the Lawrence and Pottawatomie Massacres and the many other battles and skirmishes, historian Debra Goodrich Bisel tells that tumultuous story. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 9
Preface	p. 13
Acknowledgements	p. 15
Introduction: The Kansas Image	p. 17
A Peaceful Valley	p. 23
That "Damned Yankee Town"	p. 30
Propaganda and Privation	p. 35
Old Osawatomie	p. 41
Air Castles	p. 45
Government	p. 49
The Wakarusa War	p. 55
Same Song, Second Verse	p. 59
Black Jack	p. 70
Insurrection	p. 78
Another Enemy	p. 84
Peculiar Minds.	p. 89
Battle of the Spurs	p. 96
Treason	p. 102
The Thirty-fourth Star	p. 112
The Fox and the Lyon	p. 119
The War Chieftain	p. 124
The Problem with Slavery	p. 126
The Enigma	p. 131
City of Sorrow	p. 137
Order No. 11	p. 146
Mine Creek	p. 151
Epilogue	p. 159
Appendix	p. 165
Notes	p. 169
Bibliography	p. 179
Index	p. 187
About the Author	p. 191
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

In the 1850s, the eyes of the world were on Kansas. The Civil War in Kansas will be an overview of the years 1854 -- 1865, since the war began in Kansas nearly seven years before it spread to the rest of the nation. From the repeal of the Missouri Compromise to its entry in the Union, Kansas played a small role in the war as a whole, but its effects on the state were nonetheless important. With regards to the Kansas citizens who played a part, it would be an understatement to call them "colorful." From John Brown to Jim Lane, Kansans made headlines throughout the nation and the world. Bisel presents the history of Kansas during the Civil War years in an accessible way that will satisfy history buffs as well as enlighten novices