I am working on a book on civil liberties in Civil War Missouri. My focus is to understand the state and federal government's wartime policies restricting such liberties as freedom of the press and speech, the right to bear arms, the right to property (including slaves), the prohibition on arbitrary arrest, the right to travel, and even to live where you want. I have already found a good deal of material on these subjects in the Judge Advocate Records and Union Provost Marshall Records found in the National Archives, and in collections found at the Missouri Historical Society (St. Louis), the Western Historical Manuscript Collection (Columbia, et al.), the Missouri State Archives, and circuit court and Missouri Supreme Court records and opinions. Having read the postings on your listserv, I am wondering if perhaps some of you could point me to promising resources found in local historical collections. Also, I would be very interested in gaining access through copies or otherwise of original documents that some of you may personally own which pertain to my subject. I am willing to pay reasonable fees for any material provided to me. All the best.
Dennis Boman
dkbhistory@yahoo.com