Cordley, Richard. Pioneer Days in Kansas (1903).

Cutler, William G. Emigration: History of the State of Kansas.

Gregg, Josiah. Commerce of the Prairies

Robinson, Sarah. Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior Life (1856).

Stratton, Joanna L. Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier (1981).

~ BLEEDING KANSAS: 1854-1861 ~

Bailes, Kendell E. Rider on the Wind -- Jim Lane and Kansas (1962).

Brewerton, G. Douglas. The War in Kansas (1971).

Gladstone, T.H. The Englishman in Kansas (1971). Written in 1856 by a correspondent of the London Times, this book is sadly now out of print. Gladstone's observations are perceptive and make for pleasant, informative reading. Look for it at a good library.

Goodrich, Thomas. War to the Knife: Bleeding Kansas 1854-1861 (1998). This book may be the best single source for the reader looking for a well-rounded narrative history of the Kansas troubles. It is copiously footnoted and covers battles, politics, and frontier life. While it is sometimes long on narrative and short on analysis, it is a recommended source of information.

Litteer, Loren K. Bleeding Kansas -- The Border War in Douglas and Surrounding Counties (1987).

Welch, G. Murlin. Border Warfare in Southeastern Kansas, 1856-1859 (1977).

~ JOHN BROWN ~

Banks, Russell. Cloudsplitter, A Novel (1998). This recent novel has been well-reviewed. It is, however, a fictional treatment of Captain Brown's life and as such it can NOT be considered an accurate historical source.

Oates, Stephen. To Purge This Land With Blood: A Biography of John Brown (1984).

~ THE CIVIL WAR ON THE BORDER -- GENERAL ~

Britton, Wiley. The Civil War on the Border (1899).

Britton, Wiley. Memoirs of the Rebellion on the Border, 1863 (1993).

Goodrich, Thomas. Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865 (1995). This recent book, by the author of War to the Knife (see above), is marred by the absence of footnotes.

Josephy, Alvin M, Jr. The Civil War in the American West (1993). Only two chapters in this work specifically pertain to the war on the border, but it is informative, entertaining, and well-written.

Monaghan, Jay. Civil War on the Western Border, 1854-1865 (1984). This book examines both the political and military action of the era; however, Monaghan's archaic style often confuses the reader and makes it difficult to answer the basic question: who did what to whom and why?

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (1880-1901).

Ward, Geoffrey C. The West (1996).

~ THE WAR IN ARKANSAS ~

Bond, John W., et al. The Battle of Pea Ridge 1862.

Steele, Phillip W., and Steve Cottrell. Civil War in the Ozarks (1993).

~ THE WAR IN INDIAN TERRITORY ~

Abel, Annie. The American Indian in the Civil War (1992). Originally published as The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War (1919). This book is considered the definitive source on the topic. Readers, however, will have to fight the prose, which may charitably be called "arid."

Fischer, LeRoy H., ed. The Civil War Era in Indian Territory (1974).

Hauptman, Laurence M. Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War (1995).

~ THE WAR IN KANSAS ~

Castel, Albert. Civil War Kansas: Reaping the Whirlwind (1997). Previously published as A Frontier State at War: Kansas, 1861-1865. Although the focus of the book is on the years 1861-1865, in my opinion it is the most informative single source on the war in Kansas from 1854-1865. Castel is considered by many scholars to be the preeminent historian of the era.

Kansas, Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas, 1861-1865.

~ THE WAR IN MISSOURI ~

Dyer, Robert L. Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri (1994).

Monnett, Howard N. Action Before Westport 1864 (1995). This book has been criticized by some researchers as inaccurately describing the location of parts of the battle. Since I have not visited the Kansas City area, I am not qualified to comment on the alleged mistakes. The book is a pleasure to read and considered the standard work on the battle which served as the climax to Price's expedition; it will continue to be regarded as such until a more authoritative work comes along.

Suderow, Bryce. Thunder in Arcadia Valley (1984).

~ QUANTRILL & THE "BORDER RUFFIANS" ~

Barton, O.S. and John McCorkle, with notes by Albert Castel. Three Years With Quantrill: A True Story Told by His Scout John McCorkle (1992).

Breihan, Carl W. Quantrill and His Civil War Guerrillas (1959).

Castel, Albert. William Clarke Quantrill -- His Life and Times (1962).

Hale, Donald R. We Rode With Quantrill -- Quantrill and the Guerrilla War as Told by the Men and Women Who Were With Him (1982).

Leslie, Edward E. The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clarke Quantrill and His Confederate Raiders (1996). Although recently published, this book has already gone out of print. If you can find it on any store's shelves -- snap it up! It is exceptionally well researched and written and will likely come to be considered the definitive biography of Quantrill.

Schultz, Duane. Quantrill's War: The Life and Times of William Clarke Quantrill (1996).

Williams, R.H. With the Border Ruffians: Memories of the Far West, 1852-1868 (1982).

~ JAYHAWKERS ~

Starr, Stephen Z. Jennison's Jayhawkers: A Civil War Cavalry Regiment and Its Commander (1973).

~ MISCELLANEOUS ~

Marcy, Randolph B., Captain, US Army. The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-book for Overland Expeditions (1994). While this book is not directly related to the war in Kansas, it paints a surprisingly entertaining picture of settler life. Written in 1859 for the US War Department, it served as a how-to manual for frontier settlers. Worth reading.