John Caldwell has obtained leave of absence for sixty days. The reason for the leave of absence was because they would not let him retire and gave him the absence only if officers could be found to run his command. He wanted his captain to take command but the department would not allow it. Even if he had been granted retirement, it would have ended the same with a temporary command. He was able to acquiesced Dr. Col. Cunningham, a West Point graduate and a gentlemen to take the temporary command.

Photocopy of Elizabeth Simpson Cooper's memoir about her childhood in Virginia and later her time in Kansas after moving westward with her family. In the text of her memoir, she describes her school days in Virginia, church, Cooper family history, "Bleeding Kansas" (the period of conflict over deciding if Kansas would be a free or a slave state), and the Civil War in Kansas as well as her personal encounters with Native Americans in Kansas.