The Past in Pieces: Tales of the Missouri-Kansas Border War

Tale of Two Bridges

Bridges have long represented connection, expansion, and progress, but they also reveal division, conflict, and collapse. This podcast episode examines two Missouri bridges, the Gasconade Bridge and the Hannibal Bridge, and the very different stories they tell about the Civil War era and westward expansion. Through disaster, political violence, competition, and reconstruction, this episode explores how two seemingly banal pieces of infrastructure become microcosms of Missouri’s identity and the fractured history of the United States. Written and narrated by Chase Zeller Recording Engineer: Liam Arnzen Postproduction: Kyle Jackson Theme song and music: Derrick Doty Additional music: Kaitlin, Casey, Kyle

A Prayer for Rain

The first casualty of the Border War was killed because of a dispute regarding a tract of timber. Yet if the first death was as unremarkable as the land survey detailing his land, history would not remember him. Charles Dow's death, although unremarkable at the time, would cause for a spiraling ruthless guerilla conflict to take place. But what were the natural causes for this death? And why was that tract of land so important? This episode of the Past in Pieces answers those questions and chronicles the beginnings of the Border War, and the organic, natural reasons for the conflict’s inception. Written and narrated by Patrick Meyers Recording Engineer: Liam Arnzen Postproduction: Kyle Jackson Theme song and music: Derrick Doty Additional music: Kaitlin, Casey, Kyle

Behind the Columns: Mizzou in the Border War

During the Missouri Kansas Border War, the University of Missouri was transformed into a union camp, even housing Confederate soldiers. This episode explores the lesser-known history of the University of Missouri and its war-stricken past. We start at the beginning and learn the hardships and how close the university came to closing. Then we see who and what saved the university and how the town of Columbia came together to protect their own. Join me in exploring the past behind the columns. Written and narrated by Miles Turner  Recording Engineer: Liam Arnzen Postproduction: Kyle Jackson Theme song and music: Derrick Doty Additional music: Kaitlin, Casey, Kyle

The Western World of a Slavocracy

This episode explores the culture and political economy of antebellum slavery in Independence, Missouri through the story of Jabez Smith. A Santa Fe trader and businessman from Pittsylvania Co, Virginia, Smith was emblematic of Missouri’s slaveholding elite. The social and political power of these proslavery elites contributed to escalating tensions along the Kansas-Missouri divide during the sectional crisis of the 1850s and into the violent clashes of the Border War. Written and narrated by Angelina Casey Recording Engineer: Liam Arnzen Postproduction: Kyle Jackson Theme song and music: Derrick Doty Additional music: Kaitlin, Casey, Kyle

Pen, Paper, and the Nation in the Margins: Correspondence and Communication in the Border War

In this episode, host Carolina Rodriguez Rios explores the human side of the Missouri–Kansas Border War through the letters and personal writings of ordinary people living through the Civil War era. Moving beyond famous battles and political speeches, “Pen, Paper, and the Nation in the Margins” examines how communication carried not only news, but fear, hope, gossip, and personal reflection, and everything in between. Through the stories of Union soldier David Scott and homesteader S.F. Craig, this episode reveals how everyday people experienced violence, uncertainty, and connection during one of the most turbulent periods in American history. Written and narrated by Carolina Rodriguez Rios Recording Engineer: Liam Arnzen Postproduction: Kyle Jackson Theme song and music: Derrick Doty Additional music: Kaitlin, Casey, Kyle