I will chime in on the railroad expansion in the Missouri/Kansas area. If you notice, prior to the Civil War the crossing of the Mississippi at Hannibal was extended to mid-Missouri and went through Moberly, Missouri. It was called Magic Town due to its growth in that era. It then extended and at Saint Joseph, a town that was to push over 100k in the late 1800s, it was a simple crossing to Kansas at what came to be called the Pony Express crossing as there were firm bluffs on the Missouri side close to the river.
Then, i the Civil War, St. Joseph went strongly to the confederate side. The Kansas City crossing was much more complex, but it won out. The Hannibal Railroad swing bridge was built in the Kansas City area near where the Missouri River is joined by the Kansas River and turns north to head to Nebraska forming the border from that point between Kansas and Missouri.
That bridge was started and 1867 just after the Civil War and would turn out to promote Kansas City enough to cause it to grow and Saint Joseph to later wain because they did not get a rail bridge for a further five years. Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas had four huge river bottom areas that became vast rail yards over the next fifty years.
Kansas City was controlled by the Union during the war and Saint Joseph was not. Central Missouri of Moberly lost its great growth as well as now trans’Missouri rail lines to the south of the river could reach with rail bottoms in Kansas City to cross over and go west and the Hannibal to Moberly line lost its exclusive early start.
Very, very interesting. Thank you very much.
I had family in all four states that join in that region, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. Almost certainly on both sides of the conflict that was growing.
I have a whole lot of forebears buried in Sidney, Iowa, including one veteran of the War of 1812. That area has an amazing history as the gateway for abolitionist-minded Yankees into bleeding Kansas. Several of my great-great grandparents passed through there on their way to Fort Scott, Kansas, where they died young-in 1857, I think. I’ve never been able to find out whether they died via violence or disease. Could have been either, since both were rampant.