Missouri State Guard
Encyclopedia
The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was a state militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

 organized in the state of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 during the early days of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. While not initially a formal part of the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

, the State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at times, under regular Confederate officers.

Background and formation

The Missouri State Legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

 passed the "Military Bill" on May 11, 1861, in direct response to the Camp Jackson Affair in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 the previous day. The final version of the act approved on May 14 authorized the Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson
Claiborne Fox Jackson
Claiborne Fox Jackson was a lawyer, soldier, and Democratic politician from Missouri. He was the 15th Governor of Missouri in 1861, then governor-in-exile for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.-Early life:...

, to disband the old Missouri Volunteer Militia
Missouri State Militia (pre-Missouri State Guard)
The Missouri Volunteer Militia was the state militia organization of Missouri prior to the Missouri State Guard in the American Civil War.Prior to the Civil War, Missouri had an informal state militia that could be called up by the governor for emergencies or annual drill "in accordance with the...

 and reform it as the Missouri State Guard to resist "invasion" by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 and "rebellion" (by Missourians who had enlisted in the Federal forces). It also outlawed or prohibited other militia organizations except those authorized by the Guard's district commanders. This was primarily aimed at preventing Unionist Missourians from organizing "Home Guard" companies in the areas outside the metropolitan St. Louis area. This prohibition included the predominantly unionist German United State Reserve Corps
Home Guard (Union)
In the American Civil War the Home Guard or Home Guards were local militia raised from Union loyalists.-Missouri:In Missouri after the start of the Civil War there were several competing organizations attempting to either take the state out of the Union or keep the state within it...

 regiments mustered in St. Louis in excess of the Missouri requirement under the Federal Militia Act of 1792. The law did allow for formation of new local Home Guards under the auspices of the MSG, but these were limited to 14-17 and 45+ year olds. It also specified that the language of all spoken commands was to be English, a specification intended to exclude ethnic Germans, who were predominantly Unionist in their political orientation.

The act divided the state into nine Military Districts based on the Federal Congressional Districts and made men ages 18 to 45 years of age eligible for MSG service unless exempted due to occupation, office or other reasons. While the act termed each district a "division", they were organized along brigade lines. The actual forces of a district consisted of all the regiments, not of brigades of these regiments. Each district's division was to be commanded by a brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 who was a resident of the district, and elected by the commissioned officers of the district. An act was passed on May 15 for the appointment of a major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 to act as field commander; the first appointed was Maj. Gen. Sterling "Pap" Price
Sterling Price
Sterling Price was a lawyer, planter, and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, who served as the 11th Governor of the state from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a United States Army brigadier general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general in the American Civil...

, the popular former governor and one of the most influential men in Missouri.

History

Recruits for the Missouri State Guard began to quickly assemble in Jefferson City
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...

 in mid-May. However, after an agreement, the Price-Harney Truce
Price-Harney Truce
The Price-Harney Truce was a document signed on May 21, 1861 between United States Army General William S. Harney and Missouri State Guard commander Sterling Price at the beginning of the American Civil War....

 on May 20 between Price and the Federal department commander William S. Harney
William S. Harney
William Selby Harney was a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War and the Indian Wars. He was born in what is today part of Nashville, Tennessee but at the time was known as Haysborough....

, the movement of Guardsmen to the state capitol was halted. The State Guard continued to mobilized in their home districts. On May 30, Harney was relieved and Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict....

 took command of the department. On June 11, a meeting to resolve some disagreements resulted in the collapse of the truce. Price and Jackson fled St. Louis for Jefferson City. The next day Governor Jackson called for 50,000 volunteers to defend Missouri from the Union army; thousands of additional men answered the proclamation and enlisted in their respective districts/divisions.

The embryonic Missouri State Guard suffered a serious initial setback in a skirmish at Boonville
Battle of Boonville
The First Battle of Boonville was a minor skirmish of the American Civil War, occurring on June 17, 1861, near Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. Although casualties were extremely light, the battle's strategic impact was far greater than one might assume from its limited nature...

 on June 17 and began a retreat toward extreme southwestern Missouri. Two days later the Guard's path was cleared when a local MSG infantry and cavalry battalion under Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 Walter S. O'Kane decisively defeated and captured the Benton County Home Guard at Cole Camp
Battle of Cole Camp (1861)
The Battle of Cole Camp was a skirmish of the American Civil War, occurring on June 19, 1861, in Benton County, Missouri. The rebel victory assured an open line of march for the fleeing governor and Missouri State Guard away from Lyon's force in Boonville....

. Another victory on July 5 at the Battle of Carthage
Battle of Carthage (1861)
-References:* Lee, Guy Carlton, and Francis Newtun Thorpe, editors. The History of North America. Philadelphia: George Barrie and Sons, 1905.* Monhegan, Jay. Civil War on the Western Border: 1854-1865. Boston: Little, Brown, 1956.*...

 bought time for Price to begin training and organizing his raw recruits, many who had reported for military duty carrying only farm implements or antiquated hunting weapons. MSG organization and training was conducted at Cowskin Prairie, a former livestock auction site in southwest Missouri. A key figure in efforts to impose order on the embryonic organization was Adjutant General Lewis Henry Little
Lewis Henry Little
Lewis Henry Little was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War. He served mainly in the Western Theater and was killed in action during the Battle of Iuka....

, a native of Maryland and career Army officer.

Price, along with Confederate regulars and members of the Arkansas State Troops, defeated an smaller Union force under Nathaniel Lyon at Wilson's Creek
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War. It was the first major battle of the war west of the Mississippi River and is sometimes...

 on August 10, killing Lyon and driving back his army. Price, with 10,000 men, defeated a 600 man battalion of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 volunteer cavalry lead by Senator James Lane
James H. Lane (Senator)
James Henry Lane also known as Jim Lane was a partisan during the Bleeding Kansas period that immediately preceded the American Civil War. During the war, Lane served as a United States Senator and as a general who fought for the Union...

 at Big Dry Wood Creek
Battle of Dry Wood Creek
The Battle of Dry Wood Creek was fought on September 2, 1861 in Vernon County, Missouri during the American Civil War...

 on September 1–2, and then captured 3,600 Federal troops in the First Battle of Lexington
Battle of Lexington I
The First Battle of Lexington also known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales, was an engagement of the American Civil War, occurring from September 13 to September 20, 1861, between the Union Army and the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard, in Lexington, the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri...

 (Battle of the Hemp Bales) in mid-month. As Frémont's Union army finally advanced toward Springfield, the Guard withdrew. A bold dash by Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 Charles Zagonyi
Charles Zagonyi
Károly Zágonyi, known in the U.S as Charles Zagonyi, was a Hungarian military officer who served in the American Civil War as an aide to John C...

's mounted vanguard routed local MSG troops waiting in ambush on October 25, 1861, at the Battle of Springfield I
Battle of Springfield I
The First Battle of Springfield or Zagonyi's Charge was a battle of the American Civil War that occurred on October 25, 1861, in Greene County, Missouri. It was the only Union victory in southwestern Missouri in 1861.- Prelude :...

. Fremont's offensive was subsequently recalled before engaging the main southern force when Fremont was relieved from command by order of President Lincoln.

Shortly afterwards, a session of exiled elements of the Missouri legislature convened in the southwest Missouri town of Neosho
Neosho, Missouri
Neosho is the most populous city in and the county seat of Newton County, Missouri, United States. Neosho is an integral part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area....

 and claimed to have passed an Ordinance of Secession
Missouri secession
During the American Civil War, the secession of Missouri was controversial because of the disputed status of the state of Missouri . During the war, Missouri was claimed by both the Union and the Confederacy, had two competing state governments, and sent representatives to both the United States...

 on October 30, with the Governor-in-Exile Jackson signing on October 31, 1861. While the vote was not endorsed by a state-wide plebiscite, the Confederate Congress officially admitted Missouri at the 12th Confederate State on November 28th, 1861.

While in winter camp, Price began enrolling many of his men into the regular Confederate service. Two brigades of the MSG participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge
Battle of Pea Ridge
The Battle of Pea Ridge was a land battle of the American Civil War, fought on March 6–8, 1862, at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Garfield. In the battle, Union forces led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis defeated Confederate troops under Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn. The outcome of the...

 (Elkhorn Tavern), where Brig. Gen. William Y. Slack
William Y. Slack
William Yarnel Slack was a Missouri lawyer, politician, and general in the Missouri State Guard during the American Civil War...

, the former commander of the 4th Division, was mortally wounded.

On March 17, 1862, Price merged the Missouri State Guard into the Confederate Army of the West. Later, former Missouri State Guard troops would make up the core of Price's Army of Missouri
Army of Missouri
The Army of Missouri was an independent military formation during the American Civil War within the Confederate States Army, created in the fall of 1864 under the command of Maj. Gen. Sterling Price to invade Missouri. Price's Raid was unsuccessful, and his army retreated to Arkansas, where it was...

, which participated in Price's Raid
Price's Raid
Price's Missouri Expedition, also known as Price's Raid, was an 1864 Confederate cavalry raid through the states of Missouri and Kansas during the American Civil War. While Confederate Major General Sterling Price enjoyed some successes during this campaign, he was decisively beaten at the Battle...

 in 1864 in an attempt to capture the state. A small number of Guard units remained independent until the end of the war in 1865, seeing action in several engagements in the Trans-Mississippi Theater under generals Mosby M. Parsons and James S. Rains
James S. Rains
James Spencer Rains was a brigadier general of the Missouri State Guard during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

.

Strength

The foremost authorities on the Missouri State Guard recently estimated that at least 34,000 Missourians served in the Guard at one point or another during the war and that the actual number was probably near 40,000. The Guard's strength peaked at approximately 23,000 to 28,000 in September 1861 with approximately 5,000 in Southeast Missouri in M. Jeff Thompson
M. Jeff Thompson
Meriwether Jeff Thompson was a brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard during the American Civil War. He served the Confederate Army as a cavalry commander, and had the unusual distinction of having a ship in the Confederate Navy named for him.-Early life:*Father: Meriwether Thompson b....

's First Division operating independently of the main body surrounding Price near Lexington.

County list for Missouri State Guard divisions

The Guard's divisions were based on congressional districts and composed of the following counties: (Commanders are listed in parentheses)
  • First District/First Division: St Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Madison, Iron, Wayne, Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Butler, Dunklin, and Pemiscot. (Nathaniel W. Watkins, M. Jeff Thompson
    M. Jeff Thompson
    Meriwether Jeff Thompson was a brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard during the American Civil War. He served the Confederate Army as a cavalry commander, and had the unusual distinction of having a ship in the Confederate Navy named for him.-Early life:*Father: Meriwether Thompson b....

    )

  • Second District/Second Division: Scotland, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Shelby, Marion, Monroe, Ralls, Pike, Audrain, Callaway, Montgomery, Lincoln, Warren, and St. Charles. (Thomas A. Harris, Martin E. Green
    Martin E. Green
    Martin Edwin Green was a Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War, and a key organizer of the Missouri State Guard in northern Missouri.-Early life:...

    )

  • Third District/Third Division: Putnam, Schuyler, , Sullivan, Adair, Linn, Macon, Chariton, Randolph, Howard, and Boone. (John B. Clark, Sr.
    John Bullock Clark
    John Bullock Clark, Sr. was a member of both the United States Congress and the Confederate Congress.-Biography:...

    )

  • Fourth District/Fourth Division: Gentry, Harrison, Mercer, Grundy, De Kalb, Daviess, Livingston, Clinton, Caldwell, Ray, Carroll, and Worth. (William Y. Slack
    William Y. Slack
    William Yarnel Slack was a Missouri lawyer, politician, and general in the Missouri State Guard during the American Civil War...

    )

  • Fifth District/Fifth Division: Atchison, Nodaway, Holt, Andrew, Buchanan, Platte, and Clay. (Alexander E. Steen
    Alexander E. Steen
    Alexander Early Steen was a career American soldier from Missouri who served as a general in the secessionist Missouri forces and the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...

    , Col. James P. Saunders)

  • Sixth District/Sixth Division: Saline, Pettis, Cooper, Moniteau, Cole, Osage, Gasconade, Maries, Miller, Morgan, Camden, Pulaski, and Phelps. (Mosby Parsons
    Mosby Parsons
    Mosby Monroe Parsons was a United States officer in the Mexican-American War and brigadier general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

    )

  • Seventh District/Seventh Division: Dallas, Laclede, Texas, Dent, Reynolds, Shannon, Wright, Webster, Greene, Christian, Stone, Taney, Douglas, Ozark, Howell, Oregon, Carter, and Ripley. (James H. McBride
    James H. McBride
    James Haggin McBride was an American businessman, lawyer, banker, judge, legislator, and soldier. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, dying in the conflict from pneumonia in 1864.-Early life and career:...

    )

  • Eighth District/Eighth Division: Jackson, Lafayette, Cass, Johnson, Bates, Henry, Benton, Hickory, Polk, St. Calir, Vernon, Cedar, Dade, Barton, Jasper, Lawrence, Newton, McDonald, and Barry. (James S. Rains
    James S. Rains
    James Spencer Rains was a brigadier general of the Missouri State Guard during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

    )

  • Ninth District/Ninth Division: St. Louis, Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Crawford. (Never formally organized following the Camp Jackson Affair, units served with other commands.) (Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr.
    Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr.
    Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr. was an architect, civil engineer, politician, and a general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He first served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater as the initial commander of the Ninth Division of the Missouri State Guard and later commanded a brigade...

    , Daniel M. Frost
    Daniel M. Frost
    Daniel Marsh Frost was an antebellum officer in the United States Army and then a brigadier general in the Missouri Volunteer Militia and the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...

    )

Flag

The Missouri State Guard did not have an official flag until MSG General Sterling Price ordered on June 5, 1861,
"III. Each regiment will adopt the State flag, made of blue merino, 6 by 5 feet, with the Missouri coat-of-arms in gold gilt on each side. Each mounted company will have a guidon, the flag of which will be of white merino, 3 by 2½ feet, with the letters M.S.G. in gilt on each side."


Interestingly, a number of Missouri (Federal) volunteer regiments were issued a flag of an almost identical pattern: a blue flag, with the Missouri state arms in gold. This is an example of the long-running struggle between Missouri's (post-Jun 17, 1861) Unionist government in Jefferson City and Claiborne Fox Jackson's (and later Thomas C. Reynolds') secessionist Government-in-Exile for controls of symbols of Missouri governmental legitimacy.

Sources

  • Parrish, William E., A History of Missouri: Volume III, 1860 to 1875 (2001) ISBN 0-8262-0148-2.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK