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Preface
- Ohio University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
xvii Preface As early as November 1861, the Missouri Republican published reports of blasted farms, gangs of horse thieves, and a “war amongst neighbors and brothers.”1 More than any other border state, Missouri suffered criss-crossing raids by guerrilla fighters, invasions by soldiers of both armies, and bitter internal violence. Indeed, for many Missourians, civil warfare began years before the battle of Fort Sumter. Through primary source documents, Missouri’s War seeks to capture the experience of the people who lived through the war: soldiers and their families; slaves and their owners; politicians, newspaper editors, and businessmen. Although the reader will find some familiar texts, such as General John C. Frémont’s famous proclamation of martial law and Dred Scott’s petition for freedom, many of the documents have never been published before: letters, diary entries, newspaper editorials, official correspondence, songs, and pamphlets. The book begins with Missourians’ early commitment to slavery and the conflicts with antislavery forces in neighboring Kansas. These divisions provide the context for the continuing struggles in the state throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction . Chapter 1 reveals the lives of people in bondage and the important role they played in Missouri’s economy. Their daily existence was hard, and many of them suffered terrible losses as family members were sold away. Most Missourians , however, adamantly maintained that slavery was a permanent part of the state’s way of life and that the U.S. Constitution protected their right to own slaves. The settlers’ commitment to the institution of slavery led to terrible conflicts across the border in the Kansas Territory—conflicts that continued to plague Missourians throughout the Civil War. The antislavery settlers in Kansas, most of whom had come from New England, clashed violently with the pro-Southern Missouri farmers, who feared that a free Kansas would lure their slaves to escape. The story continues in chapter 2, as Missourians fought over secession. Would the state remain in the Union or join the Confederacy? The secession struggle reveals once again how Missouri’s internal disagreements erupted into violence that only escalated in the ensuing years. During the secession crisis, problems were often exacerbated by stubborn U.S. military and political commanders like General Nathaniel Lyon, who refused to try to conciliate among conflicting elements. But they were also caused by disloyal men like Governor Claiborne Jackson, who made secret deals with Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Chapter 3 reveals how Missourians coped with the outbreak of warfare. The first battle in Missouri was, in truth, a civilian massacre and can be blamed at least in part on the ethnic divisions that were especially evident in St. Louis. The so-called xviii Preface Battle of Camp Jackson symbolized the difficulties that continued to plague the city and the state. The documents that follow show not only the efforts of Missourians (especially women loyal to their respective sides) to support their war effort but also the ways in which soldiers and officers struggled with military discipline, loneliness , and hardship. The documents in chapter 4 portray the battles and military movements in Missouri in the first two years of the war, most of which revolved around control over cities, armories, and transportation routes. Those targets included Jefferson City, the state capital; St. Louis, an economically vital port city and the site of military installations like the arsenal and Jefferson Barracks. Perhaps most important was the Mississippi River itself, for both the Union and Confederate armies. In 1861, soldiers were still writing home about the “first rate” times they had in their tents, and both sides were mobilizing: building armies, supplying gunboats, and strengthening rail connections. The earlier internal divisions continued to cause serious problems on the home front. The major battles in and near Missouri included Wilson’s Creek in 1861 and Pea Ridge in 1862, after which the Confederacy lost hope of taking control of the state. Chapter 5 takes the story to 1862 and deals with the troubles of civilians caught between the two warring armies. Those who took sides could expect reprisals. But even those who did not, or who attempted to keep their opinions to themselves, were often at the mercy of soldiers or guerrillas who simply did not care about their allegiances. Many civilians suffered attacks and raids by both sides, and some were caught in horrific massacres by bushwhackers. Women’s service as nurses soon became more crucial, because the state and federal governments were unprepared to cope with battlefield...