The Missouri Volunteer Militia (MVM) was the state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

organization of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, before the formation of the

Missouri State Guard The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was a military force established by the Missouri General Assembly on May 11, 1861. While not a formation of the Confederate States Army, the Missouri State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at various ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Prior to the Civil War,

had an informal state militia that could be called up by the governor for emergencies or annual drill "in accordance with the Missouri State Statutes of 1854." Larger militia elements, such as brigades or the element employed in the November 1860 Southwest Expedition of James Montgomery, were composed of independent regularly drilling volunteer companies, such as the St. Louis Grays, the National Guards, and the Washington Blues. Each of these companies wore its own distinctive, and highly ornate, uniform. Antebellum ''esprit de corps'' was enhanced by drill competitions among the independent companies.

Secession

During the 1861 secession crisis, pro-secession Missourians sought to use the state militia to their advantage. On 13 February 1861, General

Daniel M. Frost Daniel Marsh Frost (August 9, 1823 – October 29, 1900) was a former United States Army officer who became a brigadier general in the Missouri Volunteer Militia (MVM) and the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Among the han ...

formed five new MVM companies composed entirely of pro-secessionist "

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

". On 21 March 1861, the

Missouri Constitutional Convention Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

voted against secession, killing any possibility of secession by political action. Governor

Claiborne Jackson Claiborne Fox Jackson (April 4, 1806 – December 6, 1862) was an American politician of the Democratic Party in Missouri. He was elected as the 15th Governor of Missouri, serving from January 3, 1861, until July 31, 1861, when he was forc ...

, a crypto-secessionist, then called up part of the MVM under Frost, and posted them just outside St. Louis, with the intent of seizing the city by force. This alleged plot was thwarted on 10 May 1861 when the MVM force was surprised and captured by unofficial Unionist Saint Louis Home Guard, a paramilitary arm of the

Unconditional Union Party The Unconditional Union Party was a loosely organized political entity during the American Civil War and the early days of Reconstruction. First established in 1861 in Missouri, where secession talk was strong, the party fully supported the preserv ...

organized by

Francis Preston Blair, Jr. Francis Preston Blair Jr. (February 19, 1821 – July 8, 1875) was a United States Senator, a United States Congressman and a Union Major General during the Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a ...

, and led by U.S. Army officers including

Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginning of the conflict, to forestall secret secessionist plans of th ...

, during the so-called '' Camp Jackson Affair''.The Battle of Wilson's Creek: The Camp Jackson Affairs
''National Park Service'' This shocking for secessionists act prompted the Missouri legislature to pass the "Military Bill" proposed by Governor Jackson, which gave the governor near-dictatorial control over the state militia, and reorganized it into the

. On June 11, Governor Jackson met with

and

, who on Blair's suggestion was appointed by the U.S. War Department as Commander of the Western Department of the U.S. Army, at St. Louis'

Planter's House Hotel The Planter's House Hotel was the name of three hotels in St. Louis, Missouri. The first operated from 1817, the second from 1841 to 1891, and the third until 1922. History There were three incarnations of the Planter's House hotel in St. Loui ...

to negotiate. A compromise was not reached and both sides afterwards blamed each other. On June 12, 1861, Governor Jackson issued a Proclamation to the State: Failure to restore the

Price–Harney Truce The Price–Harney Truce was a document signed on May 21, 1861, between United States Army General William S. Harney (Commander of the U.S. Army's Western Department) and Missouri State Guard commander Sterling Price at the beginning of the America ...

conditions escalated tensions, and though the state of Missouri formally stayed in the Union, it became engulfed in guerrilla warfare and went through a series of bitter battles at the end of the Civil war.

References

{{Missouri in the Civil War Missouri in the American Civil War

Secession

See also

References