This diary of Confederate Lieutenant John W. Fisher, Company C, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 8th Division, Missouri State Guard consists of 109 pages, with entries from October 14, 1861 through January 11, 1862. Included are entries covering the meeting of the secessionist “rump” legislature in Neosho, Missouri, from October 28 to 31, 1861.
The legislature passed a bill for Missouri secession and it was signed by Governor Jackson; the question was whether they had a quorum to convene. The legitimacy of this proceeding was dubious, yet it satisfied the authorities in Richmond, and Missouri’s star was added to the Confederate flag on November 28, 1861. As a result Missouri had representatives in both the Union and Confederate congresses. Many southern supporters referred to Missouri as the 12th Confederate state.
