Gov. Jackson's Proclamation calling for 50,000 Men
Political and secession tension was at an all time high in Missouri during the spring and summer of 1861. Missouri’s pro-Confederate governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, desperately wanted to usher Missouri into the Confederacy, but needed the right momentum to strike. After Nathaniel Lyon captured state militia troops at Camp Jackson in May, and then declared war on Missouri on June 11, Jackson seized the opportunity to advance his agenda.
On June 12, Jackson issued the proclamation calling for 50,000 men to join the state militia. This copy appeared in the Bolivar Courier newspaper, addressed to “the people of Missouri,” and calling the citizens to action:
“A series of unprovoked and unparalleled outrages have been inflicted upon the peace and dignity of this Commonwealth, and upon the rights and liberties of its people, by wicked and unprincipled men, professing to act under the direction of the U. S. Government. The solemn enactments of your Legislature have been nullified, your volunteer soldiers have been taken prisoners, your commerce with your sister states suspended.
Now I, therefore, C. F. Jackson, Governor of the State of Missouri, do, in view of the foregoing facts, and by virtue of the power invested in me by the constitution and laws of this commonwealth, issue this, my proclamation, calling the militia of the state to the number of 50,000 into the active service of the State, for the purpose of repelling said invasion, and for the protection of the liberties and property of the citizens of this State.”
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 32444
