The Missouri State Militia was a federally funded state militia organization of Missouri conceived in 1861 and beginning service in 1862 during the American Civil War. It was a full-time force whose primary purpose was to conduct offensive operations against Confederate guerrillas and recruiters as well as oppose raids by regular Confederate forces. The militia at one time numbered more than 13,000 soldiers, but this force was reduced to 10,000 soldiers, by the United States government.
Background Original Missouri state militia (pre-Missouri State Guard) Prior to the Civil War, Missouri had a system of state-regulated local militia companies organized as the official Missouri Volunteer Militia (MVM), that could be called up by the governor for emergencies or annual drill. During the secession crisis Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson used the MVM covertly as secessionist tool until the majority of its members in eastern Missouri, and almost all the state's arms, were captured during the Camp Jackson Affair in St. Louis. The events in St. Louis prompted the Missouri legislature to pass Governor Jackson's "Military Bill" reorganizing the state militia into the Missouri State Guard.
Home Guard In Missouri at the beginning of the Civil War, volunteer Unionist Home Guard regiments were formed with the support of Federal authorities to oppose secessionist Governor Claiborne Jackson's efforts at organizing secessionist strength, and his efforts to prevent Missouri enlistments into Federal service. Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon was given authority by the War Department to organize the Home Guard units throughout Missouri on June 11, 1861.Ross, Kirby, "Federal Militia in Missouri", http://www.civilwarstlouis.com/militia/federalmilitia.htm
Six-month militia By late 1861 most of the Home Guard regiments had been disbanded. They were replaced by a smaller Six-month militia under state rather than Federal control. This force was too expensive for the cash-strapped Provisional Government of Missouri to maintain. It was also too small to be effective. In all five regiments, eleven battalions, and ten companies were formed as six-month militia. (Although the financial burden for this organization during the war was paid by Missouri, the state was finally reimbursed following the United States Congress April 17, 1866 passage of "An act to reimburse the State of Missouri for moneys expended for the United States in enrolling, equipping, and provisioning militia forces to aid in suppressing the rebellion."Organization and Status of Missouri Troops (Union and Confederate) in Service During the Civil War, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1902, page 20
Creation On November 6, 1861 Provisional Missouri Governor Hamilton Rowan Gamble reached an agreement with Abraham Lincoln to form a new full-time state militia equipped and financed by the United States but under control of the Missouri governor with officers appointed by him.Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Volume 5, "Order Approving the Plan of Governor Gamble of Missouri", pages 15-17, http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;rgn=div1;view=text;idno=lincoln5;node=lincoln5%3A40 The new Missouri State Militia would cooperate with Federal commanders but would not be subject to service outside the state except when necessary to directly defend it. The Six-month militia was disbanded by General Order No. 2 of the Missouri Adjutant General on January 14 and effective January 25, 1862.Organization and Status of Missouri Troops (Union and Confederate) in Service During the Civil War, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1902, pages 19-20
The new Missouri State Militia (MSM) was primarily a mounted force active throughout the remainder of the war. Cavalry were necessary to pursue and confront fast moving mounted guerrillas, recruiters, and raiders. By April 1862 the Missouri State Militia consisted of fourteen cavalry regiments, three cavalry battalions, two light artillery batteries, an infantry regiment and several independent companies of various types.Organization and Status of Missouri Troops (Union and Confederate) in Service During the Civil War, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1902, page 47Dyer's Compendium, Part 3, "Missouri Volunteers" On February 13, 1862 however, the United States Congress limited the size of the force to 10,000 in an effort to control expenses.Organization and Status of Missouri Troops (Union and Confederate) in Service During the Civil War, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1902, page 27 The exigencies of war produced delay by the Federal War Department in complying with this law—primarily through attrition. Eventually the militia would be reorganized into nine regiments of cavalry and one of infantry. This was accomplished through General Order Number 5 by the Missouri Adjutant General which broke up the 3rd and 12th Missouri State Militia Cavalry regiments and distributed them among other regiments. The 5th Missouri State Militia Cavalry was mustered out. The 2nd Battalion Missouri State Militia was also disbanded and the 11th regiment and 1st battalion had been consolidated within the 2nd Missouri State Militia Cavalry earlier.Organization and Status of Missouri Troops (Union and Confederate) in Service During the Civil War, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1902, pages 30-1
History As the Missouri State Militia began organizing and training in early 1862, the warming weather also increased guerrilla activity. Confederate recruiters infiltrated the state and began organizing new commands to be sent south. This accelerated the learning curve for the new militia cavalry.Nichols, Bruce, Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri, 1862, McFarland & Co., 2004, pages 60-62 Despite setbacks and a surge in Confederate activity even north of the Missouri River, the militia cavalry proved to be an effective offensive force in confronting guerrillas, recruiters, and raiders within the state during the Summer of 1862. By Fall the recruiters had been driven from the state. Although guerrilla activity would remain a constant nuisance in much of the state, and raids would continue south of the Missouri River, the militia cavalry established Federal control of Missouri throughout the remainder of the war.
There were three unusual aspects of the militia cavalry compared to conventional cavalry. The first was the frequent integration of light artillery into regimental or battalion level actions. The additional firepower was often effective against guerrillas or raiders with no artillery of their own.Nichols, Bruce, Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri, 1862, McFarland & Co., 2004, pages 102,111,113,118 (illus),134,136,138, etc.The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XIII, page 184-189, 225 The second was that cavalry soldiers were required to provide their own horses, and were paid for this periodically. Thirdly, the militia served primarily in their own state, aside from limited periods in Arkansas and Kansas.
There was considerable controversy surrounding the actions and officers of men of the Missouri State Militia Cavalry. Several officers were charged with inefficiency or worse during operations, particularly during Sterling Price's 1864 Raid. General Alfred Pleasonton relieved General Egbert Brown and John McNeil for "failure to obey an order to attack."Warner, Ezra, Generals in Blue, Louisiana State University Press, 1964/2002, page 48, 306 Also relieved by Pleasonton in the same action was Colonel James McFerran of the 1st Missouri State Militia Cavalry "whose regiment was straggling all over the country, and he was neglecting to prevent it."The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XLI, page 337 Colonel Henry S. Lipscomb of the 11th Missouri State Militia Cavalry was relieved for not pursuing Joseph C. Porter more vigorously during the summer of 1862Nichols, Bruce, Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri, 1862, McFarland & Co., 2004, page 130The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XIII, pages 427,467Mudd, Joseph A, With Porter in North Missouri, Press of Camp Pope Bookshop, 1909/1992, pages 408-9 and the regiment was consolidated with the 2nd. An entire regiment (the 5th Regiment (Old) was disbanded and replaced by the 5th Regiment (New), due to their lack of discipline.
With Confederate General Sterling Price openly supporting guerrilla activity in Missouri, on March 13, 1862, the Union head of the Department of the Missouri, Henry Halleck, issued orders stating that such activity was "contrary to the laws of war" and directing that such combatants "will be hung as robbers and murderers." The following month, Confederate President Jefferson Davis legitimized guerrilla warfare by authorizing bands of "partisan rangers" to be formed to operate behind Federal lines. As the primary force to confront such activity in Missouri, the Missouri State Militia hierarchy shortly afterwards issued a controversial order declaring the partisans to be "robbers and assassins" and directing that they "be shot down on the spot." The order further offered the partisans an out, stating that they would be spared should they surrender to Federal authorities and take an oath of allegiance and be placed on parole. Some militia commanders were afterwards accused of atrocities in carrying out the counter-guerrilla tactics, including conducting drum-head courts martial, or sometimes no court martial at all then executing suspected guerrillas or Southerners who had violated their paroles. There were also examples of execution of prisoners in retaliation for the deaths of Union/militia soldiers or citizens. (See the Palmyra Massacre for a notorious example.)
In contrast to these controversies, Governor Hamilton R. Gamble, praised the Missouri State Militia as "very efficient." In speaking of the Missouri State Militia, General John M. Schofield claimed that "these troops will compare favorably with any volunteer troops I have seen," specifically complimenting the Missouri State Militia in regard to drill, discipline and efficiency. Schofield subsequently became General-in-Chief of the United States Army after the war.Organization and Status of Missouri Troops (Union and Confederate) in Service During the Civil War, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1902
Militia cavalry units participated in most of the significant engagements in Missouri from 1862 to 1864. They were eligible for re-enlistment and, unusually for militia, were eligible for Federal pensions. The Missouri State Militia participated in the Battle of Westport, one of the largest battles west of the Mississippi, and the Battle of Mine Creek, the largest cavalry battle west of the Mississippi river, involving approximately 10,000 troops.
In 1864, a large number of soldiers in the Missouri State Militia were recruited to US cavalry regiments, with bonuses given for their enlistment. This greatly reduced the number of soldiers in the ranks, from 9809 in January 1864 to 8000 in November 1864.Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Missouri for 1864, p. 36
On June 23, 1865, orders were given that all remaining troops and officers of the Missouri State Militia would be mustered out.Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Missouri for 1865, p. 26