The Confederate government of Missouri was a continuation in exile of the government of pro- Confederate Governor Claiborne F. Jackson. It existed until General E. Kirby Smith surrendered all Confederate troops west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, May 26, 1865.

History

As the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

began, many leading citizens were hoping the state could remain neutral in the growing conflict. These hopes were encompassed in the so-called Price–Harney Truce of May 21, 1861. Implementation of the truce fell prey, however, to the growing conflict. At a meeting held at Planters' House in St. Louis, June 11, 1861, it became clear that leading Missourians would have to choose sides. In the fall of 1861, Governor Claiborne Jackson and other leading Missouri secessionists met in Neosho, Missouri. Acting as the

Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...

, this body enacted an ordinance of secession on October 28, 1861; however, the legal status of this ordinance was not accepted by Missouri's Union supporters, then or later. The secession government applied for and, on November 28, 1861, was granted admission to the Confederacy as its purported 12th state. As a result of military operations, however, particularly the

Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place during the American Civil War near Leetown, Arkansas, Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. United States, Feder ...

in March 1862, the Confederate government of Missouri was not able to establish control over much of the state; its jurisdiction extended only as far as Confederate military strength could reach. Governor Jackson and his government were forced into exile. The exiled government established operations in Marshall, Texas, as part of the Trans-Mississippi bloc of Southern civil governments. Although Confederate supporters in Missouri were unable to make good on their secession, the Southern government-in-exile sent legislators to the Congress of the Confederate States, and Missouri was represented by the twelfth star on the Confederate flag.

References

{{Authority control .American Civil War

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

Missouri

History

See also

References