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The Civil War in Missouri

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The Soldier's Experience

Information Sheets

Confederate Indians participated in the conflict, serving under the leadership of Confederate general Stand Watie.

Gen. Lyon, assisted by Col. Frank Blair Jr., gathered a force to drive the secessionist government from the capital, Jefferson City.

Capt. Lyon was at the center of organizing Union supporters who would eventually be mustered into Federal service.

In 1864, Price led a raid into Missouri, which would be the last major military engagement inside the state through the end of the war.

Thanks to Jimmie Johnston's help, the Forest Rose repelled the Confederate force successfully.

Men who opposed the Union army in Missouri for a variety of reasons turned to violence.

The Home Guard and then the Enrolled Missouri Militia were created to defend their home regions.

The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was created by the pro-South governor Claiborne Jackson to drive Union troops from Missouri.

Between 1862 and 1863 General John S. Marmaduke engaged in two raids into Missouri.

General Sterling Price was chosen to lead a raid on the capital, Jefferson City, to retake it for the Confederacy.

The victory of the 1st Kansas encouraged their muster into Federal service months later on January 13, 1863.

Union soldiers in Missouri included regular Federal soldiers as well as members of the Missouri State Militia (MSM).

Primary Source Activities

Students will use an image of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek to understand more fully the events of the battle, their horrific consequences, and the way that war images were created.

Demonstration content

Students will learn about the struggles and contributions of Joshua McCarter Simpson, an African American abolitionist during the Civil War, and write a song or poem based on their life difficulties.

Worksheets and Handouts

Books

A History of Missouri 1860-1875 by William E. Parrish

Children of the Civil War by Candice Ransom

Civil War for Kids by Janis Herbert

Civil War in Missouri Day by Day by Carolyn Bartels

Civil War on the Western Border by Jay Monaghan

Civil War's First Blood by James Denny, John F. Bradbury

General Sterling Price and the Confederacy by Thomas C. Reynolds

I'll Pass For Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by Anita Silvey

Kids During the American Civil War by Lisa A. Wroble

Missouri Brothers in Gray by William Jeffery Bull

Missouri Slave Narratives by Federal Writers' Project

Nobody's Boy by Jennifer Fleischner

Sterling Price: Portrait of a Southerner by Robert Shalhope