Provisional Government of Missouri facts for kids

The Provisional Government of Missouri was a special government set up in Missouri during the American Civil War. It was created on August 1, 1861, by a group called the Missouri Constitutional Convention. This happened after Missouri's governor, Claiborne Jackson, who supported leaving the United States, and some lawmakers left the state capital.

The Convention decided that the governor's job was empty. They then chose Hamilton Gamble, a former judge, to be the new governor. Even people who didn't fully agree with the Union (the United States government) usually respected Governor Gamble.

Missouri's Political Choices During the Civil War

When the Civil War was starting, Missouri tried to stay neutral. This meant the state didn't want to pick a side but wanted to stay in the Union. In February 1861, a special election was held. This election created the Missouri Constitutional Convention. Its job was to decide Missouri's relationship with the United States. The Convention voted against leaving the Union and said Missouri would remain neutral.

Early Conflicts in Missouri

The fighting at Fort Sumter in April 1861 caused problems in Missouri. People who wanted Missouri to leave the Union took over the Liberty Arsenal a week later. Governor Claiborne Jackson then called up the state's army, called the militia. They met in St. Louis to train and get weapons secretly from the Confederacy (the states that had left the Union).

This led to a fight with a Union commander named Nathaniel Lyon. He forced the militia to surrender in an event known as the Camp Jackson Affair. After a deadly riot, Missouri's lawmakers allowed the militia to be reorganized. It became the Missouri State Guard, controlled by the governor.

The Price-Harney Truce and Lyon's Actions

General William Harney, a Union commander, made an agreement with the new Missouri State Guard leader, Sterling Price. This was called the Price-Harney Truce. However, President Lincoln soon replaced Harney with Lyon.

During talks between Governor Jackson, Lyon, and Price, Lyon refused to let the state limit where Union troops could go. The meeting ended with Lyon famously saying that he would rather see everyone in Missouri "dead and buried" than let the state tell his government what to do. He declared, "This means war."

As the Missouri government fled, Lyon quickly captured the state capital, Jefferson City, Missouri, in mid-June 1861.

Creating the Provisional Government

The Missouri Constitutional Convention met again in July to decide what to do. They declared that the governor's job and the state's lawmaking jobs were empty. On August 1, they appointed Hamilton Gamble as the governor of the new provisional government of Missouri.

Meanwhile, Governor Jackson held a meeting of the exiled lawmakers in Neosho, Missouri. In late October, with a small number of lawmakers present, they passed a law to leave the Union.

Even though people who supported leaving the Union saw Governor Gamble as a puppet of the Union, he often disagreed with harsh Union actions in Missouri. For example, he protested to President Lincoln about something called the Fremont Emancipation. This order would have freed all enslaved people in Missouri in 1861 and put the state under military rule. Lincoln agreed with Gamble's request. He canceled the emancipation order and removed John C. Fremont from his command.

Military Efforts of the Provisional Government

The Provisional Government of Missouri faced a tough challenge. They had to deal with Missourians who supported leaving the Union and saw Union supporters as traitors. They also had to deal with Union soldiers from outside the state who often saw all Missourians as potential rebels.

Forming the Missouri State Militia

Governor Gamble convinced President Lincoln that local military units made up of Missourians would be the best way to deal with guerrilla fighters in Missouri. This would also free up other Union soldiers for different battles.

Because of this, Lincoln allowed the creation of the (new) Missouri State Militia. This was a unique military force. The U.S. government paid for and equipped it, but it reported to the Governor of Missouri. Its job was limited to protecting Missouri. To help the Missouri State Militia work with other Union forces, Governor Gamble made Major General Henry W. Halleck, a Union commander, also a Major General of the Missouri State Militia.

Fighting Guerrilla Warfare

The Missouri State Militia, along with later groups like the Enrolled Militia and Provisional Enrolled Militia, did not completely stop guerrilla fighting in the state. Regular Union soldiers couldn't stop it either. However, these Missouri forces greatly helped the Union's efforts in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the war.

The Civil War in Missouri was especially long and difficult because people from the same state were fighting each other. But the Provisional Government helped keep most Missourians from joining the Confederacy. It played a very important role in keeping Missouri in the Union.