Governor C. F. Jackson’s Appeal
New Madrid, Mo., Dec. 13, 1861.
My brave soldiers now in the field — The six months for which you were called is now expiring, and many may desire to return to their homes. It is natural you should desire to do so, but let me beg you not now to turn back from the work you have so nobly begun; do not now fail, when the eyes of the whole country are upon you; do not lose your glorious reputation for want of a little more patience; do not let the princely heritage of Missouri be lost to you and your children, when a few more weeks or days of perseverance may win it for you. Let me therefore entreat you to embrace the opportunity which is now offered you to volunteer in the service of that great young Government, the Southern Confederacy, one of the brilliant stars of which is our own loved Missouri, and fight under that bright flag which has as yet known no defeat.
That the bond of union between Missouri and her Southern sisters may be more perfect, and that encouragement be given our men, and that system and unity of purpose exist, which insures success, it has been determined that the present members of the Missouri State Guard shall have the liberty to reorganize under the laws of the Southern Confederacy--that our Southern brothers may have the privilege of supplying our wants and paying our troops, while we fight our battles which are also theirs. Do not let the frosts of winter deter you from embracing the opportunity. Do not fail to remember those patriotic sires who wintered at Valley Forge — let their bright example encourage you — the cause is the same--'tis liberty and equality for which we fight.
Not so with the enemy. We seek not his subjugation, his country, or his home. He can quit the field, retire to his home, and thereby give peace and happiness to a bleeding and suffering country. He can by these means, at once close the unrelenting crusade which he is now waging against us.
You have no homes to which you can safely go — the Hessian and the Jayhawker go wherever the army is not, and you will put on the shackles of serfdom whenever you lay down your arms, even though it be but temporarily. I know your patriotism — you have proved it. I know your bravery — the world has seen it. I know your endurance — the cheerfulness with which you have borne your hardships have demonstrated it. Then I pray you, maintain your reputation but a little while longer, and Missouri will be regenerated and redeemed.
To my fellow-citizens who have not yet joined the army, I have now a word to say.--Can you longer delay? Can there be yet one lingering ray of hope in your hearts, that the once glorious Union can ever be reconstructed or reunited? Can you expect to remain as quiet spectators, tilling your fields and attending to your private speculations while fifty thousand of your brave brothers are on the "war path?" Do you not know that absence from the field but prolongs the war, and that you are at all times liable to depredations from either party? Come out, then, like men. Remember that "he who is not for us is against us!" You know as well as I that the people of Missouri are Southern people — that their sympathies, their hopes and their interests are with the South. Then I call upon you, in the name of our noble State, now struggling for independence, to come out and help your brothers who are in the field. You cannot ask or expect them to do all the fighting, to endure all the hardships, and divide with you their glory and successes; you should not expect to enjoy the reward unless you participate in their struggles and privations for victory and independence.
C. F. Jackson
Source: Richmond Daily Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, December 25, 1861.