Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 9.djvu/316



N the return of Governor Jackson and General Price to Jefferson City, the governor issued a proclamation in which he stated the situation succinctly, and called the militia to the number of 50,000 into active service, for the purpose of repelling invasion and protecting the property, liberty and lives of the citizens of the State. He and General Price knew Blair and Lyon well enough to know that, now they were invested with full power, they would act at once. It was, therefore, decided to move the armory and workshop, which had been established at Jefferson City, as well as the public records and official papers of the State to Booneville. The population of Jefferson City was composed largely of Germans, who were unfriendly, if not positively hostile, to the State government, while the people of Booneville were in sympathy with it; and, besides Booneville was contiguous to the counties from which the promptest response to the call for troops was expected. General Price thought he could hold it until the people of North Missouri could rally to his support. The Missouri river is a rugged, turbid stream, and usually, in the spring and early summer, is from a half to three-quarters of a mile in width. It divides the State north and south almost evenly.