Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia

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The Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia or PEMM also known as the Detailed Militia was a state militia organization of Missouri's Union government during the American Civil War. Unlike the Enrolled Missouri Militia it was a full-time force.

Militia generally refers to an army or other fighting force that is composed of non-professional fighters

A militia is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a nation, or subjects of a state, who can be called upon for military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel, or historically, members of a warrior nobility class. Generally unable to hold ground against regular forces, it is common for militias to be used for aiding regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or irregular warfare, instead of being used in offensive campaigns by themselves. Militia are often limited by local civilian laws to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns.

Missouri State of the United States of America

Missouri is a state in the Midwestern United States. With over six million residents, it is the 18th-most populous state of the Union. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City. The state is the 21st-most extensive in area. Missouri is bordered by eight states : Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south, and Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west. In the South are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center of the state into the Mississippi River, which makes up Missouri's eastern border.

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy). The most studied and written about episode in U.S. history, the Civil War began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North, which also included some geographically western and southern states, proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

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Background

The Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia was created by Missouri Governor Hamilton Rowan Gamble in 1863 when it was determined that the mixed sympathy part-time Enrolled Missouri Militia was not an effective garrison force against guerrilla activity. Reliable Unionists were selected from the EMM regiments and the enrolled militia were disbanded. The new provisional regiments were paid by the state, but were outfitted and supplied by the Federal government. [1]

Hamilton Rowan Gamble American judge

Hamilton Rowan Gamble was an American jurist and politician who served as the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court at the time of the Dred Scott Decision in 1852, writing a dissenting opinion when his colleagues voted to overturn the 28-year precedent in Missouri of "once free always free". During the American Civil War, he was appointed as the Governor of Missouri by a Constitutional Convention after Union forces captured the state capital at Jefferson City and deposed the elected governor.

The Enrolled Missouri Militia was a state militia organization of Missouri in 1862 during the American Civil War. It was a part-time force whose primary purpose was to serve as garrison and infrastructure guards, both to augment the Unionist Missouri State Militia in defense versus raids and to free the Missouri State Militia for offensive operations versus Confederate guerrillas and recruiters.

History

The life of these regiments was short. They began organizing in May 1863. Several regiments were involved in opposing Shelby's 1863 Raid. Primarily they opposed guerrillas and served as local garrisons.

Shelbys Raid (1863) military campaign during the American Civil War

Shelby's Raid was an 1863 Confederate cavalry raid from Arkansas into Missouri during the American Civil War. It had not been a good year for the Confederates in Arkansas with several setbacks. These included the lost of Little Rock the state capital, Fort Hindman, and the failure to retake Helena. Colonel Joseph Shelby thought that a fast moving raid could boost morale acquire recruits, and keep federal troops busy so they couldn't assist in Northern operations elsewhere. His troops fought numerous skirmishes and caused a deal of disruption in Missouri, making it as far north as Waverly, Missouri before withdrawing back to Arkansas. This raid cemented Shelby's reputation as a cavalry commander and made plain that Missouri was still vulnerable to this kind of cavalry raid.

While the PEMM regiments were loyal, they were also composed largely of Radical Unionists opposed to Governor Gamble's Conservative Unionist administration. To prevent the Radical PEMM militia from influencing the November 1863 judicial elections the governor disbanded most of the PEMM regiments. [1]

Like the Missouri State Militia Cavalry the PEMM soldiers would be eligible for federal pensions.

The Missouri State Militia was a federally funded state militia organization of Missouri conceived in 1861 and beginning service in 1862 during the American Civil War. It was a full-time force whose primary purpose was to conduct offensive operations against Confederate guerrillas and recruiters as well as oppose raids by regular Confederate forces. The MSM at one time numbered more than 13,000 soldiers, but this force was reduced to 10,000 soldiers, by the United States government.

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References

  1. 1 2 Ross, Kirby, "Federal Militia in Missouri", http://www.civilwarstlouis.com/militia/federalmilitia.htm