- Liberty Arsenal
The Liberty Arsenal was an
United States Army arsenal atLiberty, Missouri inClay County, Missouri , that was seized by Confederate sympathizers on April 20, 1861, being an early occurrence in a sequence of skirmishes and battles that was to define Missouri in theAmerican Civil War . It has sometimes been called the "Missouri Fort Sumter."After states began seceding from the Union, the
Missouri Constitutional Convention of 1861 voted 98-1 on March 21, 1861 to stay in the Union but not to supply men or money to either side. [ [http://www.missouricivilwarmuseum.org/campjack.htm The Capture of Camp Jackson: The First Major Action Bringing Civil War to Missouri by Scott K. Williams] ] On April 12, 1861, the Civil War officially began with the firing onFort Sumter .In the earlier
Bleeding Kansas skirmishes and battles, western Missouri aroundKansas City, Missouri showed it had strong Southern leanings. On on April 20, about 200 men from Clay andJackson County, Missouri seized the lightly guarded arsenal leaving theSt. Louis Arsenal as the only other military arsenal in the entire state.The Southern sympathizers captured about one thousand muskets, four brass field pieces and a small amount of ammunition. [ [http://www.civilwarhome.com/missouri3.htm Missouri in the Civil War Vol. 9 Chapter III by Col. John C. Moore - civilwarnhome.com] ] but this was small compared to the 37,000 muskets and rifles believed to have been kept at St. Louis. [ [http://www.civilwarstlouis.com/arsenal/index.htm Solving the Mystery of the Arsenal Guns by Randy R. McGuire, PhD - civilwarstlouis.com] ]
The munitions were to be hidden at the home of
Henry Lewis Routt near what is nowWilliam Jewell College . Routt was eventually captured and tried for treason and sentenced to hang but was pardoned by Lincoln. [ [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12001 Findagrave Profile] ] Instead, a large proportion of the arms were shipped upriver to the charge of St. Joseph mayorM. Jeff Thompson . The arms were distributed to Missouri Militiamen and later to theMissouri State Guard . The four brass field pieces became Capt.Henry Guibor 's State Guard battery.Union General
Nathaniel Lyon , fearing that the much largerSt. Louis Arsenal could also fall, seized the St. Louis Arsenal on April 29 and began sending most of its munitions safely toIllinois .References
External links
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