First, I assume that by “invaders” you mean the the
Union forces. Advise me if it means something else.
And, by “family” do you mean my personal family included
in my story (i.e. Clemiel, Samuel, and John Wesley
Davis) or do you include the father inlaw of my uncle Sam
in there somewhere? His name was Bill Manning and he
deserved to die at the hands of my uncle. He was a
traitor to the cause he pledged an oath to defend and
the surviving military records reflect that fact.
The facts on the ground in Missouri were much more
complicated than some crazy Union officers holding
the state hostage. Each side had plenty of loyalists.
Generally, the Union supporting militias were referred
to as Home Guard while Confederate leaning militias
were State Guards.
You seem to be wrapped up in an invader concept where
states invade other states. While that was true for
most of the CW (my term for brevity purposes) there
was truly a split between the citizens of Missouri.
I don’t believe your rules apply here. In a county
that borders Arkansas there were tons...hundreds
of Home Guard (Union)volunteers. I’ve seen the list
of Clemiel’s Co E alone.
You talk about loyalty to one’s family/community.
In the case of St Louis there was a large German
community which leaned toward the Union. All sorts of
things contribute to loyalties.
I am a fourth generation Californian on my mom’s
side. I am also a strong conservative, as well.
As things are if there was a war between the US
and California me and my friends would side with
the US. If the political script was flipped I
would go the other way.
You talk about bringing these murderous bushwhackers
up on charges as if there was some kind controlling
authority at the place and time. I doubt it. Remember,
even AFTER the war Samuel Davis was not indicted
for the retribution he dealt in Stone County.
I still feel that the Southern states should have been allowed to go their own way in peace, and that a bloody war pitting family against family to establish Washington DC supremacy was a tragedy in every sense of the word.
We are still living with the consequences of making the Federal government into some sort of god.