The 21st Missouri Regiment Infantry Veteran Volunteers: Historical Memoranda

A lovingly assembled record of the men who answered Missouri’s first call to defend the Union, this volume brings together the recollections, letters and official reports of the 21st Missouri Infantry Veteran Volunteers. Compiled in the late 1890s by former comrades who reconvened after decades apart, the work captures the spirit of reunions, the desire to preserve a shared legacy, and the painstaking effort to stitch together a regiment’s story for future generations.

The opening sections plunge listeners into the turbulent summer of 1861, when Missouri’s divided loyalties sparked a scramble to raise troops amid political chaos. Through vivid contemporary accounts, the narrative follows Colonel D. Moore’s bold recruitment drive, the merging of two North Missouri regiments, and their early skirmishes against Confederate forces. Listeners will hear the urgency of handwritten proclamations, the challenges of irregular enlistments, and the first steps of a unit that would soon find itself at the heart of the nation’s struggle.