(Missouri Division, SCV Photo)

The Missouri State Guard was the state authorized organization created for the defense of Missouri.  It was divided into eight divisions, the First Division encompassed Southeast Missouri.  The uniforms of the Missouri State Guard were as colorful as the characters that were in it.  

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General Nathaniel Watkins

Gen. Nathaniel Watkins (Missouri State Guard)

General Nathaniel W. Watkins was appointed by Missouri Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson to lead the 1st Division Missouri State Guard (his home in Jackson was burned by federal troops because of his position).  Watkins realized at 65 years old he was not fit for field command and resigned his position in July 1861. After the war he moved to Scott County.   Before the Civil War he fought in the War of 1812 and Mexican War.  He is most well known as the half-brother to Henry Clay.  

Other accomplishments include being elected to the Missouri State Senate, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, and vice president of the Missouri Constitutional Convention in 1875.  He is also credited as the founder of Morley, Missouri.  

Article from the Poplar Bluff Republican newspaper (July 28, 1921) about Andrew Jackson Sifford. It's interesting to find this article because in Sifford's pension application on file with the Missouri State Archives, it states that he was denied his pension due to lack of documentation. He was originally in Company A, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Division Missouri State Guard. He then joined Haislip's Cavalry company (McGhee and Mayo).