The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963 Page: 199
641 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Missouri's Confederate Capital in Marshall, Texas
tivated man than most of his compatriots, and he was certainly a
man of conviction, who had the physical courage to defend his
convictions. In 1856 he shot a prominent pro-Benton editor in the
knee with a pistol in what has been called the last political duel
in Missouri.
Reynolds' ardent desire for personal recognition and his early
eagerness to bring Missouri into the Confederacy are apparent in
a letter he wrote to Jefferson Davis on June 3, 1861, asking for
Confederate intervention. In it he said:
On mature consideration, examination of the laws and constitu-
tion of Missouri, and consultation with leading men of mature
judgment and sound patriotism, I have come to the conclusion that,
in the absence of any provision of our constitution applicable to
such a state of affairs, the high moral duty of leading an armed
effort to redeem the State from subjection, and its governor and
other authorities from virtual captivity, devolves not upon the Gov-
ernor, but upon me.5
Although Missouri had not seceded, indeed by state convention
had refused secession, Reynolds was determined to follow his own
emotions and convictions.
On December 27, 1862, Reynolds, at that time convalescing
from a severe illness at Winnsborough, South Carolina, was noti-
fied by telegraph of Governor Jackson's death.6 He made imme-
diate plans to assume the governorship and arrived at Richmond
on January io, 1863, to confer with Missouri's delegation to the
Confederate capital and with the Confederate leaders.7 He had had
at that time no official contact with the exiled state government
for over a year, and he was obliged to write the members of the
late Governor Jackson's staff at Little Rock for information on
the treasury, the state papers, and even the names and where-
abouts of incumbents of important state offices. On March 19,
in a blinding snowstorm, Reynolds left Richmond with a letter
of introduction from Jefferson Davis to General Edmund Kirby
5Thomas C. Reynolds to Jefferson Davis, June 3, 1861, War of the Rebellion:
A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
(13o vols.; Washington, 1880-1901), Series I, Vol. LIII, 693.
6Thomas C. Reynolds to Hon. J. B. Clark, December 27, 1862 (Ramsdell Micro-
film Collection, Texas Collection, University of Texas Library).
7Thomas C. Reynolds to Hon. E. C. Cabell, January 14, 1863 (Ramsdell Micro-
film Collection, Texas Collection, University of Texas Library).199
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963, periodical, 1963; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101196/m1/217/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.