Date of Graduation

Spring 2014

Degree

Master of Arts in History

Department

History

Committee Chair

William Piston

Abstract

This is a socio-military history of the 4th Missouri Infantry; a Confederate unit that traced its roots to state militia in 1861 and went on to become one of the most experienced units in the U.S. Civil War. While providing a narrative of its campaign and battles, the thesis focuses on the enlisted personnel, examining them in terms of such things as nativity, prewar occupations, slave ownership, and prewar military experience. Such a study is valuable because it studies a Missouri unit, a unit in a state deeply divided in sentiment, yet a state that has received relatively little attention from historians. Some of the conclusions from the data on the soldiers support current interpretations and some have provided new information or refute current interpretations.

Keywords

Missouri State Guard, 4th Missouri Infantry, First Missouri Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Theater

Subject Categories

History

Copyright

© William Laurence Bryan

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