In the winter of 1861-62, 12,000 Missouri Patriots met at this very place to set up their winter camp. Here is where it was decided that the best way to win back their state's freedom was to fight the Yankee armies east of the Mississippi. And fight they did.
The 8,000 men who joined the regular Confederate army as the 1st, 2nd and Parson's Brigades fought with unequaled valor on many battlefields, earning the name "The South's Finest" with their blood. Of those 8,000 men less than 400 made it back home at the War's end.
There are monuments to them in various places east of the River, but there has never been one in their own state.
The men of the Col. J.T. Coffee Camp, SCV along with many historical societies, writers and the members of the Missouri League of the South deserve the gratitude of their state for the placement of this historically significant monument.
It has been a battle from the start, for this has been a year marred by dishonorable government rulings designed to rewrite our noble history.
Our spineless governor won a battle by taking down two Confederate flags but by the Grace of God the people of Missouri are winning the war. This year a magnificent Confederate monument and hundreds of Confederate flags have gone up, with more to come.
Governor Holden's scheme has blown up in his face, for because of it, many citisens now desire to know the truth of their history, the Cause of the Confederacy is being promoted now more than ever and Holden's ratings are falling more all the time.
We will continue to promote and actively defend our history and our gallant ancestors, no matter how badly our emasculated officials and their blind followers wish us to throw away our backbones and join them in their "new America." The blood that courses through our veins would never allow us to be a part in those people's race to destroy all America used to stand for.
For the Cause,
Frank Carlton, Chairman,
Missouri League of the South 1November, 03