EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,

Jefferson City, Mo., May 5, 1861.

Honorable L. P. WALKER, Secretary of War, Montgomery:

SIR: Yours of 26th ultimo via Louisville is received. I have no legal authority to furnish the men you desire. Missouri, you know, is yet under the tyranny of Lincoln's Government, so far, at least, as forms go. We are woefully deficient here in arms, and cannot furnish them at present; but so far as men are concerned, we have plenty of them, ready, willing, and anxious to march at any moment to the defense of the South. Our legislature has just met, and I doubt not will give me all necessary authority over the matter. If you can arm the men they will go whenever wanted, and to any point where they may be most needed. I send this to Memphis by private hand, being afraid to trust our mails or telegraphs. Let me hear from you by the same means. Missouri can and will put one hundred thousand men in the field, if required. We are using every means to arm our people, and, until we are better prepared, must move cautiously. I write this in confidence.

With my prayers for your success, I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

C. F. JACKSON,

Governor of Missouri.

LITTLE ROCK, May 6, 1861.

Honorable JEFF. DAVIS:

Convention passed ordinance of secession at 4 p. m. by a unanimous vote.

T. C. HIDMAN.

HDQRS. FOURTH MIL. DIST., MISSOURI VOL. MILITIA, CAMP C. F. JACKSON, NEAR SAINT JOSEPH, MO.,
Monday, May 6, 1861.

His Excellency JEFFERSON DAVIS,

President of the Confederate States, Montgomery, Ala.:

SIR: Your favor of the 25th ultimo has been received, and I am thankful for your courtesy. I hope, and have reasonable expectations now, that Missouri will soon wheel into line into her Southern sisters, in which case I and my men will be needed here at home. I believe that this portion of Missouri (north of the Missouri River) will be the principal battle-ground between the North and South, as Saint Joseph, with its railroad connections, is the key to Kansas, New Mexico, Jefferson, [?] and Utah, and we have already been notified that the North has determined to hold this portion of the State, even through they lose all the rest of the slavesholding States, and they will either cover it over with dollars or blood, and the choice is for us to make. I have eight companies here in a camp of instruction, by order of our governor, and can assure you that they are all Blue Cockade boys, and if our leaders are disposed to sell this territory for money, our blood will remain at your service.

Yours, most respectfully,

M. JEFF. THOMPSON,

Colonel, Inspector of Fourth Military District.