Fellow Missourians,

Posted on: August 31, 2025 at 13:27:43 CT

Remember Osceola—September 23, 1861—when Kansas Jayhawkers under James H. Lane stormed across our border. They burned our homes, looted our businesses, and executed nine of our neighbors in cold blood. Nearly every building was destroyed, families were left destitute, and our land bore scars of fire and betrayal. That was the spark. That was the wound.

Two years later, on August 21, 1863, Missouri answered. Quantrill and 300 of our own rode into Lawrence—the heart of Jayhawker operations and the staging ground for raids against our people. This was not random bloodlust; it was retribution against those who had brought war to our homes. It was a strike of precision, born from loyalty to kin and land, against those who believed Missouri would never rise.

We do not celebrate violence—but we will never forget cause and effect. Missouri did not seek this fight. The fight came to us, and we refused to kneel. When our homes are burned, when our families are killed, when our sovereignty is mocked, we answer. And on that August morning, Missouri sent a message that still echoes through the hills: we defend our own.

So stand tall, Missouri. Let Osceola remind us of the price of weakness, and let Lawrence remind the world that we will not be bullied or broken. We are bound by loyalty, sharpened by hardship, and unyielding in the face of those who would bring harm to our people. Missouri stands—not silent, not afraid, and never defeated.