Compare his entreaty to that of Sterling Price a month earlier (OR Ser. I vol. 8 pp. 695-7; follow link below to find this in "The War of the Rebellion"). Price painted a depressingly bleak picture for potential new recruits. I think if I had been a Missourian considering military service this would have convinced me to just stay home.
http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/moa_browse.html