I hardly ever hear of the 77th EMM of Jackson County, because after their formation in August 1862 (at the inauguration of the EMM program under intense pressure that summer from hundreds of southern guerrillas and behind-Union-lines Confederate recruiters) there is little record of any active service until 1864. The close proximity to Quantrill's large, very active band and even other smaller guerrilla bands during 1862 made any active work outside of Kansas City sheer suicide for the EMM facing the better horsed, better armed, and more experienced bushwhackers. This was made obvious when the guerrillas soundly defeated many other nearby EMM units that year, and portions of those, in effect, ceased to exist, at least to active service. The 77th did form nine companies, and their members probably formed sort of a defense force for Kansas City infrastructure and local government facilities, since, except for limited raids by a few guerrillas at a time, Kansas City remained safe from attack for almost the entire war. However, I have not seen documentation that the 77th was active inside Kansas City, but I think they probable were.

But, during 1864 the 77th EMM came alive, and created some record of their activities, after active Federal forces worked to keep the guerrilla threat to a lower level in Jackson County and many of the guerrillas moved further out to neighboring counties.

EMM authorities transferred Captain Allen's Cass County company to become Company I of the 77th as of 23 February 1864, making that the tenth company of the regiment. Company I basically patrolled the empty and burned over landscape of Cass County that was wrecked by the hated District of the Border General Orders Number 11 in September 1863 and subsequent destruction of dwellings and farm infrastructure by Kansas raiders.

In the spring of 1864 the moderate-dominated Missouri General Assembly attempted to undermine the growing radical movement among Missouri northern sympathizers (especially in the military) by imposing Special Orders Number 126 which fired lots of company-grade officers throughout the EMM units "for being too rough on rebels." This order cast out officers in the 77th EMM's Company C, E, F, and all of the officers in Companies G and H. However, it seems many of the fired officers remained in service by joining or even organizing the citizen guards program of civil defense inaugurated that year and intensified during early 1865 under urging and support by Federal authorities. By war's end the citizen guard program for community self defense helped very much to restore civil law, which was the Federal intent from the outset of that program.

The 77th EMM was activated 25 September 1864 ("Official Records," series 1, vol. 41, part 3, page 366) along with most of the other EMM units across Missouri to help counter General Sterling Price's invasion or large-scale raid of the state. What exactly the 77th did after their call-up I don't exactly know. I do know that after General Price's retreat from the Kansas City area in late October some of George Todd's (formerly Quantrill's) guerrillas on several nights sniped at 77th EMM members who were standing guard around Pleasant Hill, which Company I was garrisoning.

The 77th EMM and any other remaining EMM units were disbanded in March 1865 when the EMM program was ended statewide.

Bruce Nichols