That's rather hard to say, as most of Missouri's population was mixed to a great extent.

However, Shelby County is usually considered part of a region that after the war has been since called "Little Dixie," so we can conclude Shelby County had a large southern population during the war, and I believe the 1860 census bears that our. Since the name "Shelby" seems to have its roots in early Tennessee history, that may also indicate a close southern tie. Several Confederate behind-Union-lines recruiters such as Colonel Joseph Porter and others during 1862 and even others during 1864 gathered many Shelby County southern men into their commands. Shelby County was part of the southern Missouri State Guard's (MSG) 2nd Division, composed of southern men from 15 counties of northeast Missouri north of the Missouri River and west of the Mississippi River as this division was composed in 1861. I examined the 2nd Division of the MSG in Peterson, McGhee, Lindberg, and Daleen's 1995 landmark work, "Price's Lieutenants," between pages 81 and 106, but I saw only one of two companies in that division with "Shelby County" in their name. That is hardly a good measure for what you seek to know, however, as many of the 2nd Division units did not indicate county of origin in unit names. One factor that may have limited southern enlistment in Shelby County was the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad that traversed the south portion of the county. The Union was careful to protect Missouri railroads in order to keep contact with those states to the west, and generally stationed troops along the line. This tended to discourage open southern recruiting, or at least persuaded southern recruiters to keep a low profile. The 1884 National Historical Company's Monroe and Shelby County history may provide some answers, as that book has a Civil War chapter or a part of one. Many Missouri counties had several histories that included Civil War material, but this appears to be the only one with anything on that topic for this county.

Moniteau County was traversed across its middle by the Pacific Railroad, later called the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which also tended to stifle southern recruiting, but there are other indicators that Moniteau County had a large southern population in the war. This county was part of the MSG's Sixth Division, and a check of that part of "Price's Lieutenants" revealed about five companies with "Moniteau County" as part of their name. Likewise, a study of the 1860 census of this county shows southern roots for many families. Two Moniteau County histories--James E. Ford's 1936 one, and Goodspeed Publishing Company's 1889 one--contain Civil War information. Since Moniteau County was only a few miles west of the state capital at Jefferson City in Cole County, Union troops kept a close watch on this area. Most of Missouri's slave population centered along the Missouri River which adjoints this county at its north end.

Since both Shelby and Moniteau Counties were well behind Union lines throughout much of the war, many southern men had to travel south either to Springfield, Missouri or to Arkansas to enlist in Confederate forces.

I hope that helps your quest.

Bruce Nichols