Duke and Greene found a warm reception in the Confederate capital, although the Southern cabinet was divided. Secretary of War Leroy Walker was the biggest opponent. President Jefferson Davis, Attorney General Judah Benjamin and Secretary of State Robert Toombs were the strongest supporters. Davis made vital suggestions as to the exact placement of the cannons; he was intimately acquainted with the area, having served at Jefferson Barracks while in the U.S. Army. Davis gave Duke and Greene a letter to present to the Confederate commander at Baton Rouge, La., where a Federal arsenal already had been seized. The letter authorized the release of six 24-pounder cannons, one 32-inch mortar, six Coehorn mortars, 800 muskets and the fixed ammunition to accompany them. At Baton Rouge, the arms were packed in boxes marked “marble” and addressed to leading Republican leaders in St. Louis to allay suspicion. The materiel made it safely to St. Louis on May 9, and Major James Riddle Shaler of the state militia moved it by wagon to Frost’s camp.

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For their part, Blair and Lyon had not been idle. They had known about the entire secessionist plan from the outset. Well-placed informers in the Minutemen ranks had kept them advised of all the activities of the group. Accordingly, the two Wide-Awake leaders began formulating a plan of their own to quash Frost and Bowen before the arms arrived from Baton Rouge. They had been unceasing in their efforts to have Harney removed from duty. Finally, Lyon was able to obtain direct authority from the War Department to release 7,000 stands of arms from the arsenal to the Unionist Home Guard and to begin active recruiting for the organization, bypassing Harney completely. In this way, Lyon was able to form five regiments to augment his small complement of Regular Army troops.

Frost and Bowen had not been shy about founding their military camp. They christened it Camp Jackson in honor of the governor, and the camp streets were named “Beauregard” and “Jefferson Davis.” The Confederate flag flew openly. Lyon and Blair immediately responded to the threat. Their first step, on May 8, was to remove all the arms from the arsenal, moving them under cover of darkness across the Mississippi to Alton, Ill., just north and east of St. Louis. The following day, when the weapons and cannons arrived from the Confederate government, Lyon undertook a reconnaissance of Camp Jackson. (Legend has it that he dressed as a woman selling pies to gain access to the camp, although how he disguised his flame-red beard has never been properly explained.)

Blair took Lyon before the Committee of Public Safety, the ruling body of the Wide-Awakes, to relate his findings. Lyon urged the capture of Camp Jackson forthwith, but the committee was hesitant to act, fearing open warfare in the streets. The committee also objected to such extreme measures as being in violation of state laws and insisted that any U.S. property held at the camp be recovered by due legal process. Blair and Lyon were equally insistent, and they managed finally to convince the committee to lend its support, with the understanding that a U.S. marshal would head a column of regular U.S. troops and Home Guards and demand the surrender of U.S. property. The combined troops, commanded by Lyon, would stand by to aid the marshal should Frost and his men resist. Plans were made to move against the camp the next day, May 10.

Frost was not without his own spies among the Wide-Awakes, and he had been kept fully abreast of developments. During the preceding two days, he had received numerous reports of a planned move against his men and received positive confirmation on the morning of the 10th. Frost took the initiative of dispatching Bowen to Lyon that morning with a letter stating that neither he nor any part of his command had any intention of overt hostility toward the United States, its property or any of its representatives. Lyon flatly refused to receive Bowen and never read the letter. Instead, he put his column into motion and arrived at the camp about midafternoon.

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