In the early 1860s, Missouri was deeply divided over war, slavery, and secession. Many settlers had come from Southern states, some owned enslaved people, and many favored slavery or Southern rights, yet a statewide convention in March 1861 rejected secession. After war began in April 1861, neutrality became impossible. Governor Claiborne F. Jackson refused President Abraham Lincoln's order to provide troops, and Missouri descended into chaos as both sides struggled for control, shaping generations to come. In northeast Missouri, bordering the free states of Iowa and Illinois, Underground Railroad stations encouraged enslaved people to escape, and tensions between pro-Union supporters and secessionists grew sharply in 1861. Roving bands attacked one another, both sides recruited actively, and battle lines formed. In Clark County, pro-Union forces moved about the countryside before settling in Athens by July because it offered access to the rail line across the Des Moines River for supplies and recruiting. While occupying the town, they seized food and supplies from citizens and arrested several people as traitors. Pro-secessionist Missouri State Guard forces gathered to confront them, and as both sides prepared for battle, local residents joined each side, setting neighbors and even family members against one another.