Home Guards were groups of pro-Union men who stayed close to their communities to protect against secessionists, often without army-issued weapons and without pay. David Moore recruited and trained the First Northeast Missouri Home Guard, a unit of more than 300 men organized to defend and build pro-Union support in northeast Missouri. In late July 1861, Moore moved his men to Athens, Missouri, a strategically located town across the Des Moines River from Croton, Iowa, with access to the railroad and supplies. From Athens, he sent skirmishers to attack pro-Southern troops. On July 25, local citizens hoping to avoid bloodshed met with Moore to negotiate a truce, but the talks failed when he refused to remove his troops from Athens. On August 4, word arrived that an attack was imminent, and before dawn the next morning Moore and his Home Guards stood ready to defend themselves.