Transcript Kentucky and the Civil war

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When the Civil War began in 1861, Kentucky
remained in the Union
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What is unique about Kentucky in regards to other
states in the Union?
Kentucky slaveholders trusted Lincoln to
protect their property…better known as?
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They also believed that slavery could survive the
stresses and strains of war.
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In 1862, large numbers of fugitive slaves
flocked to Union army garrisons
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Lincoln tried to persuade Kentuckians to accept
a plan a voluntary compensated emancipation
When this failed, Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation
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What happened to many of these runaway slaves?
What did this do?
What did this mean for slaves in Kentucky?
The Emancipation Proclamation linked the
Civil War to a moral cause--- African American
liberation
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By 1863, many Union troops refused to return
runaway slaves
Because of this, entire families of slaves ran for
the safety of U.S. Army camps.
In the spring and summer of 1864, thousands
of Kentucky slaves descended upon Camp
Nelson and other recruiting posts
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What allowed African Americans to enlist in the
military?
Why would they want to fight in the Civil War?
By the wars’ end in 1865, 23,703 Kentucky
blacks had entered the army
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57% of the state’s black men between the ages of 1845
U.S. Colored Troops in formation at their barracks in Camp Nelson, 1865
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By 1865, the war had greatly weakened the
bonds of slavery in Kentucky
In March, Congress freed the wives and
children of the state’s black troops
But because Kentucky, unlike Maryland and
Missouri, refused to free its slaves by state
action, the status of thousands of black
Kentuckians remained unsettled
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The situation worsened when Kentucky rejected the
13th Amendment.
 What did the 13th Amendment call for?
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Many slaveholders hoped that they would
receive compensation from the government for
the loss of their slave property
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Did this happen?
It was not until December of 1865 (when the
13th Amendment was ratified) that all African
Americans in Kentucky were freed.
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Slavery remained a legal institution longer in
Kentucky than in any other state except Delaware
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"I hope to have God on my side, but I must
have Kentucky." In a September 1861 letter to
Orville Browning, Lincoln wrote "I think to lose
Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the
whole game. ... We would as well consent to
separation at once, including the surrender of
the capital."
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In May of 1861, Kentucky legislature declared
the state would take “no part” in the Civil War
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This would lead you to believe that the state
declared itself to be _______________?
However, many Kentuckians would travel to
neighboring states to enlist
Some men would form armed bands, with
weapons smuggled into the state by both the
North and South.
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One of the major negative impacts of the Civil
War in Kentucky was divisions among family
members.
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It was very common for one family to have siblings
fighting for both the North and the South
Churches and businesses would also be
divided during the conflict, forcing
Kentuckians to choose sides.
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The divisions eventually led to a rift
between state government.
 Confederates- Governor George W.
Johnson in Bowling Green
 Union- Governor James F. Robinson in
Frankfort
 Both administrators claimed to be the
state’s rightful government
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Mill Springs- Jan. 1862, took place near
Somerset,
Union
victory
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Confederate commander in Kentucky, Albert
Sidney Johnston, ordered his troops to retreat
into Tennessee
While he was stationed there, rebel forced
attacked the Yankees at the Battle of Shiloh
KY Significance- General Johnston and
Governor Johnson were both killed
1,400 Kentuckians died
 18 Kentucky regiments (13 Union, 5 Confederate)
fought in the battle
 Kentuckians fought each other at several point in the
battle line
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After the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862), the
rebels tried to regain Kentucky
Kentuckian John Hunt Morgan led cavalry
raids across the state and encouraged southern
sympathizers to join the effort
In the fall, two Confederate armies entered
Kentucky
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Edmund Kirby Smith’s army captured Richmond,
Lexington and Frankfort
Braxton Bragg’s army took Munfordville, appointed
Richard Hawes the new Confederate governor in
Frankfort and fought Union commander Don Carlos
Buell at the battle of Perryville
General Buell (Union)
General Bragg (Conf.)
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October 8, 1862
Known for it’s blundering generals, short
duration and high rate of casualties
Was last major battle fought in Kentucky
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The house, tents, and yard were full of wounded Federal and Confederate
soldiers. I can never forget he groans, wails, and mans of the hundreds of men
as they lay side by side, some in the agony of death, some undergoing
operations on the surgeons table in the corner of the yard. Near the table was a
pile of legs and arms; some with shoes on, others with socks, four or five feet
high…(T)he dead were… in a row three hundred feet long, every one with eyes
wide open with a vacant stare.
 - William McChord, reflecting on what he saw at a Perryville field hospital
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After Perryville, the Confederate army left Kentucky
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For the next two and a half years after
Perryville, the war in Kentucky was one of
harsh Union military rule, frequent raids by
Confederate armies, and bitter political conflict
In 1863, martial law was placed on Kentucky
 What
is martial law?
 What were the effects?
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The Union army began to interfere with state
and local elections
 How
so?
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Confederate cavalry led by Nathan Bedford
Forrest led raids across the state
Guerrillas, such as Marcellus Jerome Clarke
and William Clark Quantrill, caused Union
officials to arrest and sometimes execute
Kentuckians said to be pro-Confederate
The states biggest political crisis arose with the
issue of freeing the slaves and the recruitment
of African Americans in the army.
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The Civil War caused Kentucky an enormous
loss.
Property damage was extensive, but the cost of
lives lost was worse
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Of the 100,000 Union soldiers and the 25,000-40,000
Confederates from Kentucky: 1/3 (46,667) died from
battle wounds, accidents, or disease
Most who died were young