USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky > Part 10
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plan of adjustment would be adopted by Congress. He therefore gave his voice for a State convention. In his opinion, civil war was imminent unless it could be arrested by the prompt and energetic action of the several States in their sovereign capacity. He believed that it might be arrested if Kentucky and the other Border States should calmly and firmly present a united front against it. But if the war could not be avoided, he desired that Kentucky should be in a position to decide whether she would sup- port the Federal Union or the Southern cause.
On the other hand, the Union men were distinctly opposed to calling a State convention. They argued that Union views on such a convention would not better the condi- the subject tion of Kentucky, that the legislature had full power to do everything necessary for the good of the Commonwealth. On one point only it could not act. It could not withdraw the State from the Union. It was only through the action of a State convention that such a step could be taken. They believed that if a convention were called, Kentucky might be led to secede. They were assured that most of the people of the State were attached to the Union ; but they knew that in times of high excite- ment men may be tempted to rash action, contrary to their sober judgment.
In the legislature, this important matter was earnestly argued by both sides ; but finally the decision was reached that action at that time on political affairs was
Legislature
against a State both unnecessary and inexpedient, and the convention legislature refused to call a convention that might take the State out of the Union. On February II, the legislature adjourned until March 20. Little was done at this second session of sixteen days beyond further discussion of the state of the country. By special invita-
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KENTUCKY'S POSITION OF NEUTRALITY
tion, an address from the Union standpoint was delivered by John J. Crittenden, which was followed several days later by another from the Democratic point of view by John C. Breckinridge. Crittenden had just left the United States Senate. Breckinridge was his successor.
On the 4th of February, a Peace Conference of twenty- one States assembled at Washington. Kentucky sent six delegates, - William O. Butler, Joshua F. Bell, Definite turn
James B. Clay, James Guthrie, Charles S. in affairs Morehead, and Charles A. Wickliffe; but nothing was accomplished by this meeting. All efforts toward compromise were of no avail. Matters were tending to a crisis. By this time seven States had seceded. On the same day that the Peace Conference opened in Washing- ton, delegates from six of the seceded States met at Mont- gomery, Alabama, to frame a government for The Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was Jefferson Davis elected President. On the 4th of March, Abraham Lin- coln was inaugurated President of the United States.
On the 12th of April, 1861, the first gun in the war between the States was fired on Fort Sumter, in South
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Carolina. The garrison was under the command of Major Robert Anderson of the United States army, a
Beginning native of Kentucky. On the 14th, the Federal
of the war forces were compelled to abandon the fort. The President immediately made proclamation for troops. Kentucky was called on to furnish four regiments for the service of the government. Governor Magoffin promptly telegraphed the following reply to this demand: "In an- swer, I say, emphatically, Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern States." Troops requested for the Confederate States were also refused by the governor.
The Union men now nerved themselves for a mighty effort to hold Kentucky in a position of neutrality. On the 17th of April, Crittenden made a speech
Efforts to hold Kentucky neutral
to a large audience at Lexington. He brought all the weight of his great intellect to bear on his appeal to the people to maintain an independent course. Kentucky, he showed, had done nothing to bring on this war; she had done everything in her power to prevent it. Now that civil strife was begun, there was no reason why Kentucky should be forced to take part either with the North or the South. Let her stand true to the) Union alone and remain in her place as a peacemaker.
The Union State Central Committee (formed January 8) followed up this line of argument in an address to the people. They earnestly urged that Kentucky should persevere in a position of neutrality, and they recom- mended that she should arm herself thoroughly, so that she might protect her soil from the invasion of either the Federal or Confederate forces. Similar Union meetings were held in various localities. Everywhere, it was evi- dent, the desire of the people was for neutrality.
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KENTUCKY'S POSITION OF NEUTRALITY
Thus two facts are apparent to us, -that the people of Kentucky were ardently attached to the Union, and that they were distinctly opposed to war. They believed that the disagreement between Kentucky's at- titude toward the war the North and the South ought to be settled in some peaceable way. They shuddered at the thought of civil war - war between friends and kindred. There- fore there was no probability, just at this time, that the State would decide to unite with the Federal government in resisting the secession of the Southern States.
The extreme Unionists - those who were ready for war -were in the minority. But it was possible that Ken- tucky might decide to support the Southern cause. The Conservative Union men and the Democrats were agreed in believing that the Northern congressmen had no right to make laws against the slave property of the South. But the Democrats believed in the doctrine of State Rights, - that a State had the right to secede when it judged that the Federal government had acted unconsti- tutionally toward it. They dwelt upon the wrongs the South had suffered, and the subject appealed to the spirit of many of the gallant young men of the Commonwealth. The Kentuckian, from the days of his earliest conflict with Indians, had allowed no foe to overcome him. It was his impulse now to rush forward and take his stand beside his resisting brethren. It would not have been impossible, perhaps, by a few impassioned speeches on this line, to have turned the State into the Confederacy.
In this state of feeling the legislature was again assem- bled in called session, May 6. At first it ap- Legislature peared as if the Southern Rights element was in favors media- torial neu- the majority. But there were in that body a trality number of old tried Whigs, - Union men now, - who braced
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themselves to exert every effort to keep their State from the horrors of this war, and to hold her true to the Union. Their strength was as the strength of many because they were convinced that their purpose was righteous. More- over, they were upheld by the will of the people. Petitions poured in from the women of the State, imploring the legislators to "guard them from the direful calamity of civil war." Furthermore, several members who had been elected as Democrats before this crisis of war had come, now went over to the aid of the Union men. Notably among these was Richard T. Jacob, later colonel of the Federal army, and lieutenant governor of the State. And so it came about that this legislature decided the fate of the State, and perhaps of the nation, by voting in favor of mediatorial neutrality.
Kentucky's position of mediatorial neutrality was pri- marily a decision for the Union. It did not mean that the Federal government had no right to raise
Meaning of mediatorial troops for its defense on her soil. It rather neutrality indicated such a right, and was simply a re- quest to the Federal government for a postponement of that constitutional right, in order that an effort might be made on her part to try to win back the seceded States to the Union and to secure peace.1 But if peace were im- possible, and the war should continue, Kentucky was deter- mined to stand by the Union, even to her temporary disad- vantage in the possible destruction of her slave property. What was gained by this position was delay. In that hour of impassioned action every moment of rational inaction was of vital importance.
1 Synopsis of House Resolutions in exposition of the position of the leg- islature of 1861. Offered by the member from Oldham, Richard T. Jacob, and accepted by the legislature, September 1, 1861.
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KENTUCKY'S POSITION OF NEUTRALITY
The Union victory was attained by only one vote in the House and a meager majority in the Senate; but none the less was it regarded by the Conservatives as a triumph which would result in immeas- Union victory urable good. In the list of those who accomplished it are found the names of men who are known to the nation. There are R. A. Buckner, Speaker of the House, C. F. Burnam, Lovell H. Rousseau, James Speed, Joseph R. Underwood, Nathaniel Wolfe, and others too numerous to mention. Old men who were present in that legislature tell us to-day of the deep earnestness of the discussion through which that decision was reached.
Throughout this study we have had occasion to notice the sober dignity with which Kentucky has met every serious issue in her history ; and we have also observed the important work she has done for the nation. Let us especially recall the period of her severest trial, - her tedious struggle for independence from Virginia, -and we shall find that she decided her course of action in this present vital hour of the nation's life in harmony with that judgment which controlled her in the former period.
The governor issued a proclamation setting forth the fact of Kentucky's neutrality, and likewise warning and forbidding any State, whether of the United The governor's
States or of the Confederate States, to enter or proclamation occupy Kentucky with armed forces. The legislature also directed that the State should be armed for her own pro- tection. The necessary funds were immediately raised, and arms and ammunition were procured for the State Guards and the Home Guards; and it was especially pro- vided that neither the arms nor the militia were to be used against either the United States or the Confederate
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States, but solely for the defense of the State of Kentucky. The governor appointed Simon Bolivar Buckner inspector general, Scott Brown adjutant general, and M. D. West quartermaster general.
The President called a special session of Congress for July 4, 1861. The election thus made necessary is de-
Union men scribed by one of the Union workers of that elected time as follows: "And now the contest opened before the people of Kentucky, and the Union All men went boldly and confidently into the fray. . . .
eyes were at once turned to Mr. Crittenden, and his ser- vices were demanded in that Congress. ... The noble old man heard the call and did not hesitate for a moment.
Animated by intense patriotism and the stirring scenes around him, he moved through the district with all the vigor and spirit of a young man, unbent by age, his manly form erect, his voice clear and thrilling, his eye blazing with all the fervor which the high responsibility of his position inspired. Crowds flocked to listen to him; the people everywhere responded to his appeal. . . He was elected by a large majority. Many others of the best men of the State were sent to Congress.1 The most trusted men were selected for the legislature, and secession was no longer thought of in Kentucky.
"No one doubts that had Mr. Crittenden faltered at all, or had he pursued any other course than that which he did Crittenden's pursue, Kentucky would have been lost to the
influence Union. His personal influence in the late legis- lature had contributed much to prevent injudicious action.
1 The men selected to represent the State in this Congress were Henry C Burnett, James S. Jackson, Henry Grider, Aaron Harding, Charles A. Wick- liffe, George W. Dunlap, Robert Mallory, John J. Crittenden, William H. Wadsworth, and John W. Menzies.
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KENTUCKY'S POSITION OF NEUTRALITY
His eloquence and his great popularity secured the tri- umph of the Union men in his district; and the great confidence the whole State reposed in him kept the State in the Union. Should Kentucky at that critical moment have cast her destiny with the South, who can calculate what might have been the result ? " 1
RECAPITULATION
Both Lincoln and Davis born in Ken- tucky.
Lincoln elected President of the United States, 1860.
His election objectionable to the South.
South Carolina and six other States secede.
Crittenden's compromise resolutions rejected by United States Senate.
Border States' compromise resolu- tions also rejected.
Crittenden's efforts for peace appre- ciated at home.
Speakers urge the people to be mod- erate in action.
The legislature meets in called ses- sion.
The governor's message.
He recommends calling a State con- vention.
Democrats generally desire this step. Views of Vice President Breckin- ridge on the subject.
He earnestly advocates holding such a convention.
It would enable the State to decide her course toward the war.
Union party strongly oppose calling a State convention.
They fear the State might thus be led to secede.
Legislature decides not to hold a State convention.
Legislature addressed on the condi- tion of the country.
J. J. Crittenden speaks from the Union point of view.
J. C. Breckinridge speaks from the Democratic point of view.
Peace conference at Washington ac- complishes nothing.
The crisis approaching.
The Confederate States of America formed.
Jefferson Davis chosen President.
Lincoln inaugurated President of the United States.
Confederates fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina.
Major Robert Anderson, U.S.A., in command.
Federals obliged to abandon the fort.
President Lincoln makes proclama- tion for troops.
Confederate States also request troops.
Governor Magoffin declines both re- quests.
1 W. B. Kinkead in.an article on John J. Crittenden in the New York Sun.
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Union men strive to hold Kentucky neutral for a time.
Crittenden recommends an indepen- dent course.
He shows that Kentucky had no part in bringing on the war.
He urges the people not to rush into the contest, but to remain peace- makers, true to the Union.
Union meetings held in various local- ities.
All recommend the same course.
Kentucky much attached to the Union.
Generally opposed to war.
Does not intend just yet to enter the war on the Federal side.
More chance of her supporting the Confederate cause.
It appeals to the sympathy of the young men of the State.
Conservative Union men and Demo- crats widely differ on one point.
Democrats believe that a State has a right to secede.
Second called session of legisla- ture.
Southern Rights element in the ma- jority at first.
Conservative Union men make a strong fight.
Several Democrats come to their aid.
Mediatorial neutrality carried.
This was a plea to the Federal gov- ernment to postpone raising troops in the State while further efforts for peace were made.
Above all it meant a decision for the Union.
The State armed for her own protec- tion.
Special election of Congressmen held.
Crittenden helps to secure the Union victory. -
CHAPTER XVI
THE INVASION OF KENTUCKY, JULY 1861-APRIL 1862
HAD the other States followed Kentucky's example of forbearance, there would have been no war. But perhaps war was necessary. Perhaps it was the only Beginning of
the tragedy means by which the abolition of slavery could be accomplished. Of course it was impossible for Ken- tucky to make peace, and equally im- possible for her to remain apart from the combat.
Outside the borders of the State, at Camp Clay opposite Newport, and Camp Joe Holt opposite Louisville, Federal regiments were being recruited, and thither in the summer of 1861 hastened many Unionists of the State. Many dissatisfied Secessionists assem- bled at Camp Boone near Clarksville, Tennessee, where Confederate troops were being enlisted. And thus began the tragedy in Kentucky ! Most of the other States went solidly with one side or the other ; but Kentucky was divided Union Soldier against herself ! Fathers differed from sons, and went forth to fight against them. Brothers parted from brothers, friends from friends. Ah, the awful anguish of it all !
C
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On the soil of Kentucky itself Federal forces were organized at Camp Dick Robinson, in Garrard County, by
Federal and General William Nelson. General Humphrey
Confederate
forces organized Marshall had a recruiting camp in Owen
in Kentucky County, thirty miles from the capital, where Confederate forces were organized. In other parts of the State, Confederate troops were raised by Colonel Blanton Dun- can. And still, the State's neutral position was not yet officially abandoned.
On the 20th of May, 1861, the definite Confederate government was organized at Rich- Kentucky is mond, Virginia. In Union that State, on the 21st of July, the first great battle of the war was fought along the banks of Bull Run stream, not far from Manassas Junction. The result was defeat to the Federals, and a general rout Confederate Soldier and flight of their forces. Hope was inspired in the hearts of the Confederates; but the Federals fought with renewed energy. Each side watched Kentucky with interest. The August elections came off, and the State voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Unionists. Seventy-six Union to twenty-four State Rights members were elected to the House; twenty-seven to eleven, to the Senate. The newly elected legislature as- sembled September 2, 1861.
The day following, by an almost simultaneous move upon Kentucky, the State was invaded by Confederate forces at two different points. Major General Leonidas
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THE INVASION OF KENTUCKY
Polk, of Tennessee, occupied and fortified a strong posi- tion at Hickman and Columbus, in the southwest, and General Zollicoffer established troops near Confederates Cumberland Gap, in the southeast. Where- invade Ken- upon, on the 5th, a Federal army of several tucky thousand strong, under an order from Brigadier General U. S. Grant, entered Kentucky and took its position at Paducah. The legislature promptly ordered that the flag of the United States be hoisted on the capitol, to proclaim Kentucky's Union attitude.
General Polk notified Governor Magoffin that he would withdraw his troops provided the Union troops were simultaneously withdrawn; and offered the Legislature
orders with- further guarantee that Confederate troops drawal of Con- should remain out of the State provided Fed- federates 1
eral troops should not be allowed to enter or occupy any point in Kentucky in the future. Now the Union people disapproved of the condition thus laid down by General Polk.1 On the IIth, the legislature passed resolutions to the effect that Kentucky expected the Confederate troops to withdraw from her soil unconditionally. The governor, who was opposed to the Union policy, and in sympathy with the Confederacy, vetoed the resolution, but it was passed immediately over his veto.
As the Confederate forces refused to comply with this order, on September 18, the State, in her General Assem- bly, abandoned the neutrality position, and de- clared herself an active supporter of the Federal Neutrality position government. Resolutions were introduced and abandoned carried : (1) to request General Robert Anderson, who had already been appointed commander of the Department
1 See p. 168, the meaning of mediatorial neutrality.
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of the Cumberland, which included Kentucky, to take instant command, with authority to call out the volunteer force of the Common- wealth for the purpose of expelling the in- vaders from the soil; (2) to protect all peaceable citizens while this necessary duty was being per- formed ; (3) to request the governor to give all the aid in his power to accomplish this end, and to call out the militia force of the State under his con- Robert Anderson trol, and place it under the command of Gen-
eral Thomas L. Crittenden ; (4) to invoke the patriotism and aid of every Kentuckian for the defense of the Com- monwealth. Again the governor used his right of veto, and again the legislature disregarded his act. Several days later, a bill was passed, - notwithstanding the usual veto, - directing the governor to call out not less than forty thousand Kentuckians to be placed under the authority of the commanding general, to aid in expelling the in- vaders.
The State Guard, who had been armed and equipped by the State for her own use and protection, laid down their The State arms in some instances, and in others carried Guard them with them, and went almost in a body into the ranks of the Confederacy, whither their principles
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THE INVASION OF KENTUCKY
or sympathy led them. On September 18, their leader, Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner, was ordered to invade Kentucky and to fortify a central camp at Bowl- ing Green. This point became, for a time, the headquarters of the Con- federate Army of the West, then placed under the command of Gen- eral Albert Sidney John- ston, a Kentuckian by birth.
As early as July, Gen- eral Lloyd Tilghman, a resident of Paducah, had resigned his position in the State Guard, and at the head of the third Thomas L. Crittenden Kentucky regiment of infantry, had joined the Confeder- ate army. Paducah was intensely Southern, and most of the young men of the city, previously members of the State Guard, went with Tilghman. From the force of the State Guard, also, went John Hunt Morgan, then captain of the Lexington Rifles, to become the famous Kentucky cavalry raider, - General Morgan of the Confederacy. By some daring stratagem, he succeeded in evading the Fed- eral authorities, and leading most of his company, all car- rying their arms with them, he reached Bowling Green a few days after General Buckner had taken his station there.
On the contrary, the Home Guards were nearly all sup- porters of the Federal government. But they were a KENT. HIST. - 12
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body of undisciplined troops who were not always wise in their conduct. Arrests of innocent persons were fre-
The Home quently made by them, and thereby wrath was
Guard awakened among the Southern sympathizers against the Union policy the State had adopted.
The legislature heartily condemned all such unjustifiable arrests, and General Anderson, who was always fair as well as brave, issued a proclamation of protection to the people. It was to the effect that no Kentuckian should be arrested unless he took part, either by action or speech, against the authorities of the general or State government, held correspondence with, or gave aid or assistance to, the enemy.
Under a construction of this order of the command- ing general, a Prominent number of arrests Confederates arrested
were made of men who, by their position, were able to give efficient aid to the Confederate cause. William Preston James B. Clay was arrested for this reason, as were also Reuben T. Durrett, editor of the Louisville Courier, and ex-Governor Charles S. Morehead, who were sent to politi- cal prisons in the East. The judge of Harrison County and other officers of that court were arrested and sent to the United States barracks at Newport. Every effort was put forth to constrain the citizens to submit to the Union policy which the State had adopted.
The State was being rapidly divested of her South-
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THE INVASION OF KENTUCKY
ern sympathizers among the soldiers. During the last week of September, nearly one thousand Kentuckians passed into Virginia, to join the Southern Confederate forces. John C. Breckinridge left his seat in leaders
the United States Senate to become brigadier general in the Confederate army. Other notable leaders of Confederate volunteers were Roger W. Hanson, Ben Hardin Helm, George W. Johnson, Humphrey Mar- shall, William Preston, and John S. Williams.
Meanwhile the State was gathering loyal soldiers for the Federal service. It is difficult to estimate the exact numbers furnished to the Con- federate side; but it may be generally stated that about three times as many of the inhabitants of the Common-
Divided wealth went into households the Federal army
Bland Ballard
as into the Confederate. Nevertheless, many mothers and aged fathers who re- mained at home awaited in anguish and suspense the tidings from the opposing armies, each of which contained dearly loved members of their divided families.
The departure of the Confederates left vacant a number of State offices. John W. Finnel, an efficient Union mem- ber of the legislature, was appointed adjutant Important
general, in the place of Scott Brown, and official changes William A. Dudley quartermaster general, in the place of M. D. West, who had followed his associate into the Southern army. Bland Ballard was appointed United
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