Ensuring Loyalty in Kentucky During the Civil War

Abstract

On April 12, 1861, troops from the Southern Confederacy opened fire on the United States Army garrison stationed at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and this attack sparked a four-year-long conflict that consumed the lives of some 650,000 Americans. The war divided the nation and prompted the Border States of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, to consider which side best represented theit interests. Though wanting to remain within the United States, they wanted assurance that slavery would continue. As a result, the loyalty of these states was guaranteed to neither the Union nor the Confederacy. Kentucky, the largest of these Border States in terms of physical size and military age male population, would prove to be essential to the Northern war effort. Because of high battlefield losses, it was imperative for the Union to maintain a source for replacements. In response to this issue, President Abraham Lincoln took a perilous risk with the Border States by allowing the enlistment of African Americans into the Union army. Kentuckians greatly resisted the measure, yet because the state did not wish to see armed black men in uniform, the decision served as an incentive to send enough white men to make black recruitment unnecessary. This fear thus compelled Kentuckians to strengthen their contribution to the Northern war effort and effectively guaranteed theit loyalty to the Union. When the war began, issues ditectly pertaining to slavery became prevalent