I don't intend to inflame anyone's passions, but it is often left unsaid that Kentucky, especially at this very early date, was still strongly for the Union. Kentucky did not secede until after the war. Had Bragg waited, or had he been able to wait, until late 1864, he may have been able to muster enough recruits to win most battles for the Bluegrass State. The Union authorities mismanaged their control of the state so badly by then that an increase in Rebel sympathy could have been the only possible product. Other factors also contributed to his inability to defeat the Union forces in the state. I don't understand why it is assumed that the Union military leaders in the state are considered incompetent or that the majority of Kentuckians were for the South. Neither are true. It is not a foregone conclusion that Bragg (or Longstreet, Hood, or any other Southern general placed in the same position) would have won the battle for Kentucky. If there is any single factor which accounts for Kentucky's swing toward the South it is post-war politics, and not any strategic or tactical factors or any decision made by any single general officer. This is not meant to diminish the efforts or sacrifice of her pro-South citizens as much as it is intended to place them into perspective.

In the eastern end of the state, only Floyd County could claim that as much as 40% of her sons who joined either army joined the Confederacy. That is the highest percentage of any of the border-area counties for which such numbers can be obtained. All other eastern counties had higher percentages of Union Volunteers. Letcher County may have had a higher percentage of Confederates, but that is still debatable since many men from that area (and into Virginia) would join Co. D, 19th Ky. Infantry, or the 39th or 45th Infantries. In the state in general, three times the number of men who donned a uniform would join the Union army over the Confederate. Some will point to the fact that many Union soldiers would re-enlist in another regiment which accounts for the ratio, but this did not occur in the eastern part of the state where almost every Union soldier joined ONE regiment and either stayed the course or deserted before the end. (Only a very small number joined Ohio units or went from the 5th West Virginia or 14th Kentucky Infantry to the 39th or the 45th Infantries.)

Some will also point to the undeniable fact that many Southern sympathizers operated outside the strictures of the military organization, acting as guerrillas, and their numbers must be counted. But, the same holds true for the Unionists. Again, in the east, at least half of the companies organized for Union service had served previously as home guards operating on their own hook, and other home guard units were in existence at the same time as the regular volunteer units. When all factors are weighed into the equation, Kentucky still sent at least two men into Union service for every one sent into Confederate service. If you are a Kentuckian by ancestry, even two or three generations removed, you will almost certainly have ancestors who served on BOTH sides. My own research into the topic has revealed that the Union men are as interesting as the Confederates. To eschew interest in one side or the other is to leave an important part of your own heritage untouched.

So much is made of Kentucky's Confederate minority that the majority who either sided with the Union or who were ambivalent about the war are completely forgotten. John Hunt Morgan's house in Lexington is a shrine while the grave of General Edward Hobson, Morgan's pursuer, is covered with brambles and the stone broken in pieces. The home in which General Garfield made his headquarters in 1862 has been bulldozed to erect a bank, while another home of a Confederate family (which is of only minor importance in regional history) has been turned into a museum. BOTH homes should have been secured and restored for future generations.

I revere my Confederate ancestors as much as I do my Union ancestors and it always troubles me to see so little mention made of the other side. Both sides contributed their best to their respective causes, but this fine state gives so little in the way of honor and simple resources to preserve the landmarks and resting places of all of her heroes. The fault lies in the lap of modern politics, born of grudges made over a hundred years ago and now so worn and weary that no one now remembers how they ever came about. Any nation or state which will give short shrift to its heroes and saviors, regardless of their side, is not deserving of those men and women.

I do not make these statements lightly, nor do I say them without a great deal of research to back them up. And, I certainly do not throw them out there simply to aggravate and annoy anyone in particular. I make them simply to point out that many of us tend to dwell too much on one side or one topic to the exclusion of others. The picture painted will leave any person newly discovering the wonderful tapestry of Kentucky history with an unbalanced and skewed idea of the conflict in which our ancestors were so willing to join. I also recommend that anyone interested in the topic visit the Kentucky Military History Museum in Frankfort, which facility presents a wonderfully balanced display of items of significant historical value to the state and to its citizens and descendants.

Rather than open up a bitter and ultimately pointless argument about my statements here, which would lead to acrimony and hard feelings, I invite you to contact me directly to discuss the matter privately. Thus, we shall avoid alienating the good people logged on to this list-server. I will also state that my credentials are commensurate with those of most recognized historians of the subject in this state, though my education is in another area. In addition, I will offer (anyone who wants to learn more about their ancestry) lookups in the Kentucky AG's Reports, Steve Lynn's indexes for Kentucky Confederate soldiers and pensioners, and a few other sources I have at hand. If you are a descendant of East Kentuckians, mountaineers, I have further resources (many not yet discovered by most other researchers) to help you learn more about your ancestors. Please be kind and understanding when you make a request as it is difficult for me to keep up with the volume of e-mail traffic I receive on a daily basis.

Robert M. Baker,

Historian for the 39th Kentucky Mounted Infantry,
Member, McKee Lodge #144, F. and A. M.,
Signals Officer, Ky. Dept., SUVCW,
Dispatcher, Post 11, Kentucky State Police