Jack,
I was the one that posted on enlistment in Kentucky. Lincoln exempted Kentucky from the draft until later in the war, I believe until Feb. 1864. This was the point where both white and black Kentuckians were conscripted, and by April the Union army began enlisting Kentucky slaves. So Kentuckians could easily avoid regular service for most of the war. At the end of the war the Union military had trouble enforcing the draft. In a few cases the men drafted had already joined the Confederate Army! In other cases men could avoid the draft, but they did not necessarily hide out. In 1864 there are a number of Union provost marshals who were shot at in Kentucky, and more than a few were killed.

To clarify, on average most Kentucky men of military age did not serve in the "formal" Union or Confederate forces. This would vary from county to county, of course. Some county's were more unionist, and some more Confederate in sympathy. Many men simply wanted to stay at home where they could protect their families and property. If a man joined the Confederate army his property was subject to confiscation by the Union army after July 1862. In other cases the property was claimed by creditors and auctioned off by the county courts. Some Kentucky Unionists stayed home and participated in the militia or the state guard, which was reconstituted in 1864.

So these men who stayed at home may have still participated in the war in some form. The Confederate invasion of 1862 is a good example, where many civilians joined militia units to protect Louisville. Then they went home. Also, the guerrilla activity in Kentucky increased in 1864 and continued well into 1865. Unionist and pro-Confederate factions fought among one another during this time. Some were Union or Confederate veterans, but it is likely that some guerrillas and guerrilla hunters were "fence-stitters" who finally decided to jump down on one side or the other. For Kentuckians the poltical struggle was occuring within their state, not to the South.

The material on the draft in Kentucky comes from E. Merton Coultiers detailed but woefully outdated book on "Civil War and Readjustment" in Kentucky. I don't have a copy handy, so I can't quote him. The enlistment patterns I found in Franklin County confirms the average for the entire state as indicated by William W. Freehling in his book "The South vs. The South." Needless to say, counties in the Jackson Purchase and Eastern Kentucky, would have very different patterns of enlistment. But altogether most white Kentuckians stayed close to home, for whatever reason.

Best Regards,

Stephen