Joe --

I haven't studied western Kentucky or eastern Tennesee, but did research a county in Alabama, looking for every male on the 1860 census in the age range twelve to sixty. Out of three thousand identifications, enlistments tended to drop off for men in their thirties, especially as we got into age forty and above.

Most of the men that I could not identify were older (age thirty-five plus), married and owned property. It appears that such men attached more importance to being at home to provide for their families and protect their property. Sometimes they had responsibility for other households in their extended family, such as a widowed mother-in-law, or a sister-in-law whose husband was in the army, or a brother who had enlisted.

Older men had the maturity and experience to properly appreciate the hardships involved in military service. Day-to-day life in the army -- sleeping outside in the cold and damp, pneumonia and an assortment of other dread diseases, going for days without a decent meal, fatigue, boredom, having to take orders from younger men who didn't always know what they were doing -- all these were reasons to think twice before enlistment.

Confederate authorities didn't attempt to enforce the Conscript laws in eastern Tennessee, and were disappointed that more men didn't volunteer from Kentucky.

Were some men recruited at gunpoint? I'm sure there were many such cases, but most reluctant soldiers deserted at their first opportunity.

Joe, it's my contention that older men with family responsibilities were inclined to remain at home whenever possible. Most just wanted to be left alone. When conditions at home deteriorated, some packed up and took their families elsewhere. Others could be coaxed into enlisting if assured that their unit would serve near home. A majority appear to have remained with their wives and children.

If this was my ancestor, I'd check on a military service file as a possibility, but would want details (age and residence) to match closely before I would feel comfortable with a match.