Kentucky had been split between the Union and Confederate causes: Kentuckians believed strongly in the value of the Constitution, but much of the population had owned slaves from the state's conception. Thus then-Governor Magoffin and the state legislature declared in 1861 that the state would remain neutral until invaded by either side.
As the war raged, the Kentucky legislature grew more and more aligned with the Union, and both sides rallied forces at the borders of the state. The first to enter, however, was General Leonidas Polk of the Confederates, giving the legislature grounds to end the neutrality and allow Union troops into the state.
By the end of the War, some 50,000 white and 24,000 black Kentuckians fought on the union side, and 35,000 Kenuckians defected to the Confederates. The human cost was great, but in the end, Kentucky's participation on the side of the Union shifted the course of the war and ultimately assured the victory of the Union.
- Joanna Slusarewicz
Sources
http://www.civilwar.org/hallowed-ground-magazine/spring-2010/civil-war-kentucky.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
http://history.ky.gov/landmark/kentuckys-neutrality-during-the-civil-war/
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/confederate-forces-enter-kentucky
As the war raged, the Kentucky legislature grew more and more aligned with the Union, and both sides rallied forces at the borders of the state. The first to enter, however, was General Leonidas Polk of the Confederates, giving the legislature grounds to end the neutrality and allow Union troops into the state.
By the end of the War, some 50,000 white and 24,000 black Kentuckians fought on the union side, and 35,000 Kenuckians defected to the Confederates. The human cost was great, but in the end, Kentucky's participation on the side of the Union shifted the course of the war and ultimately assured the victory of the Union.
- Joanna Slusarewicz
Sources
http://www.civilwar.org/hallowed-ground-magazine/spring-2010/civil-war-kentucky.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
http://history.ky.gov/landmark/kentuckys-neutrality-during-the-civil-war/
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/confederate-forces-enter-kentucky