Timeline of Kentucky in the Civil War
Encyclopedia
1861
- February 9, 1861 • Seven states, having declared their secession from the UnionUnion (American Civil War)During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
, establish a Southern provisional governmentProvisional governmentA provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
, the Confederate States of AmericaConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
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Spring and Summer 1861
- April 12, 1861 • Confederate forces attack a Federal fort outside Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South CarolinaCharleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, at the Battle of Fort SumterBattle of Fort SumterThe Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...
, beginning the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
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- May 10, 1861 • Confederate engineers begin construction of Fort DonelsonFort DonelsonFort Donelson was a fortress built by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River leading to the heart of Tennessee, and the heart of the Confederacy.-History:...
only twelve miles south of the Kentucky line near Dover, TennesseeDover, TennesseeDover is a city in Stewart County, Tennessee, United States, westnorthwest of Nashville on the Cumberland River. An old national cemetery is in Dover. The population was 1,442 at the 2000 census...
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- May 16, 1861 • Neutrality resolution adopted by Unionist-dominated legislature, though governor Beriah MagoffinBeriah MagoffinBeriah Magoffin was the 21st Governor of Kentucky, serving during the early part of the Civil War. Personally, Magoffin adhered to a states' rights position, including the right of a state to secede from the Union, and he sympathized with the Confederate cause...
was an advocate of secession.
- May 20, 1861 • Kentucky, trying to remain neutral in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, issues a proclamation asking both sides to stay off Kentucky soil.
- May 29–31, 1861 • Delegates from 5 Jackson Purchase counties meet in MayfieldMayfield, KentuckyAs of the census of 2000, there were 10,349 people, 4,358 households, and 2,667 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,549.8 people per square mile . There were 4,907 housing units at an average density of 734.8 per square mile...
along with delegates of 12 Tennessee counties to discuss secession, but the plan is abandoned following Tennessee's secession.
1862
- January 10, 1862 • Union Colonel James GarfieldJames GarfieldJames Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
defeats Confederate Brig. Gen. Humphrey MarshallHumphrey Marshall (general)Humphrey Marshall was a four-term antebellum United States Congressman and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army and a Confederate Congressman during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
at the Battle of Middle CreekBattle of Middle CreekThe Battle of Middle Creek was an engagement fought January 10, 1862, in Eastern Kentucky during the American Civil War. The battle, along with the Battle of Mill Springs, positioned the Union armies to invade Middle Tennessee....
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8 January 11, 1862 • Confederate vessels fall back during the Battle of Lucas Bend
Battle of Lucas Bend
The Battle of Lucas Bend took place on January 11, 1862 near Lucas Bend, four miles north of Columbus on Mississippi River in Kentucky as it lay at the time of the American Civil War. In the network of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio rivers, the Union river gunboats under Flag Officer Andrew...
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- January 19, 1862 • Union Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas defeats Confederate Maj. Gen.Major GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
George B. CrittendenGeorge B. CrittendenGeorge Bibb Crittenden was a career United States Army officer who served in the Black Hawk War, the Army of the Republic of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and was a general in the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War.-Early life:Crittenden was born in Russellville, Kentucky, his...
at the Battle of Mill SpringsBattle of Mill SpringsThe Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It...
, which, following Middle Creek, ends Confederate dominance in Eastern Kentucky and opens Eastern Tennessee to possible Union invasion.
- September 17, 1862 • Confederate General Braxton BraggBraxton BraggBraxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
, conducting an invasion of Kentucky from Tennessee, captures a Union garrison and transportation center in the Battle of MunfordvilleBattle of MunfordvilleThe Battle of Munfordville was an engagement in Kentucky during the American Civil War. Victory there allowed the Confederates to temporarily strengthen their hold on the region and impair Union supply lines....
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- October 8, 1862 • Confederate General Braxton BraggBraxton BraggBraxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
's invasion of Kentucky comes to an end when his army defeats Union Maj. Gen. Don Carlos BuellDon Carlos BuellDon Carlos Buell was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles—Shiloh and Perryville. The nation was angry at his failure to defeat the outnumbered...
at the Battle of PerryvilleBattle of PerryvilleThe Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
, but then withdraws through the Cumberland GapCumberland GapCumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
, leaving Eastern Kentucky in Union hands for the rest of the war.
- December 17, 1862 • General GrantUlysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
issues General Order № 11, which calls for the expulsion of all Jews in his district (areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky)
1863
- April 1863 • Camp Nelson established in southern Jessamine CountyJessamine County, KentuckyJessamine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, which was the center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. It was formed in 1799. The population was 48,586 in the 2010 Census...
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- July 2, 1863 • John Hunt MorganJohn Hunt MorganJohn Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
rides into Kentucky as part of Morgan's RaidMorgan's RaidMorgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
, which departed Sparta, TennesseeSparta, TennesseeSparta is a city in White County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,599 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of White County. It was the hometown of Lester Flatt of the bluegrass music legends Flatt and Scruggs.-Geography:...
on June 11.
- October 1863 • General Hugh Ewing assumes command of Louisville.
1864
- March 25, 1864 • Confederate General Nathan Bedford ForrestNathan Bedford ForrestNathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
raided PaducahPaducah, KentuckyPaducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
as part of his campaign northward from Mississippi to upset the Union domination of the regions south of the Ohio river.
- April 14, 1864 • The Battle of SalyersvilleBattle of SalyersvilleThe Battle of Salyersville, also called Battle of Ivy Point Hill, was the largest of the many skirmishes in Magoffin County, Kentucky, during the American Civil War....
is fought in Magoffin CountyMagoffin County, KentuckyMagoffin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky which was formed from parts of Floyd, Johnson, and Morgan Counties and officially created on 22 February 1860. As of 2000, the population was 13,332. Its county seat is Salyersville...
, resulting in a Federal victory in this largest skirmish fought in the county.
- April 14, 1864 • Brig. Gen. Abraham BufordAbraham Buford IIBrigadier General Abraham "Abe" Buford II was a soldier and Thoroughbred horse breeder. Born in Woodford County, Kentucky, his origins were a Huguenot family named Beaufort who fled persecution in France and settled in England before emigrating to America in 1635.Abraham Buford was the son of...
revisits Paducah to capture "140 fine horses" reported by a Dover, TennesseeDover, TennesseeDover is a city in Stewart County, Tennessee, United States, westnorthwest of Nashville on the Cumberland River. An old national cemetery is in Dover. The population was 1,442 at the 2000 census...
newspaper to have escaped Forrest's earlier raid.
- June, 1864 • Major Gen. Stephen G. BurbridgeStephen G. Burbridge-External links:* — Article by Civil War historian/author Bryan S. Bush...
assumes military command over Kentucky.