When the Southern states began to secede from the Union after the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860, the South expected Kentucky to join them. The North also worked hard to keep Kentucky in the Union. The state originally took a stance of neutrality but in September 1861, chose to remain with the Union. Still, Kentuckians remained greatly divided over the matter.
Many men from this Union state chose to go south and fight for the Confederacy, often against the wishes of their community, family, and friends. These joined the Confederate army for a number of different reasons. Some fought due to their hatred of Abraham Lincoln and in defense of states' rights, or slavery. Others simply sought the adventure that only army life could provide. In true southern form, many of these men enlisted in the army in defense of honor.
Others remained loyal to their state and country as they enlisted in the Union army. These men did so out of a deep devotion for and love of their country. They did not fight to rid the United States of slavery, but rather to preserve United States. Because of this, the Emancipation Proclamation had a great impact on all Kentuckians and their stance on the war.
Whether they fought or not, the Civil War affected every citizen of Kentucky in one way or another. Even the men who chose not to fight at all and the women who were left behind were still held strong opinions on the war, which are briefly covered in this paper. Many families were divided within the state and Kentucky soldiers often found themselves fighting against their cousins, fathers, brothers, and boyhood friend.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TCU/oai:etd.tcu.edu:etd-04272010-145512 |
| Date | 27 April 2010 |
| Creators | Tarwater, Leah Dee |
| Contributors | Steven E Woodworth |
| Publisher | Texas Christian University |
| Source Sets | Texas Christian University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf, application/octet-stream |
| Source | http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-04272010-145512/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to TCU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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