Timeline of Kentucky in the Civil War
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- For more details on this topic, see Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War.
Contents |
[edit] 1861
- February 9, 1861 • Seven states, having declared their secession from the Union, establish a Southern provisional government, the Confederate States of America.
[edit] Spring and Summer 1861
- April 12, 1861 • Confederate forces attack a Federal fort outside Charleston, South Carolina, at the Battle of Fort Sumter, beginning the American Civil War.
- early May, 1861 • Delegates from 5 Jackson Purchase counties meet in Mayfield along with delegates of 12 Tennessee counties to discuss secession, but the plan is abandoned following Tennessee's secession.
- May 10, 1861 • Confederate engineers begin construction of Fort Donelson only twelve miles south of the Kentucky line near Dover, Tennessee.
- May 16, 1861 • Neutrality resolution adopted by Unionist-dominated legislature, though governor Beriah Magoffin was an advocate of secession.
- May 20, 1861 • Kentucky, trying to remain neutral in the American Civil War, issues a proclamation asking both sides to stay off of Kentucky soil.
[edit] Fall and Winter 1861
- September 1, 1861 • President Abraham Lincoln proclaims the Western counties of Kentucky (First Congressional District) to be in rebellion.[1]
- September 3, 1861 • Confederates occupy Columbus, Kentucky, on the banks of the Mississippi River in Hickman County, breaking Kentucky's wishes and compromising its neutrality in the war.
- September 6, 1861 • Forces under Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant occupy Paducah, giving the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River at its confluence with the Ohio River.
- September 7, 1861 • Kentucky State Legislature, angered by the Confederate invasion at Columbus, ordered the Union flag to be raised over the state capitol in Frankfort, declaring its allegiance with the Union
- November 7, 1861 • Ulysses S. Grant leads an attack across the Mississippi River from Columbus called the Battle of Belmont (Missouri), but was forced to withdraw by the arrival of Confederate refinforcements (under Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow) from Columbus.
- November 18, 1861 • The Russellville Convention (116 delegates from 68 counties) names George W. Johnson Kentucky's Confederate governor and Bowling Green its capital under the protection of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston.
- December 10, 1861 • Kentucky becomes the 13th state admitted to the Confederacy with its capital at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and George W. Johnson acting as governor.
- December 28, 1861 • Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest leads a sneak attack against Federal troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden near Sacramento, Kentucky.[2]
[edit] 1862
- January 2, 1862 • Union Colonel James Garfield defeats Confederate Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall at the Battle of Middle Creek.
- January 19, 1862 • Union Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas defeats Confederate Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden at the Battle of Mill Springs, which, following Middle Creek, ends Confederate dominance in Eastern Kentucky and opens Eastern Tennessee to possible Union invasion.
- September 17, 1862 • Confederate General Braxton Bragg, conducting an invasion of Kentucky from Tennessee, captures a Union garrison and transportation center in the Battle of Munfordville.
- October 8, 1862 • Confederate General Braxton Bragg's invasion of Kentucky comes to an end when his army defeats Union Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell at the Battle of Perryville, but then withdraws through the Cumberland Gap, leaving Eastern Kentucky in Union hands for the rest of the war.
- December 17, 1862 • General Grant issues General Order № 11, which calls for the expulsion of all Jews in his district (areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky)
[edit] 1863
[edit] 1864
- March 25, 1864 • Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest raided Paducah as part of his campaign northward from Mississippi to upset the Union domination of the regions south of the Ohio river.[citation needed]
- April 14, 1864 • The Battle of Salyersville is fought in Magoffin County, resulting in a Federal victory in this largest skirmish fought in the county.
- April 14, 1864 • Brig. Gen. Abraham Buford revisits Paducah to capture "140 fine horses" reported by a Dover, Tennessee newspaper to have escaped Forrest's earlier raid.[citation needed]
[edit] Notes
- ^ SECESSION AND THE UNION IN TENNESSEE AND KENTUCKY:A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS p.4 section:Secession in Kentucky
- ^ The Battle of Sacramento/Battlefield History The Battle of Sacramento Committee, Sacramento, Kentucky
