Kentucky's loyalties in 1862
The beginning of military exhaustion
22nd Kentucky Infantry, 1863
Brief Introduction
After Kentucky's recruitment drive in 1861, the state's enlistments decreased in 1862. Concerned about casualties, invasion, guerrilla fighting, and the growing influence of abolition, Kentuckians may have been somewhat weary about enlisting in federal service. Consequently, scholars have contended that Kentucky's unionist population gradually lost interest in serving the Union as they feared their efforts may be supporting radical abolitionism. Correlating Kentucky's declining volunteerism to the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, historians have maintained that Kentucky's unionist sentiment had significantly declined by late 1862.
However, these arguments do not account for Kentucky's recruitment capabilities in 1862. Considering the state's significant enlistment efforts in 1861, coupled with the added strains of Confederate recruiting and the need for a state militia, Kentucky's quota was unreasonably too high. Additionally, Kentucky had to increasingly contend with an internal insurgency as well as another invasion. Kentuckians chose to remain at home and protect their property instead of volunteering for federal service. Considering these factors, one could conclude that although Kentucky did not recruit as many men as Michigan or Wisconsin, war weariness and emancipation did not necessarily discourage federal recruitment. Instead, as the graphs below display, Kentucky's diminished volunteerism reflect the beginning of military exhaustion in the state.
This data corresponds to the second chapter of my thesis.
Recruitment in 1862
Kentucky's Union recruitment in 1862 fell slightly behind Michigan and Wisconsin. Confederate recruiting and the need for a strong Home Guard, had reduced Kentucky's recruitment capabilities to the extent that the state was beginning to feel the effects of military exhaustion by the end of 1862. The federal government did not consider either of these when it determined Kentucky's quota. In Kentucky's Adjutant General Report, the state estimated that at least 17,000 men had left the state to join the Confederate forces. Although this number conveniently explains why Kentucky was short of its quota, it is nonetheless reasonable. Confederate reports in July of 1861 indicated that some 10,000 Kentuckians had entered rebel forces. Therefore, it is possible that during August of 1861 to December of 1862, an additional 7,000 may have joined Confederate forces. This pressure on Kentucky's manpower may explain why the state's enlistments declined from 1861.
However, Michigan and Wisconsin also failed to meet their respective quotas. Although they managed to recruit slightly more troops than Kentucky, they did not have to contend with the additional strains that Kentucky did. Neither Michigan nor Wisconsin contended with guerrilla warfare or the threat of an invasion which would have forced them to retain men for state defense. Instead, increasing casualties and political partisanship regarding the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, weighed on these states and seemed to negatively affect their recruitment. Even though Michigan and Wisconsin contained more eligible men than Kentucky, these concerns hindered these states from meeting their respective quotas.
Source: Adjutant General Reports
Proportional Service Record
Although Kentucky recruited fewer troops in 1862, the state still maintained a comparable service record to Michigan and Wisconsin. By the end of 1862, 48 percent of Kentucky's eligible manpower was serving in either one side or the other. Aside from war weariness or concerns regarding the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Kentucky's high-performance record may explain why the state fell so short of its quota. The Border State's overall service record indicates that despite furnishing fewer troops in 1862, the state was just as committed to the union war effort as Michigan or Wisconsin.
Source: Kentucky Adjutant General Report
Source: 1860 Population Census
Impact of preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, released by President Lincoln on 22 September, generally did not have a significant impact on Kentucky's loyalty to the Union. As this graph shows, 25 percent of the state's recruitment for 1862 occurred between September and December. Fearing the prospect of losing the economy and society slavery afforded them, white Kentuckians may have bolstered their commitment to the Union in the hope that the war would conclude before emancipation became effective on the first of January. Despite falling short of its quota, these final three months represented one of Kentucky's most productive recruitment periods. This fact, coupled with the argument that Kentucky's field troops did not mutiny in response to the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, suggests that emancipation did not significantly hamper Kentucky's unionist resolve. Rather, as the state's recruitment data indicates, these measures seemed to motivate Kentucky pro-slavery unionism.
Source: Kentucky Adjutant General Report
Exhaustion: Available manpower by the end of 1862
Displayed in green, these graphs emphasize each state's remaining population after the recruitment drives of 1862. The Union soldiers Kentucky recruited since it officially entered the war in September 1861, coupled with the state militia and the men lost to rebel recruiting, show Kentucky's manpower was under considerable strain by the end of 1862.
Michigan and Wisconsin meanwhile, unaffected by invasion or subversive recruiting, maintained relatively healthy reserves of manpower at the end of 1862. Relying heavily on state bounties and the threat of a draft, both states were able to provide thousands of more troops than Kentucky. However, despite Kentucky's handicaps, the state's proportional Union service record of 32 percent compared to Michigan's 31 percent and Wisconsin's 34 percent. Despite already experiencing the effects of military exhaustion by the end of 1862, Kentuckians redoubled their efforts in 1863 to furnish enough white volunteers to prevent the need of black recruitment in their state.
Source: Adjutant General Reports