Kentucky's Military Exhaustion in 1864 and 1865
The introduction of black recruitment
Company E, 4th USCT, 1864
Brief Introduction
By the start of 1864, Kentucky had largely exhausted its white military-age population. Owing to federal and confederate recruiting, coupled with the need for a large state militia, Kentucky had significantly reduced its capability to furnish white recruits. Kentucky was growing so desperate for white troops that by January 1864, the state resorted to conscription for the first time. However, this measure was still not enough as the state simply did not contain enough white men to conscript. During the first three months of 1864 though, Kentucky managed to delay black recruitment. Utilizing its final reserves, the state filled its March quota with white recruits. Hoping to preserve the integrity of slavery for as long as possible, Kentucky had delayed black recruitment at the expense of its white population. Consequently, Kentucky could not continue filling its quota with white men. By April of 1864, for a lack of white volunteers, the state reluctantly allowed federal recruiters to begin accepting its black population into the army.
For the duration of the war, black Kentuckians made-up the majority of the state's union recruits. With the reward of freedom for themselves and, after March 1865, for their families as well, thousands of former slaves entered federal service. Whether through their own will or as a result of conscription, Kentucky's black soldiers actively dismantled slavery in the state. Ironically, while white Kentuckians were fighting to preserve slavery and maintain the status quo, black Kentuckians were serving to free themselves and abolish slavery. Resultantly, by the end of the end of the war, Kentucky's unionist white and black population had effectively exhausted themselves.
This data corresponds to the fourth chapter of my thesis.
Recruitment in 1864 and 1865
By 1864 and 1865, Kentucky's had effectively exhausted its white male population. Michigan and Wisconsin, with their large remaining populations, were still able to recruit in significant numbers. Both states had adopted effective recruiting apparatuses, complete with multi-tiered bounties and conscription, and were able to quickly outpace Kentucky's white recruitment. Through these measures, coupled with their large reserves of manpower, Michigan and Wisconsin consistently met, or came close to meeting, their respective quotas during this period of the war. As a result of their extensive recruiting, Michigan and Wisconsin's recruiting caught-up with Kentucky's and all three states managed to conclude the war with comparable service records.
Source: Adjutant General Reports
Final Attempt to Prevent Black Recruitment
In the opening months of 1864, Kentucky tried to delay black recruitment. After successfully preventing it in 1863, the state struggled to obtain the necessary white troops to meet the state's quota. Required to raise 5,758 troops by March, Kentucky scrounged for as many men as possible. However, due to the depletion of its white male population, the state had to rely on veteran reenlistments which made-up 71 percent of the state's recruits for the year. Kentucky also resorted to conscription in order to meet this quota. Introduced in January of 1864, the draft brought 491 Kentuckians, with an additional 531 substitutes, into the army. Through this effort, Kentucky furnished 6,736 men during January and March of 1864. Representing 69 percent of Kentucky's recruits for the year, these three months were the most productive the state had during 1864. For the other nine months, Kentucky only enlisted an additional 3,890 men to meet its total quota of 20,383. Consequently, the state had to resort to black recruitment in order to meet its quota.
Source: Kentucky Adjutant General Report
Black Recruitment
In April of 1864, black recruitment officially began in Kentucky. During the remaining nine months of 1864, federal agents recruited 19,765 black Kentuckians. Representing 62 percent of the state's black military-age population in 1860, this represents a major recruitment surge in the state. Coupled with the added troops from migrating African Americans, federal agents in Kentucky recruited more black soldiers than in any other state except for Union-occupied Louisiana. Examining the graphs above, it is apparent that these black soldiers made up the majority of Kentucky's recruitment in 1864 and 1865. In fact, black enlistments were so lucrative that, in addition to the white troops, Kentucky managed to obtain more recruits than either Michigan or Wisconsin in 1864.
Source: Adjutant General Reports
Source: Official Records of the War of the Rebellion
Exhausted Black Population
Black recruitment in Kentucky was so effective in 1864 that by the end of the year, the state may have exhausted its African American population. Although it is hard to exactly gauge Kentucky's black military-age population, due to the northward migration of former slaves from the Deep South, it may be reasonable to assume the majority came of these black soldiers came from Kentucky. This does not testify to white Kentuckians' willingness to enlist blacks. Federal dominance, coupled with constant troop needs, trumped Kentucky's reservations regarding the practice and may explain why the black recruiting apparatus was so efficient. Accordingly, by 1865, the majority of Kentucky's black military age male population was in uniform, meaning they could not fill the state's 1865 quota. Assuming the majority of Kentucky's black troops came from the state itself, around 74 percent of its black population was serving by the end of the war. While Michigan and Wisconsin still had some reserves of manpower by the start of 1865, Kentucky had exhausted both its white and black populations.
Source: Official Records of the War of the Rebellion
Source: 1860 Population Census
Total Service Record
While Kentucky's black population reached a service record of 74 percent, the state's white population reached a Union service record comparable to Michigan and Wisconsin. Including Kentucky's state and federal recruits, the state furnished a total of 79,069 white men to the Union cause. After deducting the rebel recruits from the state's population, Kentucky mobilized 73 percent of its remaining white population for Union service. Similar to Michigan's 72 percent and Wisconsin's 74 percent, Kentucky's war record emphasizes that despite fears of abolition, the state was still generally loyal to the Union cause until the end of the war.
Source: Adjutant General Reports