Kentucky in the War of 1812
During the War of 1812, Kentucky supplied numerous troops and supplies to the war effort. Because Kentucky did not have to commit manpower to defending fortifications, most Kentucky troops campaigned actively against the enemy. This led to Kentucky seeing more battle casualties than all other states combined.[1]
War of 1812
With the impending onset of hostilities, the governor of the
Militia
Some 25,010 Kentuckians served in war, which was about five out of every six men then of military age. Fighting against both the British and their Native Americans allies, Kentucky sent a total of 36 regiments, four battalions, and twelve independent companies to the field, an almost unbelievable accomplishment considering the state's small population at the time.[5]
Counties named for fallen River Raisin officers[6] | |
---|---|
Allen County | John Allen |
Ballard County | Bland Ballard |
Edmonson County | John Edmonson
|
Graves County | Benjamin Franklin Graves |
Hart County | Nathaniel G. S. Hart |
Hickman County | Paschal Hickman |
McCracken County | Virgil McCracken |
Meade County | James Meade |
Simpson County | John Simpson |
Many Kentuckians also took part in Andrew Jackson's defeat of a British force at the Battle of New Orleans, which took place (unknown to the participants) after the peace treaty had already been signed.
Kentucky militia service in U.S. Army campaigns
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Ohio
- Michigan
- Ontario, Canada
- Louisiana
Isaac Shelby, Kentucky's 1st and 5th Governor and Revolutionary War hero, helped lead the Kentucky militia in the War of 1812 in the recapture of Fort Detroit from the British when he was in his 60s, leading to its renaming as Fort Shelby. Shelby also joined General Harrison in pursuing the retreating British troops led by Major-General Henry Procter and the Indian leader Tecumseh into Canada, defeating them and killing Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames.
Almost all the American soldiers at the Battle of Wild Cat Creek, fought in northern Indiana, were residents of the Hopkinsville, Kentucky area in southwestern Kentucky.[8]
Homefront
Kentucky helped supply the war. A major supply depot for the war was at
The war also affected the state's economy. Due to the inability to trade with Britain during the war, "rudimentary manufacturing" was spurred during the timeframe.
Future governors
The War of 1812 had a lasting effect on Kentucky. One consequence was that the Shawnee never again challenged white control of the state.[14] Also, a number of Kentucky's future leaders served in the war. Counting Isaac Shelby's second term, which began just after the outbreak of hostilities, six consecutive governors of Kentucky were veterans of the war. Later governors Charles A. Wickliffe and John J. Crittenden also served as aides-de-camp in the war. Twenty-two of Kentucky's one hundred twenty counties are named for participants in the War of 1812, including nine that were named after soldiers killed at the Battle of River Raisin.
References
- ^ Kleber p.930
- ^ a b "Indiana Territory — Timeline". Indiana State Government. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ^ Mahon pp.63,64
- ^ Kleber p.506
- ^ Quisenberry, A.C. (1912). "Kentucky Troops in the War of 1812". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 10 (30). Kentucky Historical Society. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
- ^ a b "Battle of River Raisin — January 22, 1813". Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
- ^ Kleber p.15
- ^ Ferguson, Rich (March 3, 2008). "Indianapolis Tonight". WIBC. Retrieved January 15, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Kleber p.155
- ^ Kleber pp.167,387
- ^ Kleber p.605
- ^ Kleber p.280
- ^ Kleber p.266
- ^ Kleber p.815
Sources
- Kleber, John E., ed. (1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
- Mahon, John K. (1991). The War of 1812. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80429-8.
Further reading
- "Causation of the War of 1812". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 48 (2). April 1950.
- Hall, Ellery L. (October 1930). "Canadian Annexation Sentiment in Kentucky Prior to the War of 1812". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 28 (85).
- Hammack, James Wallace (1976). Kentucky and the Second American Revolution: The War of 1812. The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0216-2.
- Harris, James Russell (Summer 1984). "Kentuckians in the War of 1812: A Note on Numbers, Losses, and Sources". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 82 (3).
- "Imprisonment of British Officers in the Frankfort Penitentiary, War of 1812". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 48 (3). July 1951.
- Kinkead, Elizabeth Shelby (1915). "Chapter IX: The War of 1812". A History of Kentucky. American Book Company. pp. 116–126. ISBN 1-4374-5612-X. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
- Quisenberry, Anderson Chenault (1915). Kentucky in the War of 1812. The Kentucky State Historical Society. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
- Quisenberry, Anderson Chenault (January 1914). "Kentucky "Regulars" in the War of 1812". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 12 (34).
- Quisenberry, Anderson Chenault (September 1912). "Kentucky Troops in the War of 1812". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 10 (30).
- Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate (1885). "Chapter XII: The War of 1812". Kentucky: A Pioneer Commonwealth. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 158–171. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
- Wilson, Samuel (September 1911). "Kentucky's Part in the War of 1812". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 9 (27).