150 Years Ago -- The Confederate Army Invades Kentucky

Image of Leonida Polk via Wikipedia

Kentucky's position of neutrality in the Civil War was doomed to fail.  It finally came to an end on Tuesday, September 3, 1861, when Confederate troops under Brigadier General Gideon Pillow crossed into the state from Tennessee to occupy Columbus.  The troops soon placed guns on the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.

The move was ordered by Pillow's superior, Major General Leonidas Polk.  He feared the Federals were planning to occupy the town and was trying to beat them to the punch.  He would soon announce that he had occupied the town to protect it.

Polk was correct in his assessment of the situation.  The Federals were massed across the river in Missouri, and Major General John Frémont had ordered Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant to occupy Columbus as soon as possible.

Polk had signaled his intentions in a letter to pro-secessionist Kentucky Governor Beriah Magoffin on September 1:  "I think it of the greatest consequence to the Southern cause in Kentucky or elsewhere that I should be ahead of the enemy in occupying Columbus and Paducah."  When the troops were in motion, Polk wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis to tell him what he had done and why.

Pro-Unionist Kentuckians protested, but the greatest protests came from Tennessee Governor Isham Harris.  As long as Kentucky could stay out of the war, it would act as a shield protecting Tennessee from invasion.  Harris wrote to Confederate Secretary of War LeRoy Walker, who ordered Polk to withdraw immediately, but Davis countermanded the order, telling Polk that "the necessity justifies the action."

150 Years Ago: More Tensions

On Monday, April 8, 1861, R. S. Chew, Lincoln's emissary from the State Department, arrived in Charleston and fulfilled his mission, informing South Carolina Governor Francis Pickens that a relief expedition was coming to Fort Sumter.  Pickens informed General P. G. T. Beauregard, who placed all Confederate forces in the harbor on alert.  The supplies for the fort left New York harbor on this day aboard the Harriet Lane.

Meanwhile, Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Walker approved General Braxton Bragg's request to open fire if an attempt were made to reinforce Fort Pickens at Pensacola.

William T. Sherman had been offered a job in the War Department.  On this date he had turned it down, leading many to believe that he planned to join the Confederate Army.

February 19, 1861: Davis's Cabinet

On Tuesday, February 19, 1861, just one day after his inauguration, Jefferson Davis completed his cabinet:

Secretary of State Robert Toombs

Toombs, a Georgian, was a close personal friend of Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens. He served in the Georgia House of Representative, then won a seat in the United States House of Representatives as a Whig. As the Whig Party broke up, he flirted briefly with the Constitutional Union Party, then reluctantly became a Democrat. He served in the United States Senate from 1853-1861.

Secretary of War LeRoy Walker

Walker was a scion of a prominent Alabama family. He served in several legislative and judicial positions in state government, including two terms as Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives. Davis didn't know Walker, but was looking for an Alabaman so that each state would be represented in the new government. Walker was recommended by a group of supporters.

Secretary of the Treasury Christopher Memminger

Memminger was born in Vaihingen, Würtemberg (now Stuttgart, Germany), but emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina, with his mother as a toddler. He served two long stints (1836-1852 and 1854-1860) in the state legislature, amassing twenty years as the head of the finance committee. Memminger was the leader of the committee that wrote South Carolina's Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union.

Attorney General Judah Benjamin

Benjamin was born in London. His parents, Sephardic Jews, moved to St. Croix, then the United States, settling in Charleston, South Carolina. After attending Yale College, Benjamin moved to New Orleans where he passed the bar, became a wealthy slaveowner, and served in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. In 1852, he became the first Jew to be elected to the United States Senate without renouncing the religion, resigning when Louisiana seceded.

Postmaster General John Reagan

Reagan was born in Sevier County, Tennessee, but moved to Texas as a young man. After passing the bar, he served one term in the state legislature, then served as a district judge. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1857 until Texas seceded.

Also on this date, in New Orleans, the U.S. Paymaster's office was seized by Louisiana state troops.