404 



KENTUCKY. 



bus, which was very strongly fortified. At the 

 same time, General Grant, commander of the Fed- 

 eral force at Cairo, took possession of Paducah, 

 on the Ohio Kiver. (See PADTJCAH.) The dis- 

 tance between the two positions is forty-seven 

 miles. The force of General Grant was two reg- 

 iments of infantry, one company of light artillery, 

 and two gunboats. These movements comprised 

 the active military operations in the western 

 part of the State during the year. 



In the southeastern part of the State, Gen. 

 Zollicoffer advanced from Tennessee with a 

 considerable force of Confederate troops, and 

 on the 18th of September a slight skirmish 

 took place at Barboursville, between some of 

 his men and a portion of Home Guards, but 

 without any serious results on either side. The 

 Confederate cavalry scoured the country in the 

 vicinity of their camp, arrested prominent 

 Union men, and destroyed their property. 

 They also occupied the small towns in the 

 vicinity. Subsequently, a portion of the same 

 force entered Manchester, in Clay County, in 

 the vicinity of the Cumberland Mountains. On 

 the 1st of October, a retreat was commenced 

 towards Barboursville, which was continued to 

 the Cumberland Ford. This is fifteen miles with- 

 in the limits of Kentucky, and was fortified by 

 Gen. Zollicoffer ; meanwhile, his advance was 

 pushed to London, and the country ravaged. 

 The salt-works in this region were an important 

 possession to the Confederate force. In their 

 rear was also the Cumberland Gap a most 

 important point from which the East Tenn. & 

 V a. E. E., 40 miles below, would be accessible 

 to a Federal force. This railroad was one of 

 the main lines for the transportation of supplies 

 tb the troops in Virginia. During this period, 

 a Federal force of Ohio and Indiana troops, 

 with some Kentucky volunteers,were advancing 

 to hold the Confederates in check, and, if able, 

 to rout them. This force was under the com- 

 mand of Gen. Schospf. The first affair of any 

 importance took place at a place called Camp 

 Wildcat, on the 21st of October. About eleven 

 o'clock in the forenoon, a body of Confederate 

 troops, consisting of two regiments of Tennessee 

 volunteers, under Cols. Newman and Bowler, 

 advanced upon four companies of the Thirty- 

 third Indiana regiment, Col. Coburn, and a 

 portion of Col. Woodford's regiment of Ken- 

 tucky cavalry. The Confederate force opened 

 upon the Thirty-third Indiana on the left wing 

 with cannon, and almost simultaneously their 

 column appeared on the side of the hill, within 

 sixty or seventy yards of the Indiana troops. 

 A charge was ordered upon the latter, which 

 was met with such a galling fire as brought the 

 Tennesseeans to a stand, when a charge by the 

 Kentucky cavalry was made upon them, and 

 they retired with severe loss. At one p. M. an- 

 other attack was made at another point, and at 

 a late hour a third attack was made by Gen. 

 Zollicoffer. It was supposed that the Camp 

 was defended only by a small force under Col. 

 Garrard. The attacking force consisted of 



Mississippians, Georgians, and Tennesseeans. 

 The opposing force was under Gen. Schoepf, 

 consisting of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky 

 troops. The Confederates were generally armed 

 with flint-lock muskets and altered locks, buck- 

 shot guns, and navy revolvers. The Federal 

 force carried the Minie rifle. Eeenforcements 

 were added to each force during the day, and 

 the different attacks were probably made after 

 they were received by the Confederate com- 

 mander. The Confederate troops were repulsed 

 with severe loss, and retired to Barboursville. 

 On the 10th of December, they were advancing 

 with a strong force on Somerset, from which 

 Gen. Schoepf retired. 



On the 16th of December, Gen. Zollicoffer 

 issued a proclamation to the people of south- 

 eastern Kentucky, as follows : 



The brigade I have the honor to command is here 

 for no purpose of war upon Kentuckians, but to repel 

 those [Northern hordes who, with arms in their hands, 

 are attempting the subjugation of a sister Southern 

 State. They have closed your rivers, embargoed your 

 railroads, cut off your natural and proper markets, 

 left your stock and products on your hands almost 

 valueless, and thereby almost destroyed the value of 

 your lands and labor. We have come to open again 

 your rivers, to restore the ancient markets to your 

 produce, and thereby to return to you the accustomed 

 value of your lands and labor. They have represented 

 us as murderers and outlaws. We have come to con- 

 vince you that we truly respect the laws, reverence 

 justice, and mean to give security to your personal 

 and property rights. They have forced many of you 

 to take up arms against us. We come to take 

 you by the hand as heretofore as friends and broth- 

 ers. Their Government has laid heavy taxes on you 

 to carry on this unnatural war, which is openly avowed 

 to be to set at liberty your slaves, and the ensuing step 

 in which will be to put arms in their hands, and give 

 them political and social equality with yourselves. 

 We saw these things in the beginning, and are offer- 

 ing our hearts' blood to avert those dreadful evils, 

 which we saw the Abolition leaders had deliberately 

 planned for the South. " All men must have the 

 ballot or none ; all men must have the bullet or none," 

 said Mr. Seward, the present Federal Secretary of 

 State. How long will Kentuckians close their eyes to 

 the contemplated ruin of their present structure of 

 society ? How long will they continue to raise their 

 arms against brothers of the South struggling for 

 those rights and for that independence common to us 

 all, which was guaranteed to all by the Constitution of 

 1787? For many long years we remonstrated against 

 the encroachments against rights, and the insecurity 

 to that property thus guaranteed, which these North- 

 ern hordes so remorselessly inflicted upon us. They 

 became deaf to our remonstrances, because they be- 

 lieve they had the power, and felt in every fibre the 

 will " to whip us in." We have disappointed them. 

 We have broken their columns in almost every con- 

 flict. We have early acquired a prestige of success 

 which has stricken terror into the Northern heart. 

 Their grand armies have been held in check by com- 

 paratively few but stern-hearted men ; and now they 

 would invoke Kentucky valor to aid them in beating 

 down the true sons of the South who have stood the 

 shock, and in bringing common ruin upon Kentucky 

 and her kindred people. Will you play this unnatural 

 part, Kentuckians? Heaven forbid! The memories 

 of the past forbid ! The honor of your wives and 

 daughters, your past renown, and the fair name of 

 your posterity, forbid that you should strike for Lin- 

 coln and the abolition of slavery against those strug- 

 gling for the right of independence of your kindred race. 

 Strike with us for independence and preservation of 



