xt7k3j390k8w https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7k3j390k8w/data/mets.xml Goodloe, William Cassius, 1841-1889. 1884  books b92e509g652009 English P.G. Thomson : Cincinnati, Ohio Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky --History --Civil War, 1861-1865 Kentucky unionists of 1861. Address of William Cassius Goodloe ... read before the Society of ex-army and navy officers in Cincinnati, Ohio. April 10, 1884 text Kentucky unionists of 1861. Address of William Cassius Goodloe ... read before the Society of ex-army and navy officers in Cincinnati, Ohio. April 10, 1884 1884 2009 true xt7k3j390k8w section xt7k3j390k8w 
    
    
    
    
    
    
   KENTUCKY UN10N1STS 6F 1861.

ADDRESS

WILLIAM CASSIUS GOODLOE,

OK LEXINGTON, KY. Late Captain and A. A. G., U. S. Vols.

READ BEFORE THE

Society *of* Ex- A rrny *a nd * Na vy *0fB cers

-IN    

CINCINNATI, OHIO.

APRIL lO, 1884.

CINICINNATi: PETER G. THOMSON, 1884. 
    
   Kentucky Unionists of 1861

Commander, Ladies and Gentlemen :

In accepting the invitation of the Committee from the " Society of Ex-Army and Navy officers," I did so with many misgivings as to my own fitness.

The subject demands perfect accuracy of historical statements, and, without doing unnecessary hurt to the preconceived and doubtless honest sentiments of many in my own State, I shall endeavor at the same time to be entirely just to the early Union men of southern, slave-holding Kentucky. I shall not shrink from the task, even if not voluntarily chosen ; and while I shall not endeavor to conceal the mistakes and false steps of the Unionists, neither shall I pass over in silence the glaring inconsistencies, sinister scheming and wicked purposes of the secessionists.

You have selected as my subject, the "Kentucky Unionists of 1861 ; " and in order that you may be entirely impartial in your judgment of their intentions and accomplishments, you must not by comparison associate Kentucky with your own, or that of any other non-slave-holding, or northern State. You must look upon her as she really was in 1860-61, and I think you will readily admit, that by force of education and association, the tendencies of her people were more natural toward the South than the North, more toward slavery than freedom. I grant you that to look back to so dark a period is difficult, surrounded, as you now are, by the dazzling brilliancy of the stupendous advancements and wondrous achievements of the past quarter of a century.

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I shall not speak of political parties, nor mention the names of men with greater frequency than is absolutely necessary, and should I be so unfortunate as to say aught that may be in the least degree objectionable to any one of my hearers, I beg that it may be remembered how remote is the time of which I am speaking.

Kentucky has never borne an insignificant part in the history of our country, and whether in the din and shock of battle, or in the more ennobling fields of statesmanship and jurisprudence, her sons have won conspicuous and enduring fame. Standing as she did in i86i,a slave-holding State with slave-holding laws, and, to a certain degree, with | eir natural accompaniments of prejudice and passion, bounded equally by free and slave States, even then her sons, though not at the time her citizens, were the very embodiment of the hopes, the aspirations, aye, the destinies of the whole American people.

The wild, reckless passion of the South, whose hope it was to disrupt the Union and make slavery perpetual, in defiance of law and contempt of opposition, with that over-bearing and rebellious spirit characteristic of the people and the times, selected as its chieftain, Jefferson Davis.

On the other hand, in perfect conformity with the Constitution of the United States, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, there was inaugurated as the President of this great Republic, another Kentuckian by birth, who was destined to inspire the patriotism, quicken the conscience, ennoble the thought, and strengthen the love of country with the holiest devotion and Christian sincerity   the immortal Abraham Lincoln.

The election of this, the first republican President, was eagerly seized upon by the secessionists of the South as a happy incident, by which they hoped to inflame' the passions and excite the fears of their less ardent followers, and the more quickly compass their long-cherished object, a disunion of the States.

A majority of the people even of the seceding States    
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with possibly one or two exceptions   did not go into the rebellion free-willed and cheerfully, however true to the cause, and zealous in its support they may have afterward been.

Those of Virginia and Tennessee   without mentioning others   are notable illustrations.

None understood better than did the secession leaders the subordinating influences of forms of law, and through the official machinery of State governments, however unjustly or recklessly obtained, they knew only too well how to crush into the earth all who stood in the way of their violent assumptions.

Compact organizations kept them always mindful of their own strength, as well as familiar with the salient points of the opposition.

Secessionists always knew to whom to talk, and with whom to act. The Unionists were without any preconcerted line of action, distrustful of almost every one, and while keeping their powder dry, looked probably more than they should to the purity of their hopes, and sincerity of their belief, to extricate them happily from their troubles.

The men in Kentucky who loved their country, and resolved deep down in their inmost hearts to stand by the Union and the Stars and Stripes, even unto death, instinctively began as early as August, i860, to ward off secession, by voting for a candidate for Clerk of the Court of Appeals   the only State officer elected at that time   -who was well known to be warmly attached to the Union.

The disruption of the Democratic Convention, at Charleston, had displayed the cloven foot of possible secession, and twenty-three thousand majority for a Union candidate was the response Kentucky gave.

This was followed up a few months later by the larger number of the followers of Douglas and Lincoln casting their votes for Bell, that there might be no mistake as to the Electoral vote of Kentucky being cast against her own citizen candidate, the same, who had four years before in the posi- 
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tion of second on the ticket, changed Kentucky from a Whig, or American, to a Democratic State. No surer test of her earnestness in the cause of the Union, and perfect subordination of the highest personal regard and admiration to patriotic principle could have been made ; for John C. Brecken-ridge, at that clay, justly occupied a proud position in the hearts of nearly all Kentuckians. Against any other candidate the Union vote of Kentucky, though 13,000 in majority, would have been perceptibly increased.

At this election, did Kentucky, for the second time, give unmistakable evidence of her Union spirit. South Carolina did not wait for an "overt act" from the incoming President, but before the year had closed severed her connection with the Union in a bombastic manner, strikingly in contrast with her subsequent humiliating return.

On the 14th of April, 1861, the "Confederate Armies" caused the capitulation of the gallant defenders of Fort Sumter, and along with that of his brave comrades should go down to posterity for emulation and reverence, the name of that patriotic, Union-loving Kentuckian, Robert Anderson.

It must be particularly noted that the State officers and members of the Legislature of Kentucky who held office in the Autumn of i860 and Spring of 1861, were elected in 1859, a period at least when the country at large was unsuspicious of any serious secession movement.

'Twas to the Governor then elected Mr. Lincoln addressed his request   made the day after the capitulation of Fort Sumter   for volunteers to assist in subduing the Rebel-lion, and his hasty and falsely prophetic response that, " Kentucky would furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern States," certainly did not mark him as one around whom the Unionists could rally with security, though it is but justice to Gov. Magoffin to say, that' his high sense of honor prevented him from doing many things to which his sympathies inclined him.

How nearly the Legislature, elected at the same time and 
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by the same majority that carried him into power, came to sustaining the response of the Governor, it shall now be my province to show.

The census of i860 made Kentucky the ninth State in population in the Union, and in a total of 1,555,684 souls there were 225,483 slaves.

During the month of November, i860, "Union" meetings were held in various portions of the State, and one of the first Union speeches came from a Kentucky Senator, who warmly defended that portion of President Buchanan's message, denying the right of secession, against the fierce attack of a Senator from North Carolina.

About Christmas the Governor of Kentucky was importuned, by an accredited commissioner from Mississippi, to call an extra session of the Legislature, "for the adoption of efficient measures for their common defense and safety."

The Legislature met in called session, January 17, 1861, and to the action of that body the eyes of the whole country were turned. The secessionists of the South, with full knowledge of the political complexion of its members, with seeming confidence awaited the result. The "State Guard," the only authorized military organization in the State, I say plainly, was formed and used, as far as it was possible, in the interests of the Rebellion, to intimidate and over-awe Union sentiment. The act authorizing the " State Guard " became a law March 5, i860, and stipulated that the "Inspector-General" should be Commander-in-Chief. Its Commander, by appointment of the Governor, was Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, of whom it may be remembered, preferred later on at "Fort Donel-son" an " unconditional and immediate surrender" to an immediate assault upon his works. Only a failure to secure arms lessened the mischief this organization was designed to commit.

The Legislature, mindful of its tendencies, refused adequate appropriations, notwithstanding which, the Governor sent L. P. Blackburn to Arkansas, and Gen. Buckner North, 
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to procure the necessary arms. Blackburn only succeeded in obtaining a few unserviceable guns, and Buckner was very early and suggestively turned from his part of the mission.

To the course the Legislature would pursue, the Union men looked with more hope than confidence, and an account of the three months battling in that body for supremacy, would in itself take longer time that your patience would allot me. The members who had supported Bell and Everett were mostly, but not all, for the Union.

The Douglas men were badly divided, and the Breck-enridge men, with four honorable exceptions, were for disunion to a man. I could not feel that I had done my duty did I fail to name those true, brave, and patriotic men, who, to use their own language, determined to "cast party ties to the dogs, and work with any and all men for the preservation of the Union. " They were Thornton F. Marshall and John A. Prall in the Senate, and R. T. Jacob   afterward a colonel in the Union Army   and Rob't A. Burton, jr., in the House.

The accession of Messrs. Jacob and Burton gave the Unionists a bare majority of one in the House, and it is impossible, in my estimation, to overvalue the services of these men to the Union cause. Had they chosen to act with their party associates, and not followed the teachings of patriotism and love of country, certainly a calamity, much greater than Kentucky experienced, would have been her lot, and correspondingly extended to the entire country. I beg that you will not interpret this to mean that under any circumstances whatever could the Unionists of Kentucky have been driven into rebellion, even had the State formally seceded. For, though in the general upheaval of things, some of the weak and doubting may have been lost from sight, the great body of Kentucky loyalists would have done then as they did later    thrown their support unreservedly for the Union. The fact that nearly eighty thousand white Kentuckians wore the blue and followed the Stars and Stripes relieves this statement of all semblance of empty boasting. 
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But to return to the trials and anxieties of the Unionists ofthe Legislature. Had the one majority   before alluded to   been perfectly reliable, a dozen could not have been more effective ; but such, unfortunately, was not the case.

There were five or six doubtful and unstable members, beside a few others who kept themselves so full of one of the principal products of the State as to leave but little room for patriotism to dwell. It was incumbent upon the Unionists not only to watch these men with unremitting care, but guard closely against the covert enemy, and the constantly increasing encroachments of the rebels without.

Much has been said and written in derision of " Kentuckjr Neutrality," and the subject, whenever mentioned, is prone to excite either laughter or contempt.   How could a State, it is asked, act independently of the Government without being in rebellion ? or of what avail would a position of neutrality be without the physical power to enforce it against both belligerents?   Nothing could be more ridiculous than the position Kentucky is supposed to have occupied in her chosen attitude of" neutral;" but the absurdity of so untenable a position may not be so great when all the surrounding circumstances are correctly understood.   Every movement of the opposing Legislative factions   so painfully equal numerically   had but one meaning and object, viz:   Secession or Union.   The one party did whatever, in its opinion, would lead Kentucky to join the Confederacy.   The other left nothing undone   possible to accomplish   which tended to hold the State true to her allegiance.   This was all there was embodied in the numberless votes, speeches and resolutions, 6"f that memorable body, and its every act can only be properly judged in reference to this one vital question.   What lesser subjects may have demanded, none received great attention, and though it may not have been a battle ofthe giants, it was, nevertheless, a fierce, bitter, unrelenting struggle between treason and loyalty, and in the end a just God gave the victory to the patriots. 
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More than once, at critical junctures, did the noted secessionists throughout the State assemble at Frankfort to browbeat and threaten the Legislators. But as soon as the telegraph could summon them, there came to meet this blustering crowd as stout-hearted loyalists and as courageous men as ever breathed.

Nor must it be accepted as true that there were wanting on the floor of either House, Unionists bold enough to denounce treason, and brave enough to defy the traitors. Said one in the Senate: "When Kentucky goes down it will be in blood. Let that be understood. She will not go as other States have gone. Let the responsibility rest on you, where it belongs. It is all your work, and whatever happens will be your work. We have more right to defend our Government than you have to overturn it. Let our good Union brethren of the South stand their ground. I know that many patriotic hearts in the seceded States still beat warmly for the old Union   the old Flag. I have an abiding confidence in the right, and I know that this secession movement is all wrong." The disunionists felt that their greatest strength was with the present Legislature, and if anything of interest to them was accomplished, it must be done by it. On the other hand, the Unionists had every reason to believe that, if it were possible to ward off secession by this Legislature, they had nothing to fear from the one soon to be elected. They were, on all proper occasions, ready and willing to appeal to the people, having perfect confidence in their patriotic devotion to then-country ; and this confidence was never at any time misplaced.

The Governor, in his message, recommended the calling of a sovereignity convention, for the purpose of determining the question of secession. This the Unionists resisted, preferring not to sanction any movement questioning the loyalty of the State, and the proposition was defeated, though by a bare majority. Very soon afterward, however, the opposing parties were brought again face to face, on the question of 
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" armed" or "mediatorial neutrality," a distinction many may urge without a difference.

But there was a wide and wonderful difference in the minds of those who drew the distinction. "Armed neutrality," which meant the display of force against both sides, was the work of the secessionists, and acquiesced in by the Unionists only through their inability to defeat it. " Mediatorial neutrality," which sought to bring about a peace between the two sections, rapidly drifting into war, was the effort of the Unionists. Never did the Union men of Kentucky deny the right of the General Government to transport troops across the State, or to raise volunteers within its limits, to assist in preserving the National life. All such opposition, and wide mouthed clamor, for a rigid observance of Kentucky's neutrality, came from rebels, and those in sympathy with them. The Union men, in their multiplicity of embarrassments, only asked the forbearance ofthe Government in tiding over the interval until a general election. And in this course they had the sanction of the highest authority. Mr. Lincoln said that he "hoped Kentucky would stand by the Government in the present difficulties ; but if she would not do that, let her stand still and take no part against us." Kentucky fondly hoped, and with the utmost sincerity, that in some way an amicable adjustment might be reached, whereby bloodshed could be avoided, and the Union, with its manifold blessings, remain intact. Gladly would she have sacrificed anything, save her honor and position in the Union, to have restored fraternal feeling, and reconciled every estranged heart. Why should she be censured for indulging such exalted hopes? Should her dream be ruthlessly brushed aside as more than chimerical, when the President of the United States called only for three months' men, and the great Secretary of State openly proclaimed the war would not last ninety days? Further than this, General Sherman, in his memoirs, says that he saw Gen. . Patterson's army cross the Potomac in 1861, and there he "talked a good deal with his friend and classmate, Geo. H. 
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Thomas ; also with Gen. Cadwallader and the staff officers of Gen. Patterson, Fitz John Porter, Belger, Beckwith, and others, all of whom seemed encouraged to think that the war was to be short and decisive, and that as soon as it was demonstrated that the General Government meant in earnest to defend its rights and property, some general compromise would result."

I will now let speak one of the principal actors in the Kentucky Legislature, as to the true meaning of the course pursued by him and his associate Unionists :

" Our opponents wanted a sovereignity convention. We did not. Kentucky loved the Union with a deep and unalterable love. She loved every section and ever}- part of the great country that had been bequeathed to us, as a rich heritage, by the heroic men of the Revolution, and by Almighty God. She wanted no divided and limited inheritance. She determined to lend her great energies, first to make peace, if that was possible; and if that could not be achieved, she determined to stand by the Union if the richest blood in her veins poured out like water, and at all hazard."

Those I may add were sentiments common to Union men.

On May 4, 1861, an election was held for delegates to the " Border States Convention," which proved to be a one-sided affair. The rebels, seeing overwhelming defeat staring them in the face, withdrew their candidates ; and even without opposition the Union delegates received 98,561 votes, being nearly two-thirds of the aggregate vote, at the Presidential election, the year previous. Kentucky and Missouri were the only States represented, though I believe Tennessee did hnve one delegate, and, in their formal address, it was declared that "the direct question before the people of the United States, and of Kentucky, the grand and commanding question was, Union or no Union, Government or no Government, Nationality or no Nationality. That Kentucky had no cause     of complaint with the General Government, and no cause of quarrel with the Federal Constitution; that Kentucky would continue to be loyal to the Constitution, the Government and 
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flag of the United States, and refuse alliance with any who would destroy the Union, or commit the great wrong of deserting their posts in the National Congress ; that Kentucky would remain true to herself, and loyal to the Constitutional administration of the General Government; appear again in the Congress of the United States, insist upon her Constitutional rights in the Union, not out of it, and insist on the integrity of the Union, its Constitution, and its Government."

About this time the Governor again asked for authority, to order an election for delegates to a State Convention, which the Legislature refused, and adjourned on the 24th day of May sine die.

Before this date regularly organized troops had left the State, with drums beating and flags flying, for the avowed purpose of joining the Confederates. The Governor renewed his effort to procure arms for the State guards, and the Union men thought it best to dispense with "grass throwing" and resort to weapons more in keeping with the times.

There returned, at this time, to his mother State, a man, who for years had been serving his countiy in distant waters, who at once imparted his own enthusiasm to all with whom he came in contact. Brusque, perhaps, in manners; rough, too, he may have been in language, but Wm. Nelson's love of country was as pure as the billows upon which he sailed, and his bravery and patriotism as expanseless as the ocean itself. 'Twas through his endeavors that arms were procured in Washington for the home guards, who were not slow to confront the State guards. Five thousand stand of arms being judiciously distributed among faithful and reliable Union men, imparted additional security to all, and relieved the more timid of all fear of State guard intimidation at the approaching elections. These arms   derisively called by the'rebels, "Lincoln guns"    which were given to the various "home guard" companies, quickly solved a hitherto vexatious and difficult problem. The Unionists felt perfectly confident to care for themselves, provided the means of protection were placed in their hands. 
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They stood in constant danger of being overrun by armed rebels from Tennessee, who menaced the State all along its southern border. Arms, the one thing needful for complete protection, they had not, and how to acquire them was a matter of no little concern. That arms could be procured had been demonstrated by Nelson, but the difficulty of placing them in the hands of Unionists only, without provoking a conflict, was a much more serious matter.

It was finally determined that arms should be sent to Cincinnati, subject to the orders of Gen. Nelson, who in turn would issue them, upon requisitions signed by Joshua F. Speed, to such men and organizations as were known to be trustworthy. To send arms to Louisville, Maysville, and other places on the Ohio river, was of easy accomplishment, and unattended by danger or undue excitement, but when the t news of such distribution reached the interior of the State, there were the wildest uproar and dissent.

Nothing more than a plain statement of facts, in regard to the manner in which these arms were distributed, would, even at this day, with all the experiences ofthe war before us, read like a thrilling romance. The names of the brave men who followed the wagons bearing the arms   ready at any moment to defend them with their lives   are well known and gratefully remembered. The great service they rendered the State at that time was but the beginnings of far greater and more important achievements upon the field of battle in behalf of an undivided Union. And I can only express at this time the great regret I feel at my inability to give you, in detail, an account of the heroic deeds of these patriotic men during the trying and troublous times of 1861.

June 20th a special election for Congress was held, and nine out often Union candidates were elected, by an aggregate majority of nearly 55,000. This result, though not unexpected, caused the greatest rejoicing amongst Union men, for they, as well as their friends, regarded it as a settlement of Kentucky's status.   If anything were needed in addition to 
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this to blast the hopes of Kentucky rebels, it was furnished in the election which followed, August 5th, whereat seventy-six Union members of the House, to twenty-four States-rights men, and twenty-seven Union Senators to eleven States-rights men, including those holding over, were elected. This action of the people so definitely forecast the future course of the State, that there necessarily followed rapidly a culmination of important events.

Many Kentuckians, impelled by a true patriotism, too irresistible to await the slow progress of events in their own State, had, months before, crossed over into Indiana, and formed themselves into regiments, or .joined other military forces of the United States. But in this month of August, " Camp Dick Robinson "   of historic fame   was organized in the very centre of the State, and served as a rendezvous for Kentucky volunteers, and East Tennessee loyalists fleeing from rebel conscription.

Sympathizers with rebellion did not under-estimate the dangerous possibilities of this growing camp, and the Governor was overrun with remonstrances against its continuance.

Strict " neutrality " had now become with the rebels a clearly cherished object, and their eyes dilated with surprise, and their countenances were overspread with horror, at the mere thought of its violation. It was considered no violation of good faith upon their part, to openly enlist and forward troops to the Confederacy; to do any and all things permitted by their personal safety to destroy the Government; but any effort upon the part of the friends of the Union to thwart their mahcinations inspired them with the greatest horror. Governor Magoffin wrote Mr. Lincoln : "As Governor of the State of Kentucky, and in the name of the people, I have the honor to represent, and with the single and earnest desire to avert from their peaceful homes the horrors of war, I urge the removal, from the limits of Kentucky, of the military force now organized and encamped within the State." In Mr. Lincoln's answer he said, " In all I have done in the premises, I have 
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acted upon the urgent solicitation of many Kentuckians, and in accordance with what I believed, and still believe, to be the wish of a majority of all the Union-loving people of Kentucky. 'While I have conversed on this subject with many eminent men of Kentucky, including a large number of her members of Congress, I do not remember that any one of them, or any other person except your Excellency, and the bearers of your Excellency's letter, have urged me to remove the military force from Kentucky, or to disband it." In consequence the President very wisely and justly refused in any manner to interfere.     On September 3, 1861, Confederate troops, under Gen. Polk, occupied* Hickman and Columbus, Kentucky towns on the Mississippi river; and on September 5th, 'Federal troops, under the command of a man who was destined to receive the sword of Lee at the final surrender, crossed the Ohio river and occupied Paducah, thus practically putting an end to neutrality, though the Rebels used their utmost endeavors to'continue it in force, hoping still, perhaps, to seduce Kentucky into rebellion. On September 10th a States-rights convention was held in Frankfort, and as many of its members were afterward conspicuous upholders of the Confederacy, it was but natural, from their antecedents and proclivities, that they should advocate " strict neutrality" and the dispersion of Federal encampments.

With mock sincerity they promised that when Federal troops were removed they would then assist in driving the Rebels out. The Union men took an opposite view, and insisted that the Rebels should evacuate the State, without exacting any promises from the Federal troops. The Legislature    the one newly elected   being in session, passed a resolution, by seventy-one to twenty-six in the House, and twenty-five to eight in the Senate, instructing the Governor to "notify those concerned that Kentucky expects the Kentucky or Tennessee Confederate troops to be withdrawn from her soil unconditionally," and by a similar vote refused to make a like demand for the removal of the Federal troops.  The Governor 
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vetoed the resolution, but it was promptly passed over his head, and thus ended, abruptly and forever, "Kentucky neutrality."

Indignation and resentment, at the invasion of the State by the Rebels, were aroused to the highest pitch, and the enthusiasm with which crowds volunteered to repel the intruders was in perfect accord with the hearty and gladsome welcome extended to Union troops then pouring into the State from all directions.

It will be observed that the Confederates entered the State soon after the election had resulted so disastrously to them, and just prior to the assembling of a States-rights convention. They did not receive the encouragement they had hoped for, and in subsequent marches of their armies through the State, and frequent incursions of their raiders, they were forced to admit their disappointment in enlisting recruits. After the people had spoken in such unmistakable tones at the August election, and the States-rights convention had borne so little fruit, some of the most prominent men in the State, though well known secessionists, failing in their persistent efforts to seduce the people into secession, began to fear for their own safety, and in the darkness of night, as befitted their cause, sneaked away, by twos and fours, into the Confederacy.

In the meantime recruiting went rapidly on. The forces of the Union and of the Confederacy were growing in numbers, to the magnitude they ultimately attained. " Camp Dick Robinson " received its complement of volunteers, and troops from without as well as within the State were concentrated there to repel an invasion from Tennessee. Gen. Nelson, who had been in command, was transferred to Eastern Kentucky   and there came after him to command these southern troops, on this southern line, a southern man, whose native State was then in active rebellion.

The fallacious and specious theory that State loyalty was paramount to National allegiance had no allurements for him. 
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Devoted as he was to his State, his great heart loved more dearly the entire Union, and with traitors on every hand, and in the midst of difficulties few had to encounter, George H. Thomas saw clearly his duty, and most nobly did he fulfill, it. A nobler commander could not have been chosen, nor one better qualified to mould into soldiers the raw recruits flocking to his standard. The regiments formed at this camp, noticeably the ist and 2d   afterward known as the 3d and 4th regiments of Kentucky Volunteer Infantry   two other Kentucky regiments and two Tennessee regiments, constituted the first brigade, first division of the army of the Cumberland ; thus giving to Kentucky regiments the dominant honor of forming the nucleus of that wondrous and irresistible organization with which the name of Thomas is so inseparably and ineffaceably intertwined.

Van Horn, in his history ofthe army ofthe Cumberland, says : " From the time of the organization of this brigade, the number of troops embraced, their movements in the State, under the National colors, before any others, and its subsequent designation as the first brigade, first division, of the arm}', its claims as the nucleus are unquestionable." No mean distinction for any troops to enjoy,