A Divided United State

This book has its beginning over 30 years ago when I was in pursuit of my first master’s degree. It is shorter than I intended originally. There are two reasons for this. First, the period written about is a short span of time. There has not been a great deal written about these months in Kentucky’s history. One can find volumes of literature almost anywhere about the Civil War, of course, and there are multiple writings about Kentucky and her role in the war. But what was happening in Kentucky during the initial months immediately following the attack on Fort Sumter has been given little more than a nod by most historians. Second, I am in the early stages of learning how to write for readership. The facts shared and the points made in this book would remain unchanged had I been less concise and more verbose. This being said, should I write a second book on another topic, my wish will be for more pages to be warranted.

I remember studying Kentucky history in the fourth grade. Even at my young age, I was curious about our state’s delay in choosing a Union or Confederate side when the Civil War began. I doubt many of my classmates gave it much thought. We were fourth-graders after all. But my curious mind wondered, “Why did we wait so long?”

This question stayed with me into adulthood. When I was older and in graduate school, I read voraciously about Kentucky, our history, and our attempt at neutrality during the summer months of 1861. Only one book, E. Merton Coulter’s The Civil War and Readjustment in Kentucky, provided some insight into what was happening with our citizens and with our state’s political leaders during this time. Even with the help of Coulter’s insightful and well-researched work however, my question of why we attempted an untenable position was answered only partially to my satisfaction. It occurred to me that digging deeper into this topic would be something I would have to do myself to hopefully find the answers I sought.

After reading several post-period books, I then immersed myself into articles, pamphlets, newspapers, personal letters, and even a fascinating diary; all written during our five months of neutrality. Following a year of intense research, research that took me to libraries all over our state, A Divided United State: Kentucky and Neutrality in 1861 emerged.
My hope is that you find my effort worthy.


Linda S. McGinnis, October 2022