What If Kentucky had become Confederate?

[johan_steele]

I'm not certian I agree that Kentucky was CS in their hearts... if only because Bragg garnered few recruits in his foray into thte state and the Union raised a lot more troops there than the CS. THough there are circumstances I don't think Kentucky was ever really all that pro Secession.

[richard]

It seems that Kirby Smith in his march from the Cumberland Gap to Richmond was very suprised at the way the people treated them. Some of this could have been due to the weather conditions at the time. Food, forgage, and water were in short supply.

Bragg suffered much the same experience. Both men were very suprised that they had so few joiners. They could have used the space that was taken up by the thousands of arms that they had, to carry rations and water.

Also, they may have had a better time of it if Bragg had stated and stuck to a main objective. Louisville was prime for the taking. This would have been a major loss for the Union as Louisville was the start of the Unions major supply route to Tennessee.

Of course, if Buell had not gone to Nashville, but instead engaged Bragg east of Nashville, maybe Bragg would have never entered Kentucky at all.

Kirby Smith in his quest for the Blue Grass, may have been cut up and driven back to the Gap if Nelson had made his stand at the north side of the Kentucky river north of Richmond.

Again, Buell could have almost destroyed Braggs forces at Perryville if he had been the kind of General that the Union needed there.

Of course, none of these men had the luxury of 20/20 hind site that we now enjoy.

One other thing that imho seems to have been the cause of so many blunders on both sides in the entire war is this: The lack of accurate intelligence. This was actually the first war that was fought with somewhat rapid deployment of troops via the railroad. It maybe that the troops could move faster than intelligence could be gathered and studied.

[whitworth]

In the end, the Confederate army could not military control Kentucky. In the end the Confederate army could not militarily control Tennessee. Then Georgia, then South Carolina and Alabama.

In the end, where did the Confederacy get the idea with its total military and industrial complex, ever have the abilitity to control this territory? Frankly the Confederacy totally unestimated the finances and troops the U.S. would throw at the Confederacy to maintain the land in the United States.