1783   The Treaty of Paris is signed by Great Britain and the new United States, formally bringing the American Revolution to an end


September 3, 1861

Confederate forces enter Kentucky
Confederate General Leonidas Polk commits a major political blunder by marching his troops into Columbus, Kentucky—negating Kentucky's avowed neutrality and causing the Unionist legislature to invite the U.S. government to drive the invaders away.

Kentucky was heavily divided prior to the war. Although slavery was prevalent in the state, nationalism was strong and Unionists prevented the calling of a convention to consider secession after the firing on Fort Sumter in April. Governor Beriah Magoffin refused to send troops to either side, and a special session of the legislature in the summer of 1861 issued a warning to both the Confederate and Union armies not to deploy forces in the state. Union and Confederates alike recognized the folly of entering Kentucky into the war, as it would tip the delicate political balance to the other side.

President Lincoln, a Kentucky native who carefully observed the state's neutrality, soon realized that the Confederates were acquiring resources and recruiting troops from the state. However, in three special elections held that summer, the Union cause had gained support. Kentucky's geographic location made permanent neutrality nearly impossible. The major rivers of the upper south drained into the Ohio River through Kentucky, and the state had the country's ninth largest population.

Troops from both sides began to build fortifications along the border in the opening months of the war, but the Confederates made a critical blunder when General Polk occupied Columbus, Kentucky, on September 3. This preemptive move against the forces of General Ulysses S. Grant, who waited across the Ohio River in Illinois, proved costly for the Confederates. Kentucky's Unionist legislature invited Federal troops in to drive away the invaders, and on September 6, Grant occupied Paducah and Southland, at the mouths of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, respectively. These were vital positions that allowed the Union a tremendous advantage in the contest for Kentucky and Tennessee.

During the war, some 50,000 white and 24,000 black Kentuckians fought for the North, while 35,000 joined the South.



1862:  
Action at Fort Abercrombie, Dakota Territory

Skirmish at Falls Church, Virginia

skirmish at Edwards Ferry, Maryland

Skirmish at Neosho, Missouri


1863:  
Action near White Stone Hill, Dakota Territory


1864:  
Affair near Sycamore Church and Engagement near Berryville, Virginia

Skirmish near Rocheport, Missouri


Primary sources:
Official Records of the War of the Rebellion
A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion ; by Frederick Dyer;
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865 by E. B. Long with Barbara Long;
National Archives Guide Index