THE HERO |
OF THE SANDY VALLEY JAMES A. GARFIELD'S KENTUCKY CAMPAIGN OF 1861-1862 by ALLAN PESKIN |
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In the days when the Indians roamed at will through the mountains of Kentucky they instinctively dreaded this "dark and bloody ground." Later the white man came, first a cautious trickle through the passes, then a torrent of settlers with axes, rifles, and families. They cleared the forest, shot the game, and planted their families in cabins and cities. The Indians went away, and left Kentucky to civilization. But in 1861 Kentucky promised once again to be a dark and bloody land. On both sides of her borders hostile armies gathered. Alarmed Kentuckians, hoping to deflect the con- flict from her soil, declared the state "neutral." It was a fatuous attempt. Neither North nor South could afford to surrender Kentucky's strategic position. Well aware that "to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose NOTES ARE ON PAGES 83-85 3. |