Kentucky Bluegrass

As birthplace, yet no longer home, Kentucky is a storehouse and treasury of memories. Roots are there, fragments of family, as well as heritage and pride, much the same as our home, Alabama.

Is the grass really *Blue*? When seen from a distance in the spring, the bluish-purple buds that the grass produces can, in large fields, give a rich blue tinge to the grass. Early pioneers found bluegrass growing on Kentucky's rich limestone soil, and traders began asking for the seed of the "blue grass from Kentucky." The name stuck and today Kentucky is called the Bluegrass State. "Kentucky" is from an indian word (?Cherokee ?Wyandot) with the possible meanings of meadowland, plains, and land of tomorrow.

In 1776 Kentucky became a separate county of Virginia, and was admitted to the union as the fifteenth state on June 1, 1792, the first on the western frontier. Kentucky chose to be known as a commonwealth, meaning government based on the common consent of the people.

The Commonwealth prospered with tobacco becoming Kentucky's primary crop. Kentucky was also a leading producer of the world’s hemp supply, used for making rope and fiber products. Another leading crop was corn, the principal ingredient in bourbon whisky that was developed in Scott County in 1789 by a Baptist minister.

Raising and racing thoroughbreds also became a lucrative endeavor, and the Kentucky Derby grew in popularity after the first race in 1875. Kentucky produces more thoroughbred foals than any other state in the U.S. In 1998, over 9,400 were foaled in Kentucky.

Large-scale coal mining in Eastern Kentucky's mountains began in the early 1900s as the railroads penetrated previously isolated areas. Louisville became one of the nation’s major trading and industrial centers.

With the advent of World War II, Kentucky began to shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy, but it was not until 1970 that the state had more urban than rural citizens. Today, transportation equipment production is Kentucky's largest revenue-producing industry. With six national areas, 49 state parks, and hundreds of recreational, natural, historic, and cultural attractions Kentucky abounds in travel opportunities, making tourism the state’s third largest industry.

Jefferson Davis 1808-89: Born in Fairview, Kentucky, not far from Abraham Lincoln in time or distance, Davis moved with his family to Mississippi during his boyhood. Nominated for an appointment to West Point, Davis graduated from the academy in 1828. He had the distinction of attending the U.S. Military Academy with Robert E. Lee, a fellow cadet. Later, Davis took part in the Black Hawk War with Abraham Lincoln, a fellow officer. Serving as Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce and in the Senate, Davis became a spokesman for the South, declaring the south as "...a country within a country." When the Confederacy seceded, Davis announced Mississippi's secession on the U.S. Senate floor, retired to the South and was elected president of the Confederate States of America. At the end of the war Davis spent two years in jail for treason but was released before trial. A private businessman and author after his release, the former President died in 1889 at the age of 82.

Abraham Lincoln 1809-65: Born near Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln spent his early years in the Commonwealth. Lincoln was elected the 16th President on November 6, 1860. After his election, many Southern states fearing Republican control in the government, seceded from the Union. Despite enormous pressures, loss of life, battlefield setbacks, generals who weren't ready to fight, and assassination threats, Lincoln stuck with his pro-Union policy for 4 long years of civil war. On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, bringing the war to an end. Unfortunately, Lincoln lived only a short time after Lee’s surrender. On April 14, 1865, the Lincolns attended a play at Ford's Theatre. During the performance John Wilkes Booth entered the State Box from the rear, and shot the President in the back of the head. Lincoln passed away the next day at 7:22 A.M., marking the first Presidential assassination in American history. Abraham Lincoln is remembered for his vital role in preserving the Union and beginning the process that led to the end of slavery in the United States. He is also remembered for his character, his speeches and letters, and as a man of humble origins whose determination and perseverance led him to the nation's highest office.

Daniel Boone 1734-1820: Daniel Boone was not born in Kentucky, but has long been identified with the state. Boone is the most famous pioneer in United States history. More than any other man, he was responsible for the exploration and settlement of Kentucky. In 1769 Boone and six other men traveled along wilderness trails and through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky. They found a "hunter's paradise" filled with buffalo, deer, wild turkey and meadows ideal for farming. Boone vowed to return with his family. In 1775 Boone and 30 other woodsmen were hired to improve the trails between the Carolinas and the west. The resulting route reached into the heart of Kentucky and became known as the "Wilderness Road." That same year, Boone built a fort and village called Boonesborough in Kentucky, and moved his family over the Wilderness Trail to their new home. He was captured by Shawnee Indians (1778) but escaped in time to defend Boonesborough against an Indian attack. In 1799 Boone moved west again, leading hundreds of settlers to new homes in Missouri. During his later years Boone continued to hunt and explore the west. On September 26, 1820 he died at the home of his son Nathan in Missouri. In 1845 the remains of Boone and his wife were moved to Kentucky to rest in the great pioneer's "hunter's paradise."

Noteworthy residents who were born and/or raised in Kentucky include: Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Jim Bowie, Colonel Harlin Sanders, Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, Rosemary Clooney, George Clooney, The Everly Brothers, Billy Ray Cyrus, Merle Travis, Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, Darrell Waltrip, Harold 'Pee Wee' Reese, Muhammad Ali, John James Audubon, Diane Sawyer, Naomi Judd, Wynona Judd, Ashley Judd, Bill Monroe, Duncan Hines.

"I would like to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky."
-President Abraham Lincoln, 1861

Ironically, the Civil War began with two well-known Kentucky natives leading each of the opposing sides:

- Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederacy, and
- Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States.

These two great men were born in log cabins within one year and one hundred miles of each other.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Kentucky was torn apart by conflicting loyalties. Although Kentucky declared itself a neutral state, and didn't officially take sides in the early part of the war, both the Union and Confederate governments recognized its strategic potential, and both sides recruited openly. This often led to families splitting and brother fighting against brother. A portion of its people sided with the South while others with the North.

THE KENTUCKY ORPHAN BRIGADE

Ninety thousand Kentuckians enlisted in the Federal army, while approximately 25,000 of their fellow statesmen left Kentucky to fight with the Confederate army, orphaned from their homes and families during the war. Nowhere else was the Civil War more of a brother's war.

Kentucky supplied 41 Union generals, 38 Confederate; Majors General Thomas L. Crittenden (USA) and George B. Crittenden (CSA) were both the sons of Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, who had tried in vain to forge a compromise that would avoid war. Valentine Stone and two of his brothers fought for the Union side, while a fourth brother, Henry, chose the Confederates. The largest concentration of Confederate Kentucky men in a single command was the Kentucky Brigade, which fought in the Western Theater (between the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi River). Consisting primarily of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th Kentucky Infantry regiments, the Brigade drew its members from across the Commonwealth.

The Orphans were an unusual mix of men. "All the boys are mighty good men every one of them," Thomas Osborne wrote of his comrades in the 6th Kentucky. "They are so different from the rest of the people of the Confederacy." And the soldiers of the Kentucky Brigade were in fact on average better educated and disciplined than other soldiers. General Joseph Johnston said of the Kentuckians, "there is no better infantry in the world than the Kentucky Brigade. It is the best brigade in the Confederate Army." The brigade fought gallantly at Shiloh, Stones River, Chickamauga, and throughout the Georgia campaign. Battlefield fighting was not enough for these fellows; while in Georgia they also engaged in one of the most hotly contested snowball battles of the war during an unusual southern snowstorm.

It was in the aftermath of Stones River that brigade commander Major General John Cabell Breckinridge forever named the men of Kentucky. Bragg's ill-planned charge of the Kentucky regiments against entrenched Federal positions resulted in terrible losses. As the men staggered back past him, Breckinridge was heard to say, "My poor orphans". The war claimed many a young Kentuckian who never saw home again.

Kentucky was the route for the movement of troops and food, important to both the North and South. The most violent battle in the state of Kentucky fought at Perryville. Kentucky in 1862, which ended the Confederacy’s advance into Kentucky, was positioned between the two forces and was wanted by both.

During the Civil War President Lincoln declared freedom for slaves in the Southern states. Since Kentucky was a slave state, this effected the state. After the war, this Southern state's economy was destroyed. The land was ruined, and businesses and factories were destroyed.

After the Civil War, there was a tremendous increase in tobacco production in Kentucky due to the decline of the hemp industry and the development of burley tobacco. Burley tobacco won acclaim for holding the sweeteners popular in plug tobacco at the time. Plug tobacco was the most popular tobacco product until World War I, when blended cigarettes took its place. Fortunately for Kentucky tobacco farmers, burley was an important ingredient in both products. Kentucky to this day remains one of the nation’s major burley-producing states.

Statehood:	June 01, 1792 (15th)
Song:	"My Old Kentucky Home"
Song (Bluegrass)	"Blue Moon of Kentucky"
Nickname:	Bluegrass State
Motto:	"United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
Bird:	Cardinal -Kentucky was the first state to adopt it and since then six other states have adopted it. The cardinal represents more states than any other bird.
Mammal:	Gray Squirrel
Horse:	Thoroughbred
Flower:	Goldenrod
Tree:	Tulip Poplar -since 1994; was Coffee Tree from 1976
Fish:	Kentucky Spotted Bass
Insect:	Viceroy Butterfly
Soil:	Crider Series -established in Caldwell County, Kentucky, 1957
Highest Elev:	4,139' (Black Mt)
Musical Instrument:	Appalachian Dulcimer
Lowest Elev:	257' (Mississippi River)
Presidents:	Abraham Lincoln, USA Jefferson Davis, CSA

Sources/Credits/Other Sites of Interest:

Online:
Kentucky,gov
Kentucky Tourism
britannica.com
Kentucky Ed TV (KET)
encyclopedia.com
wky.thinkwesternkentucky.com
Kentucky Coin US Mint
NetState: Kentucky

Photo Credit:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

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