PDF Disease and Discrimination: Poverty and Pestilence in Colonial Atlantic America by Dale L. Hutchinson in History

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During the Civil War; the majority of Kentuckians supported the Union under the leadership of Henry Clay; but one part of the state presented a striking exception. The Jackson Purchase―bounded by the Mississippi River to the west; the Ohio River to the north; and the Tennessee River to the east―fought hard for separation and secession; and produced eight times more Confederates than Union soldiers. Supporting states' rights and slavery; these eight counties in the westernmost part of the commonwealth were so pro-Confederate that the Purchase was dubbed "the South Carolina of Kentucky."The first dedicated study of this key region; Kentucky Confederates provides valuable insights into a misunderstood and understudied part of Civil War history. Author Berry Craig begins by exploring the development of the Purchase from 1818; when Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby acquired it from the Chickasaw tribe. Geographically isolated from the rest of the Bluegrass State; the area's early settlers came from the South; and rail and river trade linked the region to Memphis and western Tennessee rather than to points north and east.Craig draws from an impressive array of primary documents; including newspapers; letters; and diaries; to reveal the regional and national impact this unique territory had on the nation's greatest conflict. Offering an important new perspective on this rebellious borderland and its failed bid for secession; Kentucky Confederates will serve as the standard text on the subject for years to come.