During the War of 1812, Kentucky supplied numerous troops and supplies to the war effort. Because Kentucky did not have to commit manpower to defending fortifications, most Kentucky troops campaigned actively against the enemy. This led to Kentucky seeing more battle casualties than all other states combined.[1]
With the impending onset of hostilities, the governor of the Indiana Territory, future United States President William Henry Harrison sought military assistance from neighboring Kentucky. After being appointed brigadier general of the Kentucky militia on August 22, Harrison went to attain the force in order to defend the Indiana territorial government at Vincennes, Indiana.[2] Harrison had resigned his military commission in December 1811, but with the help of Kentucky governor Charles Scott, he was able to recruit Kentucky citizens to help defend Indiana; citizens in Ohio and Indiana had heard of the lack of camp provisions and chose not to be burdened by such hardships.[2] [3] As a result, most of Kentucky's militia during the war fought in what was the old Northwest Territory.[4]
Some 25,010 Kentuckians served in war, which was about five out of every six men then of military age. Fighting against both the British and their Native Americans allies, Kentucky sent a total of 36 regiments, four battalions, and twelve independent companies to the field, an almost unbelievable accomplishment considering the state's small population at the time.[5]
| Counties named for fallen River Raisin officers[6] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Allen County | John Allen | |
| Ballard County | Bland Ballard | |
| Edmonson County | John Edmonson | |
| Graves County | Benjamin Franklin Graves | |
| Hart County | Nathaniel G. S. Hart | |
| Hickman County | Paschal Hickman | |
| McCracken County | Virgil McCracken | |
| Meade County | James Meade | |
| Simpson County | John Simpson | |
Many Kentuckians also took part in Andrew Jackson's defeat of a British force at the Battle of New Orleans, which took place (unknown to the participants) after the peace treaty had already been signed.
Isaac Shelby, Kentucky's 1st and 5th Governor and Revolutionary War hero, helped lead the Kentucky militia in the War of 1812 in the recapture of Fort Detroit from the British when he was in his 60s, leading to its renaming as Fort Shelby. Shelby also joined General Harrison in pursuing the retreating British troops led by Major-General Henry Procter and the Indian leader Tecumseh into Canada, defeating them and killing Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames.
Almost all the American soldiers at the Battle of Wild Cat Creek, fought in northern Indiana, were residents of the Hopkinsville, Kentucky area in southwestern Kentucky.[8]
Kentucky helped supply the war. A major supply depot for the war was at Newport, Kentucky. Dubbed Newport Barracks, the staging area would later serve as a supply depot for conflicts with Mexico later in the century.[9] Saltpeter was heavily mined in Carter County and at the Great Saltpeter Cave in Rockcastle County.[10] But the most notable mining was at Mammoth Cave, whose saltpeter, considered exceptional quality, was numbered at 570,000 pounds produced during the war.[11]
The war also affected the state's economy. Due to the inability to trade with Britain during the war, "rudimentary manufacturing" was spurred during the timeframe.[12] To help pay for the war, a distilled spirits excise tax was levied during the war, and would not end until 1817. The next such tax would not be levied until the Civil War in 1862.[13]
The War of 1812 had a lasting effect on Kentucky. One consequence was that the Shawnee never again challenged white control of the state.[14] Also, a number of Kentucky's future leaders served in the war. Counting Isaac Shelby's second term, which began just after the outbreak of hostilities, six consecutive governors of Kentucky were veterans of the war. Later governors Charles A. Wickliffe and John J. Crittenden also served as aides-de-camp in the war. Twenty-two of Kentucky's one hundred twenty counties are named for participants in the War of 1812, including nine that were named after soldiers killed at the Battle of River Raisin.