Local Western Kentucky Historian Austin Valentine, Jr. Proposes New Book

Confederate Guerrillas in the Bluegrass State – How Irregular Warfare Affected Kentucky

by Austin Valentine, Jr.

When historians discuss Confederate Guerrilla Raiders and their actions before and during the American Civil War, many immediately focus on the atrocities west of the Mississippi River, also known as the trans-Mississippi region. They think about states like Kansas and Missouri – drawing parallels to the words “Bloody Kansas” or “Lawrence Massacre.” In addition, it conjures names like William Clarke Quantrill, William T. “Bloody Bill” Anderson, the James brothers, and the Cole Younger gang because their names have been drilled into our brains in classes, novels, and television shows since childhood. In addition, many often forget – or never heard of – names like John Hunt Morgan or Nathan Bedford Forrest, whose gangs ravaged the state of Kentucky during the war.

Scholarship concerning Confederate Guerrilla Raiders operating in Kentucky did not begin to surface until the early to the mid-20th century and only focused on a select few individuals like Morgan and Forrest. Sadly, such scholarly works were biographies often based on the author’s opinion – usually paralleling the “Lost Cause” narrative. In addition, these scholarly works often romanticized the Confederate Guerrilla Raiders as dashing young men portrayed as heroes to their cause rather than murderous villains and thieves.

It was not until the turn of the 21st century before scholarship surfaced concerning the actions of these Confederate Guerrilla bands – opening a new sub-history in American Civil War scholarship. However, the primary focus of these scholarly works centered around the justification that Confederate Guerrilla Raider’s actions played a significant role in determining the outcome of the Civil War. Therefore, Confederate Guerrillas in the Bluegrass State – How Irregular Warfare Affected Kentucky plans to take the scholarship on Confederate Guerrilla Bands in a new direction – centering on how their actions affected Kentucky rather than only focusing on their biographies or how their actions affected the war effort in general.

Through the utilization of official records and newspaper articles, coupled with correspondence and memoirs of Kentucky citizens, Confederate Guerrillas in the Bluegrass State – How Irregular Warfare Affected Kentucky will expose how the actions of these Confederate Guerrilla Raiders affected the state’s populous. Even though the Confederate sentiment ran high in Kentucky, a vast majority of the state’s population – composed of both Union and Confederate sympathizers – experienced some form of impact from the actions of Confederate Guerrilla Raiders. Therefore, this new ground-breaking scholarship will expose the extent of some of these impacts – locally and statewide.

This new scholarship is a continuation of a master’s thesis submitted to Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), titled Confederate Guerrillas in the Bluegrass, which explored the lives of a handful of known and lesser-known Confederate Guerrilla Raiders. However, the paper’s basis was to expose a select few little-known Guerrilla Raiders – documenting their lives from childhood to death. After submitting the master’s thesis, the idea surfaced to take this scholarship further and expose how these Confederate Guerrilla Raiders affected Kentucky.

The inspiration for this project dates back to 2010, stemming from years of Kentucky Civil War research – particularly local Civil War history. The fascination began during the compilation of family genealogy books containing relatives who participated in the Civil War. From 2014 to 2018, three books were published containing detailed genealogies and select stories about war-time service – including Civil War service. The Midwest Migration – The History of the Jacob Valentine Family (2014), The Midwest Migration – The History of the John Frederick Croft Family (2015), and The Midwest Migration – The History of the Daniel Travis Family (2018) sold multiple copies. In addition, these works received many compliments on the information contained and the family narratives regarding military service.

The next significant Civil War research, which took a more scientific turn, is titled Finding Ft. Smith and Ft. Star in Smithland, KY (2018). The resulting work brought together historical documents, hand-drawn maps, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data, and Geographic Information Systems to locate a missing Civil War Fort and correct a false assumption regarding the name of existing earthworks in the town of Smithland, Kentucky. The small town of Smithland is located in Western Kentucky at the convergence of the Cumberland and Ohio rivers. Prior to the publication of this research, historians called an existing star-shaped earthwork Fort Smith or Fort Star. The research determined that Fort Star and Fort Smith were two entirely different locations in the town. Fort Smith was on the east side of the town overlooking the Cumberland River, and Fort Star was on the west side overlooking the Ohio River. The resulting paper proves that 3D laser mapping of existing structures has a valid application in historical research.

The most recent Civil War research explored one of the first skirmishes occurring in the small local community of Saratoga Springs, Kentucky. The resulting work, The Skirmish at Saratoga Springs, Kentucky, and its Overall Influence (2021), describes how Union soldiers avoided detection – on water and land – to initiate an attack on a Confederate training camp in an area surrounded by Confederate sympathizers.

Even though a significant amount of the prior Civil War research mentioned above does not directly include Confederate Guerrilla Raiders, these works still prove a strong desire to investigate events that took place during the American Civil War in Kentucky. Therefore, such dedication, writing skills, and publications demonstrate the ability to conduct extensive research and create accurate historical narratives based on surviving primary source documents. Nevertheless, Confederate Guerrillas in the Bluegrass State – How Irregular Warfare Affected Kentucky should prove a worthy project, adding to the ever-growing Confederate Guerrilla Research while taking the existing scholarship in a new direction.