Response of Kentucky to the Mexican War, 1846 - 1848

Scholarship on any war naturally tends to center on military events and military personalities. Political history is often mingled with military history as to how the political actions are reflected on the battlefield. Only recently have military historians begun to examine the social ramification of war on the soldiers of the battle front and the civilians of the home front. This study examines the impact of the Mexican War on both the public and private lives of Kentucky citizens. Coming only a little more than a decade before the titanic struggle we call the American Civil War, the Mexican War has been overshadowed by the greater conflict. While some fine overview and good biographies exist, regional and state studies are far more difficult to come by. This study looks at the deeply divided state of Kentucky and its response to the Mexican War. Kentucky’s division reflects the larger American division. Hopefully, more regional and local studies about this critical era in American history will be forthcoming.