Paducah-Gateway to the Confederacy

[5fish]

It seems the early days of the in the West centered around Paducah, Kentucky. General Grant captrue the town on September ^ countering General Polk's move in capturing Columbus, Kentucky on September 4.

Details...

Paducah-Gateway to the Confederacy - Essential Civil War Curriculum

Snip... overview...

. In September 1861 Confederate forces under General Leonidas Polk captured Columbus Kentucky. The bluffs at Columbus dominated the Mississippi below the confluence with the Ohio River. In response, General Grant occupied Paducah Kentucky. His quick action countered the Confederate move and gave him control of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers as well as the Cumberland River.

Snip...

Arguably without Paducah, Grant might not have been able to mount his successful campaigns along the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Paducah remained a major Union supply depot and center for care of the sick and wounded throughout the war. Without Grant's capture of Paducah, the war in the west might have turned out very differently. Paducah’s capture was one of Grant’s early and important successes as Paducah became the gateway to the Confederacy

 

[5fish]

September 4, 1861 - Gideon Pillow seizes Columbus, Kentucky.

With both Confederate and Union forces desiring to enter Kentucky to establish forts and gain Kentucky’s valuable resources, it wasn’t long before Kentucky’s neutrality was tested. On September 4, 1861, Confederate General Gideon Pillow crossed into Kentucky and seized Columbus. Union leader Ulysses S. Grant responded by seizing Paducah. This series of events ended Kentucky’s stance as a neutral state and after a vote in the state legislature, Kentucky declared herself for the Union.4

“The Gibraltar of the West.” These artifacts, as well as a house believed to have been used a as a hospital, are preserved at Columbus-Belmont State Park.

From the capture of the town we get "Pillow Folly"...

“Pillow’s Folly” - the giant chain The town of Columbus was an early objective for both Union and Confederate Armies. To ensure that no enemy vessels sneaked past the fortifications at Columbus, the Confederates strung the big chain – said to have been more than a mile long – across the river, securing it on the Columbus end with a huge anchor. A poster that has hung in the park museum for many years provides some of the only details known about the anchor. According to the poster, the anchor was taken from the Washington Naval Yard and brought up the Mississippi from Mobile Harbor in Alabama by Southern sympathizers when the war broke out. The poster also said that the chain was floated across the river on log pontoons, then tied to two large sycamores on the Missouri shore. A capstan allowed it to be raised or lowered. The anchor’s weight and the swift Mississippi current eventually caused the chain to break. Estimates of the anchor’s weight range from 4 to 6 tons. Its hooks measure 9 feet from point to point. Each link of the chain is 11 inches long and 6 inches across. About 65 feet of the chain and anchor are displayed at the park. In one historical account, the chain was referred to as “Pillow’s Folly,” an apparent reference to General Gideon Pillow of Tennessee, commander of Confederate troops along the Mississippi and logically the author of the chain idea. Very little about the chain was ever recorded in military reports from Columbus, which probably resulted in much local folklore.

Fortress Columbus...

Union General Halleck in a letter to General McClellan stated: “Columbus cannot be taken without an immense siege-train and a terrible loss of life. I have thoroughly studied its defenses - they are very strong; but can be turned, paralyzed, and forced to surrender.”

Throughout the autumn and winter, as many as 19,000 Confederate troops labored incessantly to make the position at Columbus impregnable. A floating battery was positioned on the Mississippi including river streamers which were converted to gunboats; more than 140 guns were positioned on the bluffs; and a huge chain, firmly anchored on the Columbus shore and resting on rafts was stretched across the river. In addition, numerous trenches were dug at Columbus to further fortify what would be called Fort DeRussey.

The link and more details...

https://parks.ky.gov/sites/default/...a895977a12981568a_Col-Belmontpcktbrochure.pdf

 

[diane]

NIce stuff, 5fish! One thing I didn't see mentioned was salt. There were a lot of salt works in that region around Paducah. A S Johnston wanted to secure that area immediately, first item on his list, and was setting up to do it when some rogue generals stepped in his cake! Had Pillow, Polk and company kept their places, Johnston would have secured a major anchor for the Confederacy.

 

[Jim Klag]

NIce stuff, 5fish! One thing I didn't see mentioned was salt. There were a lot of salt works in that region around Paducah. A S Johnston wanted to secure that area immediately, first item on his list, and was setting up to do it when some rogue generals stepped in his cake! Had Pillow, Polk and company kept their places, Johnston would have secured a major anchor for the Confederacy.

It is interesting that the only rebel leader who backed Polk's move into Kentucky was Jefferson Davis. Everybody els in the rebel leadership was opposed to it. Thus, early in the war, Davis was showing his utter unsuitability to be president. His decision to fire on Sumter, his decision to defend every inch of ground and this decision to support Polk's incursion into Kentucky were all made on emotion rather than cool calculation. He was already proving to be no match for Lincoln.

 

[diane]

Sometimes I think they should have taken Davis at his word when he said he didn't want to be president! Bragg gleefully joined the crowd AFTER the deed was done - Bragg being Bragg, he may have been whispering in Davis' ear before committing himself. Let's see how they do... Lincoln couldn't have been happier. Now he didn't have to sneak around like they'd been doing, he could lawfully come to the aid of an invaded state since he recognized the Union government of Kentucky. A S Johnston left his jaw on the floor for quite some time then pulled up his socks and soldiered on. He didn't even have words for it! It gave Lincoln the key state he had been craving.