Anaxagoras
Banned
Inspired by a discussion Elfwine and I were having in another thread...
To me, one of the most mind-numbingly stupid decisions made by any single individual during the American Civil War was the decision by Confederate General Leonidas Polk to march his troops onto Kentucky soil to seize the town of Columbus in September of 1861. At the time, Kentucky was trying to preserve a neutral position in the conflict between the Union and Confederacy and had told both sides to keep their troops off Kentucky soil. The governor of Kentucky was a secessionists, although there was a majority of Unionists in the legislature.
Polk's stupid decision gave the Unionists within Kentucky the propaganda coup they needed to abandon neutrality in favor of adherence to the Union cause. The consequences to the Confederacy were devastating.
Even worse, from the Southern perspective, is that the Union forces in the area were on the verge of doing some pretty stupid things themselves. Grant was about to enter Kentucky territory himself and Fremont had just issued his proclamation freeing the slaves of Missouri, which shocked even the moderate Unionists in Kentucky. Had Polk not gone into Kentucky, events might have unfolded in such a way that the Kentucky secessionists, rather than the Unionists, could have gained the political upper hand.
So what if Polk had had half a brain and stayed where he was?
To me, one of the most mind-numbingly stupid decisions made by any single individual during the American Civil War was the decision by Confederate General Leonidas Polk to march his troops onto Kentucky soil to seize the town of Columbus in September of 1861. At the time, Kentucky was trying to preserve a neutral position in the conflict between the Union and Confederacy and had told both sides to keep their troops off Kentucky soil. The governor of Kentucky was a secessionists, although there was a majority of Unionists in the legislature.
Polk's stupid decision gave the Unionists within Kentucky the propaganda coup they needed to abandon neutrality in favor of adherence to the Union cause. The consequences to the Confederacy were devastating.
Even worse, from the Southern perspective, is that the Union forces in the area were on the verge of doing some pretty stupid things themselves. Grant was about to enter Kentucky territory himself and Fremont had just issued his proclamation freeing the slaves of Missouri, which shocked even the moderate Unionists in Kentucky. Had Polk not gone into Kentucky, events might have unfolded in such a way that the Kentucky secessionists, rather than the Unionists, could have gained the political upper hand.
So what if Polk had had half a brain and stayed where he was?