Kentuckians by the thousands have fought in all of the American wars of the industrial age. Fathers, sons, and brothers from the Bluegrass State spilled each other's blood in countless Civil War battles and skirmishes. Over the next century their descendants bore arms on the seven seas, the Far Western frontier, in the Caribbean and Philippine islands, and in China. Kentuckians took part in both world wars of the twentieth century in every capacity. Kentucky Fighting Men, 1861--1945 features individual Kentuckians who represent the overall context of the American military experience...

As an outpost of the advancing frontier, Kentucky played a crucial military role. Kentucky's state militia, which, under federal law, enrolled every able-bodied male citizen aged eighteen to forty-five, helped to secure the West for white settlers during the bloody Indian wars. Its members suffered defeat, capture, and death in the War of 1812, but also contributed to victories in the battles of the Thames and New Orleans. Though some Kentucky volunteers campaigned in the Mexican-American War, the general militia was moribund by the middle of the nineteenth century. Its infrequent musters...