Kentucky in the War of 1812
During the War of 1812, Kentucky supplied numerous troops and supplies to the war effort. Because Kentucky did not have to commit manpower to defending fortifications, most Kentucky troops campaigned actively against the enemy. This led to Kentucky seeing more battle casualties than all other states combined.[1]
Isaac Shelby, Kentucky's 1st and 5th Governor and Revolutionary War hero, helped lead the Kentucky militia in the War of 1812 in the recapture of Fort Detroit from the British when he was in his 60s, leading to its renaming as Fort Shelby. Shelby also joined General Harrison in pursuing the retreating British troops led by Major-General Henry Procter and the Indian leader Tecumseh into Canada, defeating them and killing Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames.
Almost all the American soldiers at the Battle of Wild Cat Creek, fought in northern Indiana, were residents of the Hopkinsville, Kentucky area in southwestern Kentucky.[8]
Future governors[edit]
The War of 1812 had a lasting effect on Kentucky. One consequence was that the Shawnee never again challenged white control of the state.[14] Also, a number of Kentucky's future leaders served in the war. Counting Isaac Shelby's second term, which began just after the outbreak of hostilities, six consecutive governors of Kentucky were veterans of the war. Later governors Charles A. Wickliffe and John J. Crittenden also served as aides-de-camp in the war. Twenty-two of Kentucky's one hundred twenty counties are named for participants in the War of 1812, including nine that were named after soldiers killed at the Battle of River Raisin.