After the fall of 1862 and the Battle of Perryville, most of the conventional fighting between large Union and Confederate armies took place beyond Kentucky’s borders, and on the surface the commonwealth was controlled by Federal forces. But the Union army was never able to adequately occupy and protect the entire state, focusing its resources instead on key transportation arteries and garrison cities and towns. The remainder of Kentucky could be a chaotic and dangerous “no-man’s-land” threatened by bandits and guerillas. This lecture explores some examples of wartime activities by these groups.

Mark Wetherington was born in Tifton, Georgia and served in the U. S. Navy from 1968-1971. He received the BA and MA degrees in history at Georgia Southern University, and earned a Ph.D. in history at the University of Tennessee. He has served as Director of The Filson Historical Society since 1993. He is the author of two books on the Civil War and Reconstruciton in Georgia, and the author of numerous articles and reviews, including an essay in the forthcoming University Press of Kentucky book entitled The Idea of the Athens of the West, which explores the history of central Kentucky.

Reservations are required.