Camp Calhoun

Camp Calhoun. . , Defending Lock No. 2 , Confederate forces occupied Bowling Green on September 18, 1861. Young men, eager to support the Union cause and filled with thoughts of adventure, joined Home Guard units across Kentucky. Before the end of the month 2,000 men recruited in McLean and neighboring counties arrived in Calhoun to defend Green River Lock No. 2. They established a camp on a hill overlooking the Green River about ¼ mile west of where you now stand., Controlling access to the Green River and its major tributary, the Big Barren, was vital. Navigable from Bowling Green to the Ohio River, the rivers formed an important trade route. When the Confederates seized Lock No. 3 at Rochester soon after occupying Bowling Green, Union forces rushed to secure the remaining locks. The Green River became the dividing line between Union and Confederate forces in Kentucky. , Camp Calhoun , Near the end of September several Indiana infantry regiments arrived at the "camp at Calhoun" bringing the total number of men to more than 5,000. In November, General Thomas L. Crittenden, appointed commander of Camp Calhoun, arrived with his command. In late January more troops arrived in readiness for the Union advance to be spearheaded by General Ulysses S. Grant's assaults on Forts Henry and Donelson. Camp Calhoun now housed between 10,000 and 15,000 men. In contrast, the civilian population of Calhoun was little more than 500. , In early February 1862, most of the troops at Camp Calhoun left to take part in Grant's invasion of Tennessee and the battles at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Other regiments soon left to advance on Mill Springs, Bowling Green and Nashville. The Confederates abandoned Kentucky and the focus of the war shifted south. , The Green River region was far from safe, however. Rebel raiders and guerilla forces including "Sue Mundy" continued to operate. A small force remained at Camp Calhoun to counter this constant threat. The last state Guard unit left Camp Calhoun in late February 1865, which corresponds to the last known burial at Camp Calhoun Cemetery., {Photo inset} , Gen. Thomas Leonidas Crittenden , Commander of Camp Calhoun , Thomas Crittenden was the son of Kentucky statesman John Crittenden, author of the Crittenden Compromise, an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the differences that even then seemed destined to end in civil war. The Crittenden family exemplified the divisiveness of the War. Thomas' brother George joined the Confederate army, in which be also became a general.