End of the War and Aftermath

This chapter covers the Spanish flu epidemic’s effects on the state; the Kentucky Council of Defense’s conference on state problems in March 1919; efforts to commemorate war participants in various ways (such as the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Hall and local memorials); and the experience of one Kentucky Gold Star Mother, Nola Miller Kinne Fogg, on her US government–sponsored pilgrimage to her son’s grave in France in the early 1930s. The chapter also draws some conclusions about Kentucky and the Great War, including how the state coalesced in support of the war despite political, economic, and social differences.

Religion

This chapter examines the role religious leaders played in persuading Kentuckians to support the war effort and in ministries at Camp Taylor during the war. For many religious leaders, the war was a righteous crusade against the German “Huns,” who embodied evil. Key religious figures included Louisville’s Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor William J. McLaughlin and Patrick Henry Callahan. Most denominations, even those that normally opposed war, fell in line and supported the US war effort.

Women and Children

Women’s efforts to support the war generally received guidance from the Kentucky Division of the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense, headed by Louisvillian Sallie White Bruce. Bruce encouraged the establishment of women’s committees in the counties. The Kentucky Division collaborated with women’s clubs and the Kentucky Council of Defense, supporting activities such as the Red Cross and Liberty Bond campaigns. It also pursued its own initiatives, including child health, schooling, and recreation. Children were expected to support the war too, primarily by growing school gardens and encouraging the purchase of War Savings Stamps.

Kentucky Joins the Great War

This chapter covers the commonwealth’s response to World War I and efforts to support the war after the United States entered it in April 1917. It describes support from newspaper editors Henry Watterson and Desha Breckinridge. It also discusses attitudes toward the state’s extensive German American population, including an effort to ban the teaching of the German language in schools and the repression of people deemed disloyal or insufficiently supportive of the war. Kentuckians also rallied to the war effort in a positive way, supporting Liberty Bond and Red Cross campaigns. They joined support organizations such as the Four Minute Men and the American Protective League.

The Economy

This chapter discusses the impact of the Great War on Kentucky’s economy. It covers efforts to increase agricultural production, encouraged by state commissioner of agriculture Mat Cohen and state extension agent Fred Mutchler. Coal, oil, and hemp production increased. Under the direction of University of Kentucky president Frank McVey, the state office of the US Employment Service tried to ensure adequate labor supplies, especially for agriculture and the construction of Camp Knox. Other topics covered in this chapter include effects on the horse-racing industry and other sports entertainment. The chapter concludes with an examination of industrial labor relations during the war, as reflected by cases in Louisville brought before the National War Labor Board.

African Americans

This chapter discusses the dilemma of African Americans: whether to support a war to make America safe for democracy, even though they were often denied civil rights and democratic freedoms such as the right to vote. Louisville African American resident and newspaperman Roscoe Conklin Simmons supported the US entry into the war and tried to rally Kentucky blacks to the war effort. Black newspaper publisher Phil Brown of Hopkinsville was also active in this endeavor. He initially assisted federal food administrator Fred Sackett in food conservation efforts and then turned his attention to garnering and organizing black support for other war-support activities. This included African Americans who joined the military, many of whom trained at Camp Taylor. The chapter includes the experiences of Austin Kinnaird, a white officer from Louisville who commanded black troops, and Charles Lewis, a black soldier still in uniform when he was lynched in Fulton County a month after the armistice.

Army Camps

Kentucky had four military camps during the war: Fort Thomas in northern Kentucky, Camp Stanley in Lexington, Camp Taylor in Louisville, and Camp Knox between Louisville and Elizabethtown. Camps Thomas and Stanley dealt primarily with the Kentucky National Guard, while Camps Taylor and Knox became facilities to train draftees. US entry into the war prompted the federal government to establish new cantonments to train millions of men for the military. A rivalry to get one of these camps developed between Louisville and Lexington, exacerbated by newspaper coverage in the Louisville Courier-Journal and Lexington Herald. Louisville received the new cantonment: Camp Zachary Taylor. The camp processed men primarily from Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, many of whom were formed into the Eighty-Fourth Division, known as the “Lincoln Division.” Other training consisted of a Field Artillery Central Officers Training School (FACOTS) and a school for chaplains. Segregated divisions comprised of African Americans were created and officered by white men. At times, the number of men in the camp reached nearly 60,000. Several organizations provided services, including the YMCA, Red Cross, Knights of Columbus, and Young Men’s Hebrew Association. Libraries and “Moonlight Schools” helped combat soldier illiteracy. Toward the end of the war, Camp Knox was developed to provide better artillery range facilities. The new camps vastly boosted the local economies.

The Draft

After much debate, the federal government initiated a selective service system, the “draft,” to supply men for a vastly expanded military. Kentucky was given its quota of men and established a state selective service office directed by Major Henry Rhodes, who reported to state adjutant general Tandy Ellis. Governor Stanley appointed registration boards in the counties to oversee four national registration days, as well as local draft boards to process the men after they were registered. Guided by policies and advice from the director of the US selective service system and the army provost marshal, General Enoch Crowder, Rhodes dealt with many issues and advised the county boards on issues such as nonregistrants, exemptions, and men who ignored draft calls. Because of the tireless efforts of Major Rhodes and the many local board members, the draft mechanism worked well in Kentucky, where few men failed to show up for service.

The Kentucky Council of Defense

In April 1917 Governor Augustus O. Stanley issued an executive order establishing a state Council of National Defense to coordinate war-support activities in Kentucky. This council worked with the federal Council of National Defense, which suggested policies and activities. Headed first by Embry Swearingen and then Edward Hines, the state council was eventually sanctioned and funded by the legislature when it met in spring 1918. Subcommittees focused on topics such as agriculture, publicity, and public safety. The Kentucky Council of Defense (KCD) helped form county councils, which sponsored local war-support activities such as Liberty Loan drives and the Red Cross. The KCD held statewide conferences to discuss and coordinate war-support activities, such as county Patriotic Weeks. Much of the publicity effort resulted from the work of KCD member Henry Hardin Cherry, president of Western Kentucky State Normal School. After the war the KCD held a conference to discuss Kentucky’s problems and coordinated a project whereby each county compiled histories of its war efforts and soldier records.

“Over There”

This chapter covers some of the Kentuckians who served abroad with the military or with civilian relief organizations such as the Red Cross. Kentucky claimed two Medal of Honor recipients: Willie Sandlin and Samuel Woodfill. Several Kentuckians received the second highest military award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and some received foreign decorations such as the French Croix de Guerre. Kentuckians held high command positions, serving as generals and admirals. Kentucky military men fought on the Western Front, in northern Russia, and in Siberia. This chapter describes the experiences of Kentuckians who wrote letters home, several of which were published in local newspapers. One such soldier was Reuben Hutchcraft of Paris, a young lawyer and former state representative who was killed in the last days of the war.