42 The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War
of the Confederates to seize the state by force, andat once all thought of neutrality was at an end.The stars and stripes were defiantly hoisted overthe capitol at Frankfort , and the legislature re-solved that Governor Magoffin should “inform_ , those concerned that Kentucky expects
declares for the Confederate troops to be with-
the Union. drawn from her soil unconditionally.”The governor vetoed this resolution, and it wasinstantly passed over the veto. As soon as it wasknown that Polk had occupied Columbus , a Federaldetachment crossed the Ohio and occupied Padu cah . A motion in the legislature that the gov-ernor should request the removal of these troopsalso was defeated by a vote of more than twothirds. A few days later it was voted to raise anarmed force and drive the Confederates from thestate. Most of the State Guard now went over tothe enemy, and with them went Buckner, JohnMorgan, afterward so famous as a guerrilla chief-tain, and John Breckinridge , who had lately beenVice-President of the United States . The loyaltyof these men to the Confederacy thus seems tohave outweighed their loyalty to their own state,which had now decisively and finally arrayed itselfon the side of the Union.
General Polk’s designs upon Cairo had alreadybeen anticipated and foiled by Federal troops