This district contained the entire Jackson Purchase region of the state, which was more sympathetic to the Confederate cause than any other area of Kentucky.

Unionist newspaper editor George D. Prentice described Burnett as "a big, burly, loud-mouthed fellow who is forever raising points of order and objections, to embarrass the Republicans in the House".

[1] Besides championing the secession in Congress, Burnett also worked within Kentucky to bolster the state's support of the Confederacy.

The delegates to this convention chose Burnett to travel to Richmond, Virginia to secure Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy.

Camp Burnett, a Confederate recruiting post two miles west of Clinton in Hickman County, Kentucky, was named after him.

[4] The younger Henry C. Burnett (educated at the University of Virginia after his father's death) became a successful lawyer in Paducah and, later, Louisville.

In the January 7, 1861 issue of Paducah's Tri-Weekly Herald, he declared, "There is not the slightest hope of any settlement or adjustment of existing troubles.

[17] Following the rapid secessions of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, Congress began preparing the nation for war, including by strengthening the army and navy and raising funds for the treasury.

[18] To avert war then, the Kentucky General Assembly called for a meeting of border states to convene in Frankfort on May 27.

The voters of the First District's Southern Rights party called a meeting to be held May 29, 1861 at the Graves County courthouse in Mayfield.

The purpose of the meeting was ostensibly to re-nominate Burnett for his congressional seat, but some Unionists believed an ulterior motive was in play.

After a number of speeches were delivered, a majority committee chaired by Paducah circuit judge James Campbell presented a report containing seven resolutions.

The resolutions declared the region's sympathy with the South, although it pledged to abide by Kentucky's present policy of neutrality.

The report also condemned the federal government for arming Union sympathizers in the state with so-called "Lincoln guns".

They also praised Governor Magoffin for rebuffing Lincoln's call for troops and encouraged him to drive away any Union invasion of the state.

This statement alluded to an earlier comment by Turner that "no man who is engaged in the cause of the South could go to Congress and take the oath of office without perjuring himself.

[25] After Congress adjourned on August 6, 1861, Burnett returned home to Cadiz and spoke at a number of pro-Southern rallies.

The self-appointed delegates to this conference called for a sovereignty convention on November 18, 1861, for the purpose of establishing a Confederate government for the state.

[10][29] On November 11, 1861, Burnett himself enlisted in the Confederate States Army at Camp Alcorn; he was chosen as colonel of the 8th Kentucky, but never took command.

[30] By the third day, the military situation was so tenuous that the entire convention had to be moved to a tower on the campus of Bethel Female College, a now-defunct institution in Russellville.

[32] Burnett, William Preston of Fayette County and William E. Simms of Bourbon County were chosen as commissioners for the provisional government and were dispatched to Richmond, Virginia to negotiate with Confederate President Jefferson Davis to secure Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy.

[33] For reasons unexplained by the delegates, Dr. Luke P. Blackburn, a native Kentuckian living in Mississippi, was invited to accompany the commissioners.

[35] Most of the Confederate garrison was captured, including the 8th Kentucky, but Burnett escaped in General John B. Floyd's retreat following the defeat.

[35] Burnett represented Kentucky in the Provisional Confederate Congress from November 18, 1861, to February 17, 1862, and served as a member of that body's Finance Committee.