Kentucky in the War of 1812

[1] With the impending onset of hostilities, the governor of the Indiana Territory, future United States President William Henry Harrison sought military assistance from neighboring Kentucky.

Fighting against both the British and their Native Americans allies, Kentucky sent a total of 36 regiments, four battalions, and twelve independent companies to the field, an almost unbelievable accomplishment considering the state's small population at the time.

The River Raisin casualties included about 400 Kentuckians killed in the fighting, plus eighty wounded prisoners who were tomahawked by the Indians as soon as the British departed.

[6] Many Kentuckians also took part in Andrew Jackson's defeat of a British force at the Battle of New Orleans, which took place (unknown to the participants) after the peace treaty had already been signed.

[10] But the most notable mining was at Mammoth Cave, whose saltpeter, considered exceptional quality, was numbered at 570,000 pounds produced during the war.

Counting Isaac Shelby's second term, which began just after the outbreak of hostilities, six consecutive governors of Kentucky were veterans of the war.