The
citizens of the town had fled with terror, and not a word of
assurance of safety or protection had been addressed to them.
Since I have taken possession of this place, I have been
informed by highly respected citizens of your State that certain
representatives of the Federal Government are seeking to take
advantage of its own wrong, are setting up complaints against my
acts of occupation, and are making it a pretest for seizing
other points. Upon this proceeding I have no comments to make.
But I am prepared to say that I will agree to withdraw the
Confederate troops from Kentucky, provided that she will agree
that the troops of the Federal Government be withdrawn
simultaneously, with a guarantee (which I will give reciprocally
for the Confederate Government) that the Federal troops shall
not be allowed to enter or occupy any part of Kentucky in the
future.
"I have the honor to be, respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed)
"Leonidas Polk,
"_Major-General commanding_."
However willing the government of Kentucky might have been to accede to
the proposition of General Polk, and which from his knowledge of the
views of his own Government he was fully justified in offering, the
State of Kentucky had no power, moral or physical, to prevent the United
States Government from using her soil as best might suit its purposes in
the war it was waging for the subjugation of the seceded States.
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