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4 unusual facts about Leonidas Polk


Army of Central Kentucky

The Department No. 2 (Western Department) was created on June 25, 1861, under the command of Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk, and had military jurisdiction and control over parts of Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana

Rev. Leonidas Polk was appointed by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States as the first Bishop of the new Diocese.

Kentucky Declaration of Neutrality

Kentucky remained neutral until September 4, 1861, when Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk ordered Brigadier General Gideon Johnson Pillow to occupy Columbus.

Leonidas Polk

He also served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and was for that reason known as The Fighting Bishop.


19th Tennessee Infantry

In September, Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk committed one of the Confederacy's worst strategic blunders by seizing Columbus, Kentucky, and ending the state's neutrality, thereby opening the door for Union forces to move through the Bluegrass State.

Alexander W. Campbell

In 1861, Campbell entered the Confederate States Army in the rank of colonel of the 33rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment, serving in the army of General Leonidas Polk in Columbus, Kentucky.


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