Frankfort occupies a unique place in the annals of the Civil War. In 1862, it became the only loyal state capital to be occupied by Confederate forces during the war. In 1864 the capital was attacked by elements of Morgan's raiders in a sharp action in which Governor Thomas E. Bramlette and other state officials took an active part. This talk will cover the major events and colorful episodes that occurred in Frankfort during the great conflict.
James M. Prichard is a historian and public speaker who resides in Louisville. He received his B.A. and M.A. in History at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Following his tenure as Research Room Supervisor at the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives (1985-2008), he worked in the Special Collections Department at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville from 2013 to 2022. In addition to writing the Frankfort Heritage Press book Embattled Capital: Frankfort During the Civil War (2014), he has contributed essays to the following scholarly works: Virginia at War: 1863, Confederate Generals in the Western Theater volumes 2 and 4, Kentuckians in Gray, Kentucky Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Louisville, Biographical Dictionary of the Union, Heidler’s Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, The World Encyclopedia of Slavery, and Confederate Generals in the Western Theater, as well as Civil War Times, North and South, and True West magazines.