In ccHFM, Kentucky almost always secedes from the Union to join the Confederacy in the historical American Civil War. This is to some extent ahistorical. To quote Abraham Lincoln:
I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we can not hold Missouri, nor, as I think, Maryland. These all against us, and the job on our hands is too large for us. We would as well consent to separation at once, including the surrender of this capitol.
Kentucky was officially neutral at the start of the American Civil War, although in reality it was experiencing something akin to a smaller civil war of its own. Governor Beriah Magoffin was sympathetic to the Confederacy, and the Kentucky General Assembly had a veto-proof pro-Union majority. However, Kentucky remained a slave state and did not abolish slavery during the war. This is in contrast with Missouri and Maryland, which sided with the Union, but which abolished slavery during the war. In fact, the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was not ratified in Kentucky until 1976 (yes, I mean 19 and not 18). This key difference could be used to explain the in-game secession of Kentucky, but it was more complicated than that historically.
There was a Confederate Government of Kentucky, a shadow government, formed during the war which had a designated capital at Bowling Green in the south-central part of the state. This government was admitted to the Confederacy in December, 1861, after the official government of Kentucky had declared for the Union in September, 1861, in response to the Confederate invasion of Columbus, Kentucky. The official Kentucky government's declaration for the Union occurred because the General Assembly overrode the governor's veto.
So what does this mean in-game? In the start of the war, neither side was able to officially recruit from Kentucky. Magoffin replied to Lincoln in writing:
"President Lincoln, I will send not a man nor a dollar for the wicked purpose of subduing my sister Southern states.
When William "Bull" Nelson established a Union recruiting camp in the state, he responded to an accusation that he had violated Kentucky neutrality:
That a camp of loyal Union men, native Kentuckians, should assemble in camp under the flag of the Union and upon their native soil should be a cause of apprehension is something I do not clearly understand.
However, with the break of neutrality confirmed in late 1861, most of the state was pro-Union in terms of controlled territory, which is not too much different from certain border states that are usually Union, such as Missouri. Given the precarious situation in the state and the inability in-game to fully account for it, I suggest that it should be for the Union in about 60% of scenarios, and should be for the Confederacy in the other 40% of the scenarios. This is in contrast with the current way that it works in-game, with Kentucky seceding essentially 100% of the time. Given that the war had started in April, 1861, and neutrality was over in September, this period of neutrality is probably not worth modeling in the game.
The next step is to make Kentucky usually join the Union. I will take a look at the code on this, which is probably complex.
In ccHFM, Kentucky almost always secedes from the Union to join the Confederacy in the historical American Civil War. This is to some extent ahistorical. To quote Abraham Lincoln:
Kentucky was officially neutral at the start of the American Civil War, although in reality it was experiencing something akin to a smaller civil war of its own. Governor Beriah Magoffin was sympathetic to the Confederacy, and the Kentucky General Assembly had a veto-proof pro-Union majority. However, Kentucky remained a slave state and did not abolish slavery during the war. This is in contrast with Missouri and Maryland, which sided with the Union, but which abolished slavery during the war. In fact, the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was not ratified in Kentucky until 1976 (yes, I mean 19 and not 18). This key difference could be used to explain the in-game secession of Kentucky, but it was more complicated than that historically.
There was a Confederate Government of Kentucky, a shadow government, formed during the war which had a designated capital at Bowling Green in the south-central part of the state. This government was admitted to the Confederacy in December, 1861, after the official government of Kentucky had declared for the Union in September, 1861, in response to the Confederate invasion of Columbus, Kentucky. The official Kentucky government's declaration for the Union occurred because the General Assembly overrode the governor's veto.
So what does this mean in-game? In the start of the war, neither side was able to officially recruit from Kentucky. Magoffin replied to Lincoln in writing:
When William "Bull" Nelson established a Union recruiting camp in the state, he responded to an accusation that he had violated Kentucky neutrality:
However, with the break of neutrality confirmed in late 1861, most of the state was pro-Union in terms of controlled territory, which is not too much different from certain border states that are usually Union, such as Missouri. Given the precarious situation in the state and the inability in-game to fully account for it, I suggest that it should be for the Union in about 60% of scenarios, and should be for the Confederacy in the other 40% of the scenarios. This is in contrast with the current way that it works in-game, with Kentucky seceding essentially 100% of the time. Given that the war had started in April, 1861, and neutrality was over in September, this period of neutrality is probably not worth modeling in the game.
The next step is to make Kentucky usually join the Union. I will take a look at the code on this, which is probably complex.