At this point Bragg, too, was beset with political problems. Kentucky was showing no enthusiasm for the Southern cause. Bragg was thus seduced by the specious arguments of a few prominent Kentuckians who were accompanying his army. Their reasoning was that the sons of Kentucky were not coming forward because they feared the harsh Union reprisals against their land and families, should Bragg leave. However, if Bragg were to install a legitimate government at Frankfort, a conscription act could be passed. Once this had been done, Bragg would be flooded with volunteers.

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The fact that Bragg could believe such an argument after spending a month in the state observing the reluctant-to-fight citizens of Kentucky revealed a great lack of judgment on his part. However, the South did attach great importance to securing the legitimacy of shadow governments in border states such as Missouri and Kentucky. Bragg obligingly began to make preparations to have Richard Hawes sworn in as the new Confederate governor at Frankfort.

Meanwhile, on October 1, Buell and his 60,000 soldiers pushed out of Louisville in order to bring the Confederate forces in Kentucky to battle and destroy them. The Union host was divided into four great columns. Three of these were bearing down on the Confederate positions at Bardstown. The other, carrying out a feint, was headed toward Frankfort.

As the Union forces launched their operation, the Confederates were in no position to meet the threats. Bragg was away from the army attending to last-minute details of the inauguration, and the available Southern forces were spread along a 50-mile front from Bardstown to Frankfort. Holding the northern anchor at Frankfort were the troops of Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne, recently returned to the army after suffering a wound to the face at Richmond. On October 2, a strong Federal force hit his positions and drove him back.

The skillfully managed feint convinced Bragg that this was the direction of the main Federal advance, and he decided to concentrate the army. Requests were sent out for Smith to bring the 10,000 men under his command to Lexington. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk’s forces at Bardstown were to march north.

It was rare to find ‘Bishop’ Polk in the right, militarily, but on the morning of October 2, he was in a much better position to observe the Federal intentions than Bragg. His cavalry pickets told him that all three roads leading into Bardstown were jammed with Federal troops. True to his disputatious nature, Polk decided to disobey Bragg’s orders and retreat to a Confederate supply dump at Harrodsburg.

By October 3, Bragg should have been aware that strong Union forces were pushing against his scattered troops from both north and west. Instead, he continued to devote his energies to preparing for the sham inauguration. On October 4, Hawes was duly sworn in. The audience for his acceptance speech consisted mostly of officers from the Southern army. In the midst of it, Federal guns could be heard pounding Rebel positions west of the city. Hawes quickly wrapped up his speech, and he and his audience evaporated. The Confederate administration of Kentucky had lasted exactly four hours. Bragg abandoned Frankfort and rode south to join Polk.

The next day, Bragg decided on a plan for bringing together the dispersed elements of his command. Still convinced that the main Union thrust was to be made toward Frankfort, he ordered Smith, Polk and Maj. Gen. William Hardee to concentrate at Harrodsburg. There, he would fight the great battle for Kentucky.

Sending the orders, though, was easier than carrying them out. Hardee, especially, was having trouble with the hilly, rocky and slippery terrain. In addition, there was an overwhelming lack of water due to the summer drought. Bragg changed his marching orders to take into account the problems Hardee was having. He ordered him to fall in behind Polk. This would cost Hardee an extra day on the March to Harrodsburg, but it would give the troops an easier approach.

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