The flag of Kentucky was created by Jesse Cox Burgess and was adopted on 26th of March in 1918. In the following years there were different versions of the flag in use, probably the flag was not exactly described in the resolution of the Kentucky General Assembly or there was no binding template. As a result, the flag was standardised on 14th of June in 1962. It shows a navy blue bunting with the state seal in the centre. The seal dates back to 1792 and shows two embracing men on a white disc with a golden border. They symbolise the country's motto: "United we stand, divided we fall". Above is the name of the country, and below a wreath of goldenrod branches. Goldenrod is the state flower of Kentucky. According to popular belief, the man dressed in buckskin on the left is Daniel Boone, who was important in the exploration of Kentucky, and the man in the suit on the right is Henry Clay (1777–1852), Kentucky's most famous statesman. However, the two figures are supposed to embody the state motto and represent all the people in the state.
20th of May 1861 · Kentucky declares its neutrality in the Civil War
3rd of September 1861 · the CSA troops invade Kentucky, Kentucky agrees with the USA
20th of November 1861 · a part of the country under a provisional government declares the accession to the CSA, capital: Bowling Green (until the end of the war)
10th of December 1861 · Kentucky joines officially the Confederate States of America, however, the country is divided, as the population supports mostly USA
9th of April in 1865 · General Lee surrenders at Appomattox (Virginia) as commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, the other CSA Armies capitulate gradually until July 1865
1865–1877 · "reconstruction", forced return of the CSA states into the Union
Not the CSA did not hurt Kentucky's neutrality, but the USA. The US Army, in the area of Kentucky, recruited, and armed (but not uniformed – not yet) recruits, who were loyally to the union. Active advertising was strictly forbidden for the USA in peace. The deputies, who were loyally to the union, of the Kentucky Legislative Assembly had been elected (not least by sympathizers of the secession) because they had said they would keep Kentucky out of a civil war "under all circumstances". There was (and there is) no imperative mandate in the USA. The deputy may change his policy, but he must not (and may not) commit a fraud. With the active promotion of the establishment of US federal troops in the Kentucky region by deputies of the Kentucky Legislative Assembly in peace (without a state of emergency, insurrection, hostile invasion), the offense was met. Cheaters are not a legitimate government, so the loyalty of the citizen against fraudsters expires. The state militia (Kentucky State Guard), friendly to the South, believed that it dominates the situation. It was unthinkable that elected members could deliberately commit fraud on the voter. It was justified and legitimate that a new, secession-friedly national government and administration in Kentucky was formed, which decided the secession of Kentucky and then the accession to the CSA. Why after 1865 no political representative of the Confederate Kentucky or Missouri ever was prosecuted? Or the approximately 1.000 soldiers from Delaware, about 5.000 from Kansas (1.000 regular and 4.000 guerrillas), almost 10.000 from Maryland (plus others in Virginian and North Carolina CSA units) who fought for the Confederate States of America? To have right – and to get right.
There are several theories about the origin of the name "Kentucky": 1st) The name comes from the Iroquois word "Ken-ta-ke", which means "on the meadow" and it is obvious, because the geographical term "land of vast pastures" was handed down by various Indian tribes. 2nd) The name dates back to the year 1754, the discovery of the Kentucky River, which means in the language of local Indians "bloody river", one because of heavy fights blood-stained water. 3rd) The name goes back to the native indian word "Ken-tu-kee", what means "land of the green reed", what points out to the reed Arundinaria macrosperma, what covered parts of the country in large tracts. 4th) The name comes from the native indian word "Ken-ta-ke", which means in the language of the Iroquois "Land of the future". 5.) The name goes back to the Algonquin word "Kenta Aki", which means "land of our fathers" in the Shawnee language.
