Bramlette, Thomas Elliott

Life Span
to
Full name
Thomas E. Bramlette
Place of Birth
Birth Date Certainty
Exact
Death Date Certainty
Exact
Gender
Male
Race
White
Sectional choice
North
Origins
Slave State
No. of Spouses
2
No. of Children
2
Family
Ambrose S. Bramlette (father), Sarah Bramlette (mother), Sallie Travis (first wife), Mary Graham Adams (second wife)
Occupation
Politician
Attorney or Judge
Political Parties
Democratic
Republican
Government
Lincoln Administration (1861-65)
Governor
State legislature
State judge
Military
Union Army

Thomas Elliott Bramlette (American National Biography)

Scholarship
Bramlette's devotion to the Union was apparent in his actions as governor of Kentucky. Although the state was badly divided by the Civil War, Bramlette remained adamant in his belief that the Union must be preserved. In January 1864 he issued a proclamation stating that Confederate sympathizers would be punished if guerrilla warfare persisted in the Commonwealth. Fines of up to $1,000 would be exacted from anyone aiding those engaged in guerrilla activities. He also declared that, if a loyal Kentuckian were captured by pro-Confederate forces, five Confederate sympathizers would be seized and held as hostages for the safe return of the loyal Kentuckian.

The devotion of Governor Bramlette to the Union cause was severely tested after General Jeremiah T. Boyle ordered the enlistment of former Kentucky slaves into the Union army. Bramlette appealed to the Lincoln government to pledge that blacks would not be recruited in Kentucky. However, General Boyle's successor, General Stephen G. Burbridge, ordered able-bodied blacks in Kentucky to enlist in the Union army.
Ron D. Bryant, "Bramlette, Thomas Elliott," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00138.html.
How to Cite This Page: "Bramlette, Thomas Elliott," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5180.