(August 4, 2012) - On this date in 1862, Circuit Judge Rufus King Williams of Mayfield was on the verge of election to the Court of Appeals, then Kentucky’s highest court.
The August 4 balloting for judges and county officers would be the first statewide election since the war began.
In 1861, Kentuckians had freely rejected the Confederates. But while most Bluegrass State citizens opposed secession, they didn’t like Lincoln and his anti-slavery Republican Party either.