American Civil War In 1861, after the outbreak of the American Civil War, the 149th Infantry Regiment (at the time part of the Kentucky State Militia and comprising the Lexington Battalion and the Kentucky River Battalion), was split between the Union and the Confederacy by the
Kentucky General Assembly. The reason for this was the Kentucky State Government had declared neutrality in the war. They were officially recognized as part of both countries, and, although Kentucky never officially seceded from the United States, many soldiers within the state militia held Confederate sympathies. This was made more complicated when President
Abraham Lincoln began drafting soldiers to fight the Confederacy, as they needed military units to join. To prevent the collapse of the Kentucky State Militia, the General Assembly voted to split the entire militia in half. This included the antecedents of the 149th Infantry Regiment. Between April–June 1861, soldiers with Union sympathies were reorganized as the
1st and 2nd Volunteer Kentucky Infantry regiments, while soldiers with Southern sympathies were reorganized into the 1st Kentucky Brigade (The
Orphan Brigade).
World War I The history of the unit designated the 149th Infantry goes back to 28 April 1917.
World War II The 149th Infantry was inducted into active federal service on 17 January 1941 and moved to
Camp Shelby,
Mississippi, where it arrived on 26 January 1941. The 149th Infantry Regiment was in federal service until 9 November 1945.
Status today The military unit has been active in the
Louisville, Kentucky area since the 149th Infantry Regiment Combat Team was activated after World War II. The U.S. Army Center for Military History attributes lineage and honors to the Louisville unit further back than that. It has the
Special Designation 'Second Kentucky', commemorating its previous state designation. The numerical designation, but not the lineage or honors, is now carried on in the
149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. ==References==