General E.A. Paine in Western Kentucky: Assessing the "Reign of Terror" of the Summer of 1864

When General E. A. Paine assumed command of the U.S. Army's District of Western Kentucky at Paducah in the summer of 1864, he faced a defiant populace, a thriving black market and undisciplined troops plagued by low morale. Guerrillas pillaged towns and murdered the vocal few that supported the Union. Paine's task was to enforce discipline and mollify the secessionist majority in a 2,300-square-mile district.

In less than two months, he succeeded where others had failed. For secessionists,...