Wikipedia:Today's featured article/February 7, 2009



Isaac Shelby (1750–1826) was the first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He was also a soldier in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. While governor, he personally led the Kentucky militia in the Battle of the Thames, an action that was rewarded with a Congressional Gold Medal. Counties in nine states, and several cities and military bases, have been named in his honor. His fondness for John Dickinson's The Liberty Song is believed to be the reason Kentucky adopted the state motto "United we stand, divided we fall". At the end of his gubernatorial term, Shelby retired from public life, but he was called back into politics by the impending War of 1812. Kentuckians urged Shelby to run for governor again and lead them through the inevitable conflict. He was elected easily, and at the request of General William Henry Harrison, commanded troops from Kentucky at the Battle of the Thames. At the conclusion of the war, he declined President James Monroe's offer to become Secretary of War. In his last act of public service, he and Andrew Jackson acted as commissioners to negotiate the Jackson Purchase from the Chickasaw. (more...)

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