Editing Murray, Kentucky (section)

===The Civil War era===
[[File:Murray KY CSA Monument.jpg|thumb|right|Monument honoring the Confederate soldiers on the northeast corner of the Murray court square]]
Kentucky did not officially secede from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] at the start during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], instead declaring its neutrality, but both Murray and Calloway County were strongly pro-[[Confederate States of America|Confederate]]. Calloway County was one of the counties that sent a delegate to the Russellville Convention signing an Ordinance of Secession in which the [[Confederate government of Kentucky]] was formed and Kentucky was admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861, with Bowling Green as the first capital. This region fell under Confederate control early in the war. No major battles were fought near the town, but [[guerrilla warfare]] sometimes took place nearby. In the spring of 1862, a Union force stationed in [[Paducah, Kentucky|Paducah]] marched across the county to the [[Tennessee River]], taking anything it wanted from the inhabitants without paying.  Also, parts of Murray were burned on several occasions. Once, part of the town was burned by the Union Army in retaliation for its presumed support for the Confederate guerrillas.  A diary kept by Josh Ellison of Murray tells that one night during the winter of 1864–65, a detachment of Union soldiers from Paducah torched every building on the east side of the court square, and three days later burned all those north of the square.<ref name=jennings /><ref name=collins />

An estimated 800 men from the area joined in the [[Confederate Army]], either as [[infantry]] in the Kentucky [[Orphan Brigade]] or in the [[cavalry]]. About 200 sided with the Union.  Calloway County's Confederate veterans are honored by a monument on the northeast side of the court house square.  The [[Confederate Monument (Murray, Kentucky)|Confederate Monument]] was donated by the [[United Daughters of the Confederacy]] and has been subject to calls for removal most recently in 2020. The courthouse grounds on which the statue stands belongs to [[Calloway County, Kentucky|Calloway County]] and the County Court voted unanimously in 2020 to keep the statue rather than relocate it from courthouse grounds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paducahsun.com/news/a-racial-reckoning---calloway-votes-to-keep-monument-opponents-vow-to-continue-the/article_46815f02-61f5-528b-8be3-d8021fa69881.html|title = 'A Racial Reckoning' - Calloway votes to keep monument, opponents vow to continue the fight}}</ref>