<P> During the war, Maryland adopted a new state constitution in 1864 that prohibited slavery, thus emancipating all remaining slaves in the state . </P> <P> Kentucky was strategic to Union victory in the Civil War . Lincoln once said, </P> <P> I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game . Kentucky gone, we cannot hold Missouri, nor Maryland . These all against us, and the job on our hands is too large for us . We would as well consent to separation at once, including the surrender of this capitol (Washington, which was surrounded by slave states: Confederate Virginia and Union - controlled Maryland). </P> <P> Lincoln reportedly also declared, "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky ." </P>

What role did the border states play in the civil war