No he was not the first prophet
During the Civil War, Kentucky was a border state, but they on the south's side "team" (they had slaves and wanted to keep them). During this war, the north and south had a war, known as the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln wanted Kentucky on his side, the north side. Kentucky was a border state, therefore he wanted it to be on the north's side since it wasn't completely in the south. I believe he says he must have Kentucky because it's another state on his side to help with this war, if that makes sense.
In this passage, the type of warfare being described by the author is "chemical warfare".
It was supposed to help finance the war. It became a symbolic duty to patriotic Americans and it introduced the idea of financial securities to many citizens for the very first time. Hope this helps!
