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Battle of Perryville

March 02, 2023

For the historic site, see Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.
Not to be confused with Battle of Perryville (Indian Territory).

The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi[b] initially won a tactical victory against primarily a single corps of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Union Army of the Ohio. The battle is considered a strategic Union victory, sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky, since Bragg withdrew to Tennessee soon thereafter. The Union retained control of the critical border state of Kentucky for the remainder of the war.

Battle of Perryville
Part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War

The Battle of Perryville as depicted in Harper's Weekly
DateOctober 8, 1862 (1862-10-08)
Location
Near Perryville, Kentucky
37°40′31″N 84°58′16″W / 37.67528°N 84.97111°W / 37.67528; -84.97111Coordinates: 37°40′31″N 84°58′16″W / 37.67528°N 84.97111°W / 37.67528; -84.97111
Result Union strategic victory[1]
Belligerents
 United States (Union)  Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
Don Carlos Buell
George Henry Thomas		 Braxton Bragg
Units involved
Army of the Ohio Army of Mississippi[a]
Strength
55,000[2]
(22,000 engaged)[3]		 16,000[4]
Casualties and losses
4,241
(845 killed
 2,851 wounded
 515 captured/missing)[5][6]
 3,396
(510 killed
 2,635 wounded
 251 captured/missing)[7][8]
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Location within Kentucky
Battle of Perryville (the United States)

On October 7, Buell's army, in pursuit of Bragg, converged on the small crossroads town of Perryville in three columns. Union forces first skirmished with Confederate cavalry on the Springfield Pike before the fighting became more general, on Peters Hill, when the Confederate infantry arrived. Both sides were desperate to get access to fresh water. The next day, at dawn, fighting began again around Peters Hill as a Union division advanced up the pike, halting just before the Confederate line. After noon, a Confederate division struck the Union left flank—the I Corps of Maj. Gen. Alexander M. McCook—and forced it to fall back. When more Confederate divisions joined the fray, the Union line made a stubborn stand, counterattacked, but finally fell back with some units routed.[9]

Buell, several miles behind the action, was unaware that a major battle was taking place and did not send any reserves to the front until late in the afternoon. The Union troops on the left flank, reinforced by two brigades, stabilized their line, and the Confederate attack sputtered to a halt. Later, three Confederate regiments assaulted the Union division on the Springfield Pike but were repulsed and fell back into Perryville. Union troops pursued, and skirmishing occurred in the streets until dark. By that time, Union reinforcements were threatening the Confederate left flank. Bragg, short of men and supplies, withdrew during the night, and continued the Confederate retreat by way of Cumberland Gap into East Tennessee.[9]

Considering the casualties relative to the engaged strengths of the armies,[4] the Battle of Perryville was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in the state of Kentucky.[10]

Background

Military situation

Main articles: Battle of Iuka, Second Battle of Corinth, and Kentucky Campaign
Further information: Western Theater of the American Civil War, Border states (American Civil War) § Kentucky, and American Civil War

Kentucky campaign of 1862

 
Kentucky-Tennessee, 1862
 
Western Theater: operations from the Siege of Corinth through the Kentucky Campaign[11]
  Confederate
  Union

Situated between the Southern states of Tennessee and Virginia and the Northern states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, the border state of Kentucky was coveted by both sides of the conflict because of its central location and its control of key rivers, particularly the Ohio. In September 1861, Kentucky-born President Abraham Lincoln wrote in a private letter, "I think to lose Kentucky is nearly to lose the whole game."[12]

Opposing political elements within the state vied for control during the early part of the war, and the state legislature declared official neutrality to keep out both the Union and the Confederate armies. This neutrality was first violated on September 3, 1861, when Confederate Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, considered key to controlling the Lower Mississippi. Two days later Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant seized Paducah. Henceforth, the proclaimed neutrality was a dead letter.[13] While the state never seceded from the Union, Confederate sympathizers who were members of the legislature set up a temporary Confederate capital in Bowling Green in November 1861. It never wielded significant power inside the state. The Confederate States recognized Kentucky and added a star representing the state to the Confederate flag.[14]

After the Battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, the beaten Confederate army under Maj. Gen Pierre G.T. Beauregard retreated down into Corinth, very slowly pursued by the combined Union forces under Maj. Gen Henry Halleck--the armies of Grant, Buell, and John Pope. Although Halleck had 100,000 men under his command and Beauregard half or less of that number, it took him 51 days to march the 20 miles from Pittsburg Landing to Corinth, which was abandoned by the Confederates on May 29. Confederate president Jefferson Davis, unhappy with Beauregard's retreat, removed him from command and gave Braxton Bragg the army, which he renamed the Army of Tennessee. Bragg spent most of June drilling and reorganizing the army in camp at Tupelo, Mississippi. The Union armies ignored him and the war in Tennessee virtually ground to a halt during the summer months. Grant's Army of the Tennessee was scattered about western Tennessee and northern Mississippi, while Buell's Army of Ohio was moving towards Chattanooga at an incredibly slow pace, spending much of that time rebuilding railroad lines. While Halleck had had overall command of the Union war effort in the West since spring, he was summoned to Washington DC in July to become general-in-chief of the armies, leaving Grant and Buell to their separate independent commands--Pope was also called east to take command of the Union war effort in Virginia and his former army added to Grant's and put under the command of William Rosecrans.

The initiative to invade Kentucky came primarily from Confederate Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Department of East Tennessee. He believed the campaign would allow them to obtain supplies, enlist recruits, divert Union troops from Tennessee, and claim Kentucky for the Confederacy. In July 1862 Col. John Hunt Morgan carried out a successful cavalry raid in the state, venturing deeply into the rear areas of Buell's department. The raid caused considerable consternation in Buell's command and in Washington, D.C. During the raid, Morgan and his forces were cheered and supported by many residents. He added 300 Kentucky volunteers to his 900-man force during the raid. He confidently promised Kirby Smith, "The whole country can be secured, and 25,000 or 30,000 men will join you at once."[15]

Bragg considered various options, including an attempt to retake Corinth, Mississippi, or to advance against Buell's army through Middle Tennessee. He eventually heeded Kirby Smith's calls for reinforcement and decided to relocate his Army of Mississippi to join with him. He moved 30,000 infantrymen in a tortuous railroad journey from Tupelo, Mississippi, through Mobile and Montgomery to Chattanooga. Supply wagons, cavalry, and artillery moved overland under their own power through Rome, Georgia. Although Bragg was the senior general in the theater, Confederate President Jefferson Davis had established Kirby Smith's Department of East Tennessee as an independent command, reporting directly to Richmond. This decision caused Bragg difficulty during the campaign.[16]

Smith and Bragg met in Chattanooga on July 31, and devised a plan for the campaign: The newly created Army of Kentucky, including two of Bragg's brigades and approximately 21,000 men, would march north under Kirby Smith's command into Kentucky to dispose of the Union defenders of Cumberland Gap. (Bragg's army was too exhausted from its long journey to begin immediate offensive operations.) Smith would return to join Bragg, and their combined forces would attempt to maneuver into Buell's rear and force a battle to protect his supply lines. Any attempt by Ulysses S. Grant to reinforce Buell from northern Mississippi would be handled by the two small armies of Maj. Gens. Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn.

The first indication that something was happening came in late June when Col. Phil Sheridan, commanding a cavalry demi-brigade (two regiments) in the Army of the Tennessee, went on a reconnaissance mission to discover that the Confederates had abandoned their camp at Tupelo and began moving towards Chattanooga, while another Confederate army under Sterling Price was gathering in Mississippi. Several captured letters from Confederate soldiers boasted that the Yankees would be given the slip (Maj. Gen William Rosecrans was impressed with Sheridan's foray and recommended him for promotion to brigadier general).[17]

Once the armies were combined, Bragg's seniority would apply and Smith would be under his direct command. Assuming that Buell's army could be destroyed, Bragg and Smith would march north into Kentucky, a movement they assumed would be welcomed by the local populace. Any remaining Federal force would be defeated in a grand battle in Kentucky, establishing the Confederate frontier at the Ohio River.[18]

The campaign plan was bold but risky, requiring perfect coordination between multiple armies that would initially have no unity of command. Bragg almost immediately began to have second thoughts, despite pressure from President Davis to take Kentucky. Smith quickly abandoned the agreement, foreseeing that a solo adventure in Kentucky would bring him personal glory. He deceived Bragg as to his intentions and requested two additional brigades, ostensibly for his expedition to Cumberland Gap.[19] On August 9, Smith informed Bragg that he was breaking the agreement and intended to bypass Cumberland Gap, leaving a small holding force to neutralize the Union garrison, and to move north. Unable to command Smith to honor their plan, Bragg focused on a movement to Lexington instead of Nashville. He cautioned Smith that Buell could pursue and defeat his smaller army before Bragg's army could join up with them.[20]

Smith marched north with 21,000 men from Knoxville on August 13; Bragg departed from Chattanooga on August 27, just before Smith reached Lexington.[21] The beginning of the campaign coincided with Gen. Robert E. Lee's offensive in the northern Virginia campaign (second Manassas campaign) and with Price's and Van Dorn's operations against Grant. Although not centrally directed, it was the largest simultaneous Confederate offensive of the war.[22]

Meanwhile, Buell was forced to abandon his slow advance toward Chattanooga. Receiving word of the Confederate movements, he decided to concentrate his army around Nashville. The news that Smith and Bragg were both in Kentucky convinced him of the need to place his army between the Confederates and the Union cities of Louisville and Cincinnati. On September 7, Buell's Army of the Ohio left Nashville and began racing Bragg to Louisville.[23]

On the way, Bragg was distracted by the capture of a Union fort at Munfordville. He had to decide whether to continue toward a fight with Buell (over Louisville) or rejoin Smith, who had gained control of the center of the state by capturing Richmond and Lexington, and threatened to move on Cincinnati. Bragg chose to rejoin Smith.

Buell reached Louisville, where he gathered, reorganized, and reinforced his army with thousands of new recruits. He dispatched 20,000 men under Brig. Gen. Joshua W. Sill toward Frankfort, hoping to distract Smith and prevent the two Confederate armies from joining against him. Meanwhile, Bragg left his army and met Smith in Frankfort, where they attended the inauguration of Confederate Governor Richard Hawes on October 4. The inauguration ceremony was disrupted by the sound of cannon fire from Sill's approaching division, and organizers canceled the inaugural ball scheduled for that evening.[24]

  • Additional campaign maps
  •  

    Western Theater: Movements April–August 1862

  •  

    Western Theater: Confederate invasion of Kentucky (August–October 1862)

Prelude to battle

When he departed for Frankfort on September 28, Bragg left his army under Polk's command. On October 3, the approach of the large Union force caused the Confederates to withdraw eastward and Bardstown was occupied on October 4. Hardee's wing stopped at Perryville and requested reinforcements from Bragg. Although Bragg wished to concentrate his army at Versailles, the quickly approaching Federal III Corps forced the concentration at Perryville and Harrodsburg.[25]

Geography and location

 
Positions of the armies at 2 p.m., October 8[26]

Hardee had selected Perryville for a few reasons. The village of approximately 300 residents had an excellent road network with connections to nearby towns in six directions, allowing for strategic flexibility. It was located to prevent the Federals from reaching the Confederate supply depot in Bryantsville. Finally, it was a potential source of water. An extremely wet winter and spring of 1862, believed caused by the eruption of Mt. Dubbi in East Africa in May 1861,[27] gave way to dry conditions during June which stayed that way throughout the summer and into early fall. The Southern states remained locked under a stagnant high pressure ridge that sent daytime temperatures soaring with little rain to cool things down.[28] The heat was oppressive for both men and horses, and the few sources of drinking water provided by the rivers and creeks west of town—most reduced to isolated stagnant puddles—were desperately sought after.[29]

Disposition of armies

On October 7, Buell reached the Perryville area as Union cavalry clashed with Wheeler's rearguard throughout the day.[30] Accompanying III Corps, Buell learned that the Confederates had halted at Perryville and were deploying their infantry. He therefore planned an attack. The enemy force was his principal objective, but the availability of water also made control of the town and surrounding area desirable. Buell issued orders for all corps to move at 3 a.m. the next day and attack at 10 a.m. However, movements of the I and II Corps were delayed, having deviated several miles from their line of march in search of water. Buell decided to delay his attack until October 9 to complete his army's deployment and ordered each corps commander to avoid a general engagement on October 8. Buell was unable to oversee the deployment of his arriving corps. Thrown from his horse, he suffered injuries that prevented him from riding. He established his headquarters at the Dorsey house, about 3 miles (4.8 km) due west of town.[31]

Hardee established a line of defense across the three roads leading into Perryville from the north and west. Until reinforcements could arrive, he was limited to three of the four brigades of Buckner's division. Brig. Gen. Sterling A. M. Wood was placed at the north of town. Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson was to Wood's right, east of the Chaplin River near the Harrodsburg Pike. Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell's Arkansas Brigade formed on the crest of Bottom Hill, just east of Bull Run Creek, a tributary of Doctor's Creek, with one regiment, the 7th Arkansas, sent forward to Peters Hill on the other side of the creek.[32] On the evening of October 7 the final Confederate forces began to arrive. The first of Patton Anderson's four brigades reached the area around 3 p.m. Brig. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's brigade, the remainder of Buckner's division, followed. Around midnight, three brigades of Frank Cheatham's division arrived, moving quickly and enthusiastically, having left their baggage train behind; his fourth brigade, under Brig. Gen. Preston Smith, received orders to return to Harrodsburg.[33]

Opposing forces

Union

Further information: Union order of battle
Key Union commanders

On October 1, Buell's Army of the Ohio left Louisville with Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas as his second in command. (Two days earlier, Buell had received orders from Washington relieving him of command, to be replaced by Thomas. Thomas demurred, refusing to accept command while the campaign was underway, leaving Buell in place.) The 55,000 troops—many of whom Thomas described as "yet undisciplined, unprovided with suitable artillery, and in every way unfit for active operations against a disciplined foe"[34]—advanced toward Bragg's veteran army in Bardstown on three separate roads.[35]

Confederate

Further information: Confederate order of battle
Key Confederate commanders

Bragg's Army of Mississippi consisted of about 16,800 men in two wings:

Battle

Morning actions

The first shots of the battle were fired early on the morning of October 8. Finding that there were algae-covered pools of water in the otherwise dry bed of Doctor's Creek, troops from the 10th Indiana advanced to take advantage of them. They encountered the forward men of the 7th Arkansas and some shots were exchanged. At 2 a.m., Buell and Gilbert, the III Corps commander, ordered newly promoted Brig. Gen. Phil Sheridan to seize Peters Hill; Sheridan started off with the brigade of Col. Daniel McCook (the younger brother of the I Corps commander). Sheridan seized the hill, driving the Arkansans back to the main line of their brigade, but continued to push across the creek. Liddell's brigade could not check the momentum of Sheridan's thirsty soldiers and Buckner, Liddell's division commander, was ordered by Polk not to reinforce him, but to pull his brigade back. Polk was concerned about starting a general engagement to the west of the Chaplin River, fearing he was outnumbered. Meanwhile, on the Union side, a nervous Gilbert ordered Sheridan to return to Peters Hill.[40]

For the preceding few days, Braxton Bragg had been deceived by the diversion launched by Sills against Frankfort, assuming that it was the major thrust of Buell's army. He wanted Polk to attack and defeat what he considered to be a minor force at Perryville and then immediately return so that the entire army could be joined with Kirby Smith's. Polk sent a dispatch to Bragg early that morning that he intended to attack vigorously, but he quickly changed his mind and settled on a defensive posture. Bragg, angered that he was not hearing the sounds of battle, rode from Harrodsburg to Perryville to take charge, arriving about 10 a.m. and establishing his headquarters at the Crawford house on the Harrodsburg Pike.[41]

Bragg was appalled at the condition of Polk's battle line, which contained gaps and was not properly anchored on the flanks. As he rode in, he observed some of McCook's I Corps troops north of town, but he assumed that the primary threat continued to be on the Springfield Pike, where the action against the III Corps had taken place early that morning. (He had no knowledge of Crittenden's II Corps approaching on the Lebanon Pike.) He gave orders to realign his army into a north–south line and prepare to attack en echelon. Cheatham's division marched north from town and prepared to open the attack on the Union left—which Bragg assumed to be on the Mackville Road—beginning a large "left wheel" movement. Two brigades from Patton Anderson's division would then strike the Union center and Buckner's division would follow up on the left. Another of Anderson's brigades, commanded by Col. Samuel Powel,[c] would attack farther to the south along the Springfield Pike. The large clouds of dust raised by Cheatham's division marching north at the double-quick prompted some of McCook's men to believe the Confederates were starting to retreat, which increased the surprise of the Rebel attack later in the day.[42]

By the afternoon of October 8, most of Buell's army had arrived. They were positioned with McCook's I Corps on the left from the Benton Road to the Mackville Road; Gilbert's III Corps in the center, on the Springfield Pike; Crittenden's II Corps on the right, along the Lebanon Pike. The vast majority of action during the battle would be against McCook's corps. Because of an unusual acoustic shadow, few sounds from the battle reached Buell's headquarters only 2 miles (3.2 km) away; he did not exert effective control over the battle and committed no reserves until late in the day.[43]

Attack from the Confederate right

 
Attacks by Donelson, Maney, Stewart, and Jones (c. 3 p.m.)[44]

Cheatham's artillery bombardment began at 12:30 p.m., but he did not immediately order his infantry forward. Union troops continued to file into line, extending their flank to the north, beyond the intended avenue of attack. Bragg moved Cheatham's division into Walker's Bend, assuming the redirected attack would now strike the Union's open flank. Unfortunately for the Confederates, their cavalry reconnaissance withdrew before McCook placed an artillery battery under Lt. Charles Parsons and the brigade of Brig. Gen. William R. Terrill onto the Open Knob, a prominent hill on the northern end of the battlefield.[45]

The brigade of Brig. Gen. Daniel S. Donelson was the first to cross the Chaplin River, climb the bluffs on the west bank, and began its attack around 2 p.m. Two of the brigade's regiments had been detached, leaving only three for the attack. Cheatham shouted, "Give 'em hell, boys!" One of the enduring legends of the Civil War is that Gen. Polk, who was also an Episcopal bishop, was nearby and seconded the cheer: "Give it to 'em boys; give 'em what General Cheatham says!"[46] The brigade found that instead of striking the open flank it had expected, it was performing a frontal assault on the center of the Union position. The 16th Tennessee Infantry, under Col. John H. Savage, raced ahead of the other two regiments, attempting to reach the artillery battery of Capt. Samuel J. Harris. (Savage held Donelson in disdain, considering him a drunkard with limited military ability, and often paid little attention to orders from his commander. He considered Donelson's order to attack Harris's battery to be a death sentence against him.) As it moved west into a depression, it came under crossfire from the 33rd Ohio Infantry and the eight guns of Parsons' artillery on Open Knob, 200 yards (180 m) to the north. Cheatham ordered the brigade of Brig. Gen. George E. Maney forward to deal with Parsons on the Open Knob, but Donelson's brigade could not withstand the fire and withdrew to its starting point at 2:30 p.m. with about 20% casualties; Savage's regiment lost 219 of its 370 men.[47]

 
Parsons' battery position on the Open Knob, 2007

Parsons' eight guns on the Open Knob were manned by inexperienced soldiers, some of whom were infantry recruits from the 105th Ohio Infantry. Terrill's 33rd Brigade was posted to defend the guns. Meanwhile, Confederate Brigadier General George Maney's brigade was able to approach the Knob undetected through the woods, as the Union troops' attention was focused on Donelson's attack. Eventually, the Union artillery redirected their guns and a fierce firefight ensued. Brig. Gen. Jackson, the 10th Division commander, was killed in the action, and command fell to Terrill, who immediately made a poor command decision. Obsessed with the safety of his artillery, he ordered the 123rd Illinois to mount a bayonet charge down the hill. The 770 raw Union troops suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the 1,800 veteran Confederates. As reinforcements arrived from the 80th Illinois and a detachment of infantry commanded by Col. Theophilus T. Garrard, the two sides were briefly stalemated. Maney's artillery, commanded by Lt. William Turner, pounded the inexperienced defenders, and Maney ordered a charge up the steep slope, which swept the Union men from the hill and captured most of Parsons' guns; the tenacious Parsons had to be dragged away from the scene by his retreating soldiers.[48]

 
Starkweather's brigade fights in the cornfield

Maney's attack continued to the west, down the reverse slope of the Open Knob, through a cornfield, and across the Benton Road, after which was another steep ridge, occupied by the 2,200 men in the Union 28th Brigade of Col. John C. Starkweather (Rousseau's division), and twelve guns. Those guns made the Open Knob an untenable position. Starkweather had placed his 21st Wisconsin in the cornfield about the time that Maney was attacking Parsons' position. The inexperienced men of the 21st—some of whom had never fired their weapons before, the regiment having been formed less than a month earlier—could see little through the 10- to 12-foot (3.7 m) high cornstalks of the cornfield. They were surprised as the remnants of Terrill's brigade retreated through their position. As Terrill himself retreated, he shouted, "The Rebels are advancing in terrible force!" Terrill convinced the regimental adjutant to order yet another bayonet charge; 200 men advanced and were quickly smashed by the oncoming Confederates. While the Union men had to hold their fire to keep from shooting their retreating comrades, artillery fire from Starkweather's batteries caused numerous friendly fire casualties. The 21st managed to fire a volley into the Confederate ranks, but it was answered by a 1,400-musket volley that decimated the Union regiment, and the survivors fled toward the Benton Road.[49]

 
Attacks by Maney, Brown, Johnson, and Cleburne (c. 3:45 p.m.)[50]

To fill a gap in the Confederate line where Donelson's brigade had fought, Cheatham deployed the Tennessee brigade of Brig. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart and they joined Maney's brigade in the advance against Starkweather. The 1st Tennessee attacked the northern end of the hill while the remainder of Maney's brigade assaulted directly up the slope. Starkweather's position was a strong one, however, and the Confederates were initially repulsed by strong infantry and artillery fire. A second charge and vicious hand-to-hand fighting brought the Confederates to the crest, among the batteries.

The guns were discharged so rapidly that it seemed the earth itself was in a volcanic uproar. The iron storm passed through our ranks, mangling and tearing men to pieces. The very air seemed full of stifling smoke and fire, which seemed the very pit of hell, peopled by contending demons.

— Private Sam Watkins, 1st Tennessee[51]
 
High-water mark (c. 4:15 p.m.)[52]

At that time Brig. Gen. Terrill returned to the fight, leading his troops up the reverse slope of the hill. He was mortally wounded by an artillery shell exploding overhead and died at 2 a.m. the following day. Starkweather, meanwhile, was able to salvage six of his twelve guns and move them 100 yards (91 m) west to the next ridge. Col. Albert S. Hall began the day as regimental commander of the 105th Ohio, and with the deaths of Jackson, Terrill, and Col. George Webster, advanced all the way to command of the 10th Division by the end of the day.[53]

Once again the Federals had a strong defensive position, with good artillery support and a stone wall at the top of a steep slope. Maney's and Stewart's men attempted three assaults, all unsuccessful, and withdrew to the vicinity of the Open Knob at around 5:30 p.m. The assault by Maney's brigade over three hours was the bloodiest of the battle, and arguably its most crucial action. Historian Kenneth W. Noe describes Maney's final repulse as the "high-water mark of the Confederacy in the western theater, no less important than the Angle at Gettysburg."[54]

Attack from the Confederate center

The en echelon attack continued with Anderson's division in the center. At about 2:45 p.m., the same time that Maney's first attack was being repulsed on the Open Knob, the brigade of Col. Thomas M. Jones began its attack across a valley commanded by a large sinkhole. Jones had no orders to attack from Anderson or Hardee, but moved forward on his own initiative when he heard the sound of firing to his right. As they entered the valley, his men were cut down by musketry and fire from twelve artillery pieces on the next ridge, where the Union 9th Brigade (Rousseau's division) under Col. Leonard A. Harris was posted. Confederate artillery attached to Jones's brigade, Capt. Charles Lumsden's Alabama Light Artillery, returned fire, but due to an optical illusion that made two successive ridges look the same, were unable to fix on the appropriate range and their fire had no effect on the Federal line. At 3:30 p.m., the Confederate brigade of Brig. Gen. John C. Brown moved up to take the place of Jones's retreating men. By this time, most of the Union artillery had had to withdraw to replenish their ammunition, so Brown's men did not suffer the same fate as Jones's. Nevertheless, they made no headway against the infantry units in place until successes on the Confederate left put pressure on the Union position.[55]

Attack from the Confederate left

 
Squire Henry Bottom's house in 2007

Almost all of McCook's I Corps units were posted at the beginning of the battle on land owned by "Squire" Henry P. Bottom. The corps' right flank, Col. William H. Lytle's 17th Brigade, was posted on a ridge on which Squire Bottom's house and barn were situated, overlooking a bend in the Chaplin River and a hill and farm owned by R. F. Chatham on the other side. At about 2:30 p.m. Major John E. Austin's 14th Battalion of Louisiana Sharpshooters, screening Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Adams's Confederate brigade, engaged the 42nd Indiana as it was collecting water in the ravine of Doctor's Creek. This began a Confederate attack against this area with Brig. Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson's brigade descending from Chatham House Hill at about 2:45 p.m., crossing the almost-dry riverbed and attacking the 3rd Ohio Infantry, commanded by Col. John Beatty. The attack was disorganized; last-minute changes of orders from Buckner were not distributed to all of the participating units and friendly fire from Confederate artillery broke their lines while still on Chatham House Hill. When the infantry attack eventually moved up the hill, fighting from stone wall to stone wall, Confederate artillery bombarded the 3rd Ohio and set afire Squire Bottom's log barn. Some of the Union wounded soldiers had sought refuge in the barn and many were burned to death.[56]

The Ohioans withdrew and were replaced in their position by the 15th Kentucky. As Johnson's men ran low on ammunition, Brig. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne's brigade entered the battle at about 3:40 p.m. Cleburne's horse, Dixie, was killed by an artillery shell, which also wounded Cleburne in the ankle, but he kept his troops moving forward. As they advanced up the slope, they were subjected to Confederate artillery fire; Cleburne later surmised that the friendly fire was caused by his men wearing blue uniform trousers, which had been captured from Union soldiers at Richmond. On Cleburne's left, Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Adams's brigade joined the attack against the 15th Kentucky, which had been reinforced by three companies of the 3rd Ohio. The Union troops retreated to the west toward the Russell House, McCook's headquarters. Lytle was wounded in the head as he attempted to rally his men. He was left on the field for dead, and was captured.[57]

What soldier under Buell will forget the horrible affair at Perryville, where 30,000 men stood idly by to see and hear the needless slaughter in McCook's unaided, neglected and even abandoned command, without firing a shot or moving a step in its relief?

Col. John M. Connell, 17th Ohio (speaking at a regimental reunion 20 years later)[58]

While Lytle's brigade was being beaten back, the left flank of Phil Sheridan's division was only a few hundred yards to the south on Peters Hill. One of the lingering controversies of the battle has been why he did not choose to join the fight. Earlier in the day he had been ordered by Gilbert not to bring on a general engagement. At around 2 p.m., the sound of artillery fire reached army headquarters where Buell was having dinner with Gilbert; the two generals assumed that it was Union artillery practicing and sent word to Sheridan not to waste gunpowder. Sheridan did project some artillery fire into the Confederate assault, but when Gilbert finally arrived from the rear, he feared that Sheridan would be attacked and ordered him back to his entrenchments.[59]

 
Powel's attack on Sheridan (c. 4 p.m.)[60]

Sheridan's division did participate toward the end of the battle. The Confederate brigade of Col. Samuel Powel (Anderson's division) was ordered to advance in conjunction with Adams's brigade, on Cleburne's left. The two brigades were widely separated, however, with Powel's on Edwards House Hill, immediately west of Perryville. At about 4 p.m., Powel received orders from Bragg to advance west on the Springfield Pike to silence the battery of Capt. Henry Hescock, which was firing into the left flank of Bragg's assault. Bragg assumed this was an isolated battery, not the entire III Corps. Three regiments of Powel's brigade encountered Sheridan's division, and although Sheridan was initially concerned by the Confederates' aggressive attack and sent for reinforcements, the three regiments were quickly repulsed.[61]

Sheridan, who would be characterized in later battles as very aggressive, hesitated to pursue the smaller force, and also refused a request by Daniel McCook to move north in support of his brother's corps. However, his earlier request for reinforcements bore fruit and the 31st Brigade of Col. William P. Carlin (Mitchell's division) moved up on Sheridan's right. Carlin's men moved aggressively in pursuit of Powel, chasing them as fast as they could run toward Perryville. As they reached the cemetery on the western outskirts of town, fierce artillery dueling commenced. Carlin pressed forward and was joined by the 21st Brigade of Col. George D. Wagner (Wood's division, II Corps). They were poised to capture the town and the critical crossroads that dominated Braxton Bragg's avenue of withdrawal, but an order from Gilbert to Mitchell curtailed the advance, despite Mitchell's furious protestations.[62]

It was like running a marathon, over fences and ditches and cornfields, the enemy ahead and we in pursuit. At times, we were so close that I was once able to give a Rebel a kick in the rear.

— Arthur Siver, 15th Wisconsin[63]

Dixville Crossroads

 
Defense of the Dixville Crossroads (c. 5:45 p.m.)[64]

Bragg's attack had been a large pincer movement, forcing both flanks of McCook's corps back into a concentrated mass. This mass occurred at the Dixville Crossroads, where the Benton Road crossed the Mackville Road. If the Confederates seized this intersection they could, conceivably, get around the right wing of McCook's corps and effectively cut them off from the rest of the army. The southern jaw of the pincer began to slow at the temporary line established at the Russell House. Harris's and Lytle's brigades defended until Cleburne's and Adams's attack ground to a halt. The northern jaw had been stopped by Starkweather's defense. The remaining attacks came from north of the Mackville Road by two fresh brigades from Buckner's division: Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell's and Brig. Gen. Sterling A. M. Wood's.[65]

The initial target of the assault was Col. George Webster's 34th Brigade of Jackson's division. Webster was mortally wounded during the fighting. His death marked the final senior loss for the 10th Division—the division commander, Jackson, and the other brigade commander, Terrill, had also been mortally wounded. (The previous evening, Jackson, Terrill, and Webster had been idly discussing the possibility of all of them being killed in battle and they dismissed the thought as being mathematically negligible.) Webster's infantry and Capt. Harris's artillery battery posted on a hill near the Benton Road shot Wood's attackers to pieces and they were forced to fall back. They regrouped at the base of the hill and renewed their assault. Harris's battery ran low on ammunition and had to withdraw, and the Confederate attack pushed Webster's men back toward the crossroads. Col. Michael Gooding's 13th Brigade (Mitchell's division) arrived on the field from Gilbert's corps and took up the fight. Wood's men withdrew and were replaced by Liddell's.[66]

The arrival of reinforcements was a result of McCook's belated attempts to secure aid for his beleaguered corps. At 2:30 p.m. he sent an aide to Sheridan on Peters Hill requesting that he secure I Corps' right flank. McCook dispatched a second staff officer at 3 p.m. to obtain assistance from the nearest III Corps unit. The officer encountered Brig. Gen. Albin F. Schoepf, commanding the 1st Division, the III Corps' reserve. Unwilling to act on his own authority, Schoepf referred the staff officer to Gilbert, who in turn referred him to Buell's headquarters more than 2 miles (3.2 km) away. The arrival of McCook's staff officer at about 4 p.m. surprised the army commander, who had heard little battle noise and found it difficult to believe that a major Confederate attack had been under way for some time. Nevertheless, Buell ordered two brigades from Schoepf's division to support I Corps. This relatively minor commitment indicated Buell's unwillingness to accept the reported dire situation at face value.[67]

Liddell's men fired at an unknown unit less than 100 yards (91 m) east of the crossroads. Calls were heard, "You are firing upon friends; for God's sake stop!" Leonidas Polk, the wing commander, decided to ride forward to see who had been the victims of the supposedly friendly fire. Polk found that he had ridden by mistake into the lines of the 22nd Indiana and was forced to bluff his way out by riding down the Union line pretending to be a Union officer and shouting at the Federal troops to cease fire. When he had escaped he shouted to Liddell and the Confederates fired hundreds of muskets in a single volley, which killed Col. Squire Keith and caused casualties of 65% in the 22nd Indiana, the highest percentage of any Federal regiment engaged at Perryville. Although Liddell wanted to pursue the assault, Polk had been unnerved by his personal contact with the enemy and halted the attack, blaming the falling darkness. The Union units moved their supplies and equipment through the endangered intersection and consolidated their lines on a chain of hills 200 yards (180 m) northwest. McCook's corps had been badly damaged during the day, but was not destroyed.[68]

Aftermath

Casualties

Union casualties totaled 4,276 (894 killed, 2,911 wounded, 471 captured or missing). Confederate casualties were 3,401 (532 killed, 2,641 wounded, 228 captured or missing).[69] In all, casualties totaled one-fifth of those involved.

I was in every battle, skirmish and march that was made by the First Tennessee Regiment during the war, and I do not remember of a harder contest and more evenly fought battle than that of Perryville. If it had been two men wrestling, it would have been called a "dog fall." Both sides claim victory—both whipped.

— Private Sam Watkins, 1st Tennessee[70]

Reactions and effects

 
Marker for Confederate graves on the Goodknight property, 2007

Braxton Bragg had arguably won a tactical victory, having fought aggressively and pushed his opponent back for over a mile. But his precarious strategic situation became clear to him as he found out about the III Corps advance on the Springfield Pike, and when he learned late in the day of the II Corps' presence on the Lebanon Pike. At 9 p.m. he met with his subordinates at the Crawford House and gave orders to begin a withdrawal after midnight, leaving a picket line in place while his army joined up with Kirby Smith's. As the army marched toward Harrodsburg, they were forced to leave 900 wounded men behind.[71]

Bragg united his forces with Smith's at Harrodsburg, and the Union and Confederate armies, now of comparable size, skirmished with one another over the next week or so, but neither attacked. Bragg soon realized that the new infantry recruits he had sought from Kentucky would not be forthcoming, although many Kentuckians were willing to join the Confederate cavalry. Furthermore, Bragg concluded that he lacked the logistical support he needed to remain in the state. He made his way southeast to Knoxville, Tennessee through the Cumberland Gap. Bragg was quickly called to the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, to explain to Jefferson Davis the charges brought by his officers about how he had conducted his campaign, who were demanding that he be replaced as head of the army. Although Davis decided to leave the general in command, Bragg's relationship with his subordinates would be severely damaged. Upon rejoining the army, he ordered a movement to Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[72]

Buell conducted a half-hearted pursuit of Bragg and returned to Nashville, rather than pushing on to East Tennessee as the Lincoln administration had wished. Pent-up dissatisfaction with Buell's performance resulted in a reorganization of the Western departments. On October 24, a new Department of the Cumberland was formed under Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, and Buell's Army of the Ohio was assigned to it, redesignated the XIV Corps. (After the Battle of Stones River at Murfreesboro in late December, another strategic defeat for Braxton Bragg, it would receive its more familiar name, the Army of the Cumberland.) Buell was ordered to appear before a commission investigating his conduct during the campaign. He remained in military limbo for a year and a half, his career essentially ruined. He resigned from the service in May 1864.[73]

The two other corps of Buell's army were each as large as the entire Confederate force engaged. Had they both advanced boldly once the battle was underway, they could have seized the town of Perryville, cut off the attackers from their supply depots in central Kentucky, and very possibly achieved a decisive battlefield victory on the model of Austerlitz or Waterloo.

— Gerald J. Prokopowicz, All for the Regiment[74]

Subsequent events

Following the Battle of Perryville, the Union maintained control of Kentucky for the rest of the war. Historian James M. McPherson considers Perryville to be part of a great turning point of the war, "when battles at Antietam and Perryville threw back Confederate invasions, forestalled European mediation and recognition of the Confederacy, perhaps prevented a Democratic victory in the northern elections of 1862 that might have inhibited the government's ability to carry on the war, and set the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation which enlarged the scope and purpose of the conflict."[75]

Only two days after the battle, the drought suddenly ended as a cold front pushed through the region and brought rain and cool temperatures across Kentucky.[76]

Battlefield preservation

 
Perryville Battlefield

Portions of the battlefield of Perryville are preserved by the state of Kentucky as Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.[77] Also the Perryville Historic District covering downtown Perryville includes buildings which had roles in the battle, including the Elmwood mansion which was pressed into use as a field hospital during the battle.[78] The American Battlefield Trust, its members and the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves’ Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund have saved 1,202 acres at the Perryville Battlefield through late 2021.[79]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ This army, at times known by the names Army of the West or Army of the Mississippi (the latter particularly at Shiloh), was one of the most important in the Western theater, with battles from Shiloh to Perryville.
  2. ^ The Army of Mississippi was also sometimes referred to as the Army of the West. The army was activated on March 5, 1862, just before the Battle of Shiloh, and was renamed by Bragg as the Army of Tennessee in November. See Army of Mississippi.
  3. ^ All of the references for this article spell his name "Powell". The Official Records spell it variously as Powel and Powell. In Bruce S. Allardice's Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8262-1809-4), he is referred to as Samuel Jackson Powel. Kurt Holman of the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Park has confirmed the spelling of Powel.

References

Citations

  1. ^ National Park Service, CWSAC Battle Summary.
  2. ^ Further information: Official Records, Series I, Volume XVI, Part 2, pages 562-564.
  3. ^ Kennedy, p. 127. The entire Army of the Ohio (present for duty) was approximately 55,000 men (Cameron, p. 197, cites 55,261 men; National Park Service, cites 55,000). See in this article Opposing forces and Perryville Union order of battle.
  4. ^ a b Kennedy, p. 127.
  5. ^ Further information: Official Records, Series I, Volume XVI, Part 1, pages 1033-1036.
  6. ^ Noe, p. 373, cites 4,276 (894 killed; 2,911 wounded; 471 captured/missing)
  7. ^ Further information: Official Records, Series I, Volume XVI, Part 1, page 1112.
  8. ^ Noe, p. 369, cites 3,401 (532 killed; 2,641 wounded; 228 captured/missing).
  9. ^ a b NPS.
  10. ^ Eicher, p. 367.
  11. ^ Unit actions from Esposito, map 76.
  12. ^ Noe, p. 6.
  13. ^ McPherson, pp. 296–97.
  14. ^ Noe, pp. 9–10.
  15. ^ Woodworth, p. 135; Noe, pp. 29–31.
  16. ^ Woodworth, pp. 135–36; Noe, pp. 25–30, 33.
  17. ^ "Booneville, Mississippi Civil War sites".
  18. ^ Noe, pp. 31–32; Woodworth, pp. 136–37.
  19. ^ Noe, p. 33.
  20. ^ Noe, pp. 34–35; Woodworth, pp. 137–38.
  21. ^ Esposito, text for map 75.
  22. ^ McPherson, p. 524.
  23. ^ Woodworth, p. 140.
  24. ^ Breiner, Invasion, np.; McDonough, p. 200; Noe, p. 129.
  25. ^ Cameron, p. 97; Noe, pp. 130–32.
  26. ^ Unit actions from Noe, p. 194.
  27. ^ Pierre Wiart; Clive Oppenheimer (April 2000). "Largest known historical eruption in Africa: Dubbi volcano, Eritrea, 1861". Geology. 28 (4): 291. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<291:LKHEIA>2.0.CO;2.
  28. ^ "The Drought That Changed the War". October 12, 2012.
  29. ^ Noe, pp. 110–11; Prokopowicz, p. 161.
  30. ^ Noe, pp. 136–39.
  31. ^ Cameron, p. 98.
  32. ^ Kennedy, p. 124; Noe, pp. 133–34.
  33. ^ Noe, p. 140.
  34. ^ Official Records, Series I, Vol. XVI, Part 1, pp. 1023–24.
  35. ^ Esposito, text for map 76; Noe, pp. 94–95; McDonough, pp. 196–97.
  36. ^ Noe, pp. 373–74; Eicher, p. 367.
  37. ^ Noe, pp. 375–77; Eicher, p. 367.
  38. ^ Noe, pp. 97, 377–80; Eicher, p. 367.
  39. ^ Noe, pp. 369–72; Eicher, pp. 367–68.
  40. ^ Noe, pp. 144–59; McDonough, pp. 220–23.
  41. ^ Noe, pp. 169–71; McDonough, pp. 226–28.
  42. ^ McDonough, pp. 232–33; Noe, pp. 173–76; Cameron, p. 117; Breiner, Battle, np.; Street, pp. 60–61.
  43. ^ Kennedy, p. 126; Noe, p. 194; Cameron, pp. 114, 184; McPherson, p. 520.
  44. ^ Unit actions from Noe, p. 201.
  45. ^ Noe, pp. 186–88; Cameron, p. 117.
  46. ^ McDonough, pp. 243–45; Street, p. 64.
  47. ^ McDonough, pp. 245–49; Noe, pp. 193-204; Cameron, pp. 123–26.
  48. ^ Noe, pp. 204–11; McDonough, pp. 249–55; Cameron, pp. 128–35.
  49. ^ Noe, pp. 250–56; McDonough, pp. 273–75; Cameron, pp. 136–44.
  50. ^ Unit actions from Noe, p. 227.
  51. ^ Watkins, p. 82.
  52. ^ Unit actions from Noe, p. 249.
  53. ^ McDonough, pp. 275–80; Noe, pp. 256–60; Cameron, pp. 145–50; Hafendorfer, pp. 386, 445.
  54. ^ Noe, pp. 260–61; Breiner, Battle, np.
  55. ^ Noe, pp. 215–18, 238–41; McDonough, pp. 259–60, 265–66; Cameron, pp. 163–64.
  56. ^ Noe, pp. 219–29; McDonough, pp. 260–62; Cameron, pp. 174–75; History of 42nd Indiana.
  57. ^ Noe, pp. 263–66; McDonough, pp. 265–72; Breiner, Battle, np.; Cameron, pp. 176–77.
  58. ^ McDonough, p. 271.
  59. ^ McDonough, pp. 267–71.
  60. ^ Unit actions from Noe, p. 279.
  61. ^ Noe, pp. 277–83; Cameron, p. 184.
  62. ^ Noe, pp. 284–86, 291–92.
  63. ^ Noe, p. 285.
  64. ^ Unit actions from Noe, p. 299.
  65. ^ Noe, pp. 292; Cameron, pp. 178–80.
  66. ^ Noe, pp. 272–74; 292–98; McDonough, pp. 283–84; Cameron, pp. 181–83.
  67. ^ Cameron, pp. 183–84; Prokopowicz, pp. 166, 180–81; Noe, p. 290.
  68. ^ Noe, pp. 301–305; McDonough, pp. 285–286; Cameron, pp. 184–86. Noe, p. 302, cites the 65.3% casualty rate of the 22nd Indiana as the highest at the battle. A National Park Service regimental website February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine states the 33rd Alabama sustained an even higher casualty rate, 82% of 500 present. However, Noe, p. 372, lists the 33rd Alabama at 43% (initial strength of 380, 14 killed, 153 wounded). Hafendorfer, p. 363, states that the 82% figure cited in the Alabama War Records is a "little high", and exact figures for that brigade are not available.
  69. ^ Noe, pp. 369, 373.
  70. ^ Watkins, pp. 80–81.
  71. ^ Noe, pp. 313–15.
  72. ^ McDonough, pp. 304–14.
  73. ^ McDonough, pp. 317–18; Prokopowicz, pp. 186–87; Noe, pp. 339–43; Eicher, p. 371.
  74. ^ Prokopowicz, p. 179.
  75. ^ McPherson, p. 858.
  76. ^ "Kentucky Climate Center".
  77. ^ Kentucky State Parks Perryville Battlefield Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  78. ^ Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  79. ^ Civil War Trust "Saved Land" webpage. November 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Accessed Jan. 3, 2018 and November 24, 2021.

Sources

  • Breiner, Thomas L. . Accessed January 1, 2008.
  • Breiner, Thomas L. . Accessed January 1, 2008.
  • Cameron, Robert S. . Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 1-4289-1645-8.
  • Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
  • Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. OCLC 5890637. The collection of maps (without explanatory text) is available online at the West Point website[permanent dead link].
  • Hafendorfer, Kenneth A. Perryville: Battle for Kentucky. Louisville, KY: K. H. Press, 1991. OCLC 24623062.
  • Kennedy, Frances H., ed. The Civil War Battlefield Guide. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
  • McDonough, James Lee. War in Kentucky: From Shiloh to Perryville. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1994. ISBN 0-87049-847-9.
  • McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-19-503863-0.
  • Noe, Kenneth W. Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8131-2209-0.
  • Prokopowicz, Gerald J. All for the Regiment: The Army of the Ohio, 1861–1862. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8078-2626-X.
  • Street, James Jr., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Struggle for Tennessee: Tupelo to Stones River. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. ISBN 0-8094-4760-6.
  • Watkins, Sam. Co. Aytch Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment or, A Side Show of the Big Show. Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House, 1882. OCLC 43511251.
  • Woodworth, Steven E. Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1990. ISBN 0-7006-0461-8.
  • National Park Service battle description

Further reading

  • Brown, Kent Masterson. The Civil War in Kentucky: Battle for the Bluegrass State. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing Company, 2000. ISBN 1-882810-47-3.
  • Broadwater, Robert P. The Battle of Perryville, 1862: Culmination of the Failed Kentucky Campaign. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2005. ISBN 978-0-7864-2303-3.
  • Harrison, Lowell Hayes. The Civil War in Kentucky. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8131-9247-5.
  • Harrison, Lowell H. "The Civil War in Kentucky: Some Persistent Questions". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (1978): 1–21. JSTOR 23378644.
  • Hodge, Robert Lee; Seley, Shane (Directors) (2010). The Battle of Perryville: The Invasion of Kentucky (DVD). Hodge Films.
  • McWhiney, Grady. "Controversy in Kentucky: Braxton Bragg's Campaign of 1862". Civil War History (1960) 6 #1 pp. 5–42.
  • Wooster, Ralph A. "Confederate Success at Perryville". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (1961) 59 #4 pp. 318–323 JSTOR 23374696. (University Press of Kentucky, 2001.)
  • Gillum, Jamie. "Understanding the Battle of Perryville: The Discovery of the Hafley Cabins and its Impact on Historiography of the Battlefield". Jamie Gillum, 2022. ISBN 978-1974501663.

Primary sources

  • Johnson, Robert Underwood, and Clarence C. Buel, eds. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. 4 vols. New York: Century Co., 1884–1888. OCLC 2048818:
    • Buell, Don Carlos. "East Tennessee and the Campaign of Perryville".
    • Gilbert, Charles C. "On the Field of Perryville".
    • Wheeler, Joseph. "Bragg's Invasion of Kentucky".
    • Wright, J. Montgomery. "Notes of a Staff Officer at Perryville".
  • Steely, Will Frank, and Orville W. Taylor. "Bragg's Kentucky Campaign: A Confederate Soldier's Account". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (1959): 49–55. JSTOR 23374571.
  • U.S. War Department, Cornell University Library Making of America Collection The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Perryville.
  • : Battle maps, photos, history articles, and battlefield news (Civil War Trust)
  • Perryville Order of Battle
  • Battlefield Photographs
  • Battle of Perryville, Buell in over his head

March 02, 2023
battle, perryville, historic, site, perryville, battlefield, state, historic, site, confused, with, indian, territory, also, known, battle, chaplin, hills, fought, october, 1862, chaplin, hills, west, perryville, kentucky, culmination, confederate, heartland, . For the historic site see Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site Not to be confused with Battle of Perryville Indian Territory The Battle of Perryville also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills was fought on October 8 1862 in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville Kentucky as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive Kentucky Campaign during the American Civil War Confederate Gen Braxton Bragg s Army of Mississippi b initially won a tactical victory against primarily a single corps of Maj Gen Don Carlos Buell s Union Army of the Ohio The battle is considered a strategic Union victory sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky since Bragg withdrew to Tennessee soon thereafter The Union retained control of the critical border state of Kentucky for the remainder of the war Battle of PerryvillePart of the Western Theater of the American Civil WarThe Battle of Perryville as depicted in Harper s WeeklyDateOctober 8 1862 1862 10 08 LocationNear Perryville Kentucky37 40 31 N 84 58 16 W 37 67528 N 84 97111 W 37 67528 84 97111 Coordinates 37 40 31 N 84 58 16 W 37 67528 N 84 97111 W 37 67528 84 97111ResultUnion strategic victory 1 Belligerents United States Union Confederate StatesCommanders and leadersDon Carlos Buell George Henry ThomasBraxton BraggUnits involvedArmy of the OhioArmy of Mississippi a Strength55 000 2 22 000 engaged 3 16 000 4 Casualties and losses4 241 845 killed 2 851 wounded 515 captured missing 5 6 3 396 510 killed 2 635 wounded 251 captured missing 7 8 class notpageimage Location within KentuckyShow map of KentuckyBattle of Perryville the United States Show map of the United States On October 7 Buell s army in pursuit of Bragg converged on the small crossroads town of Perryville in three columns Union forces first skirmished with Confederate cavalry on the Springfield Pike before the fighting became more general on Peters Hill when the Confederate infantry arrived Both sides were desperate to get access to fresh water The next day at dawn fighting began again around Peters Hill as a Union division advanced up the pike halting just before the Confederate line After noon a Confederate division struck the Union left flank the I Corps of Maj Gen Alexander M McCook and forced it to fall back When more Confederate divisions joined the fray the Union line made a stubborn stand counterattacked but finally fell back with some units routed 9 Buell several miles behind the action was unaware that a major battle was taking place and did not send any reserves to the front until late in the afternoon The Union troops on the left flank reinforced by two brigades stabilized their line and the Confederate attack sputtered to a halt Later three Confederate regiments assaulted the Union division on the Springfield Pike but were repulsed and fell back into Perryville Union troops pursued and skirmishing occurred in the streets until dark By that time Union reinforcements were threatening the Confederate left flank Bragg short of men and supplies withdrew during the night and continued the Confederate retreat by way of Cumberland Gap into East Tennessee 9 Considering the casualties relative to the engaged strengths of the armies 4 the Battle of Perryville was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War It was the largest battle fought in the state of Kentucky 10 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Military situation 1 2 Kentucky campaign of 1862 1 3 Prelude to battle 1 3 1 Geography and location 1 3 2 Disposition of armies 2 Opposing forces 2 1 Union 2 2 Confederate 3 Battle 3 1 Morning actions 3 2 Attack from the Confederate right 3 3 Attack from the Confederate center 3 4 Attack from the Confederate left 3 5 Dixville Crossroads 4 Aftermath 4 1 Casualties 4 2 Reactions and effects 4 3 Subsequent events 5 Battlefield preservation 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 8 1 Citations 8 2 Sources 9 Further reading 9 1 Primary sources 10 External linksBackground EditMilitary situation Edit Main articles Battle of Iuka Second Battle of Corinth and Kentucky Campaign Further information Western Theater of the American Civil War Border states American Civil War Kentucky and American Civil War Kentucky campaign of 1862 Edit Kentucky Tennessee 1862 Western Theater operations from the Siege of Corinth through the Kentucky Campaign 11 Confederate Union Situated between the Southern states of Tennessee and Virginia and the Northern states of Illinois Indiana and Ohio the border state of Kentucky was coveted by both sides of the conflict because of its central location and its control of key rivers particularly the Ohio In September 1861 Kentucky born President Abraham Lincoln wrote in a private letter I think to lose Kentucky is nearly to lose the whole game 12 Opposing political elements within the state vied for control during the early part of the war and the state legislature declared official neutrality to keep out both the Union and the Confederate armies This neutrality was first violated on September 3 1861 when Confederate Maj Gen Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus considered key to controlling the Lower Mississippi Two days later Union Brig Gen Ulysses S Grant seized Paducah Henceforth the proclaimed neutrality was a dead letter 13 While the state never seceded from the Union Confederate sympathizers who were members of the legislature set up a temporary Confederate capital in Bowling Green in November 1861 It never wielded significant power inside the state The Confederate States recognized Kentucky and added a star representing the state to the Confederate flag 14 After the Battle of Shiloh on April 6 7 the beaten Confederate army under Maj Gen Pierre G T Beauregard retreated down into Corinth very slowly pursued by the combined Union forces under Maj Gen Henry Halleck the armies of Grant Buell and John Pope Although Halleck had 100 000 men under his command and Beauregard half or less of that number it took him 51 days to march the 20 miles from Pittsburg Landing to Corinth which was abandoned by the Confederates on May 29 Confederate president Jefferson Davis unhappy with Beauregard s retreat removed him from command and gave Braxton Bragg the army which he renamed the Army of Tennessee Bragg spent most of June drilling and reorganizing the army in camp at Tupelo Mississippi The Union armies ignored him and the war in Tennessee virtually ground to a halt during the summer months Grant s Army of the Tennessee was scattered about western Tennessee and northern Mississippi while Buell s Army of Ohio was moving towards Chattanooga at an incredibly slow pace spending much of that time rebuilding railroad lines While Halleck had had overall command of the Union war effort in the West since spring he was summoned to Washington DC in July to become general in chief of the armies leaving Grant and Buell to their separate independent commands Pope was also called east to take command of the Union war effort in Virginia and his former army added to Grant s and put under the command of William Rosecrans The initiative to invade Kentucky came primarily from Confederate Maj Gen Edmund Kirby Smith commander of the Department of East Tennessee He believed the campaign would allow them to obtain supplies enlist recruits divert Union troops from Tennessee and claim Kentucky for the Confederacy In July 1862 Col John Hunt Morgan carried out a successful cavalry raid in the state venturing deeply into the rear areas of Buell s department The raid caused considerable consternation in Buell s command and in Washington D C During the raid Morgan and his forces were cheered and supported by many residents He added 300 Kentucky volunteers to his 900 man force during the raid He confidently promised Kirby Smith The whole country can be secured and 25 000 or 30 000 men will join you at once 15 Bragg considered various options including an attempt to retake Corinth Mississippi or to advance against Buell s army through Middle Tennessee He eventually heeded Kirby Smith s calls for reinforcement and decided to relocate his Army of Mississippi to join with him He moved 30 000 infantrymen in a tortuous railroad journey from Tupelo Mississippi through Mobile and Montgomery to Chattanooga Supply wagons cavalry and artillery moved overland under their own power through Rome Georgia Although Bragg was the senior general in the theater Confederate President Jefferson Davis had established Kirby Smith s Department of East Tennessee as an independent command reporting directly to Richmond This decision caused Bragg difficulty during the campaign 16 Smith and Bragg met in Chattanooga on July 31 and devised a plan for the campaign The newly created Army of Kentucky including two of Bragg s brigades and approximately 21 000 men would march north under Kirby Smith s command into Kentucky to dispose of the Union defenders of Cumberland Gap Bragg s army was too exhausted from its long journey to begin immediate offensive operations Smith would return to join Bragg and their combined forces would attempt to maneuver into Buell s rear and force a battle to protect his supply lines Any attempt by Ulysses S Grant to reinforce Buell from northern Mississippi would be handled by the two small armies of Maj Gens Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn The first indication that something was happening came in late June when Col Phil Sheridan commanding a cavalry demi brigade two regiments in the Army of the Tennessee went on a reconnaissance mission to discover that the Confederates had abandoned their camp at Tupelo and began moving towards Chattanooga while another Confederate army under Sterling Price was gathering in Mississippi Several captured letters from Confederate soldiers boasted that the Yankees would be given the slip Maj Gen William Rosecrans was impressed with Sheridan s foray and recommended him for promotion to brigadier general 17 Once the armies were combined Bragg s seniority would apply and Smith would be under his direct command Assuming that Buell s army could be destroyed Bragg and Smith would march north into Kentucky a movement they assumed would be welcomed by the local populace Any remaining Federal force would be defeated in a grand battle in Kentucky establishing the Confederate frontier at the Ohio River 18 The campaign plan was bold but risky requiring perfect coordination between multiple armies that would initially have no unity of command Bragg almost immediately began to have second thoughts despite pressure from President Davis to take Kentucky Smith quickly abandoned the agreement foreseeing that a solo adventure in Kentucky would bring him personal glory He deceived Bragg as to his intentions and requested two additional brigades ostensibly for his expedition to Cumberland Gap 19 On August 9 Smith informed Bragg that he was breaking the agreement and intended to bypass Cumberland Gap leaving a small holding force to neutralize the Union garrison and to move north Unable to command Smith to honor their plan Bragg focused on a movement to Lexington instead of Nashville He cautioned Smith that Buell could pursue and defeat his smaller army before Bragg s army could join up with them 20 Smith marched north with 21 000 men from Knoxville on August 13 Bragg departed from Chattanooga on August 27 just before Smith reached Lexington 21 The beginning of the campaign coincided with Gen Robert E Lee s offensive in the northern Virginia campaign second Manassas campaign and with Price s and Van Dorn s operations against Grant Although not centrally directed it was the largest simultaneous Confederate offensive of the war 22 Meanwhile Buell was forced to abandon his slow advance toward Chattanooga Receiving word of the Confederate movements he decided to concentrate his army around Nashville The news that Smith and Bragg were both in Kentucky convinced him of the need to place his army between the Confederates and the Union cities of Louisville and Cincinnati On September 7 Buell s Army of the Ohio left Nashville and began racing Bragg to Louisville 23 On the way Bragg was distracted by the capture of a Union fort at Munfordville He had to decide whether to continue toward a fight with Buell over Louisville or rejoin Smith who had gained control of the center of the state by capturing Richmond and Lexington and threatened to move on Cincinnati Bragg chose to rejoin Smith Buell reached Louisville where he gathered reorganized and reinforced his army with thousands of new recruits He dispatched 20 000 men under Brig Gen Joshua W Sill toward Frankfort hoping to distract Smith and prevent the two Confederate armies from joining against him Meanwhile Bragg left his army and met Smith in Frankfort where they attended the inauguration of Confederate Governor Richard Hawes on October 4 The inauguration ceremony was disrupted by the sound of cannon fire from Sill s approaching division and organizers canceled the inaugural ball scheduled for that evening 24 Additional campaign maps Western Theater Movements April August 1862 Western Theater Confederate invasion of Kentucky August October 1862 Prelude to battle Edit When he departed for Frankfort on September 28 Bragg left his army under Polk s command On October 3 the approach of the large Union force caused the Confederates to withdraw eastward and Bardstown was occupied on October 4 Hardee s wing stopped at Perryville and requested reinforcements from Bragg Although Bragg wished to concentrate his army at Versailles the quickly approaching Federal III Corps forced the concentration at Perryville and Harrodsburg 25 Geography and location Edit Positions of the armies at 2 p m October 8 26 Hardee had selected Perryville for a few reasons The village of approximately 300 residents had an excellent road network with connections to nearby towns in six directions allowing for strategic flexibility It was located to prevent the Federals from reaching the Confederate supply depot in Bryantsville Finally it was a potential source of water An extremely wet winter and spring of 1862 believed caused by the eruption of Mt Dubbi in East Africa in May 1861 27 gave way to dry conditions during June which stayed that way throughout the summer and into early fall The Southern states remained locked under a stagnant high pressure ridge that sent daytime temperatures soaring with little rain to cool things down 28 The heat was oppressive for both men and horses and the few sources of drinking water provided by the rivers and creeks west of town most reduced to isolated stagnant puddles were desperately sought after 29 Disposition of armies Edit On October 7 Buell reached the Perryville area as Union cavalry clashed with Wheeler s rearguard throughout the day 30 Accompanying III Corps Buell learned that the Confederates had halted at Perryville and were deploying their infantry He therefore planned an attack The enemy force was his principal objective but the availability of water also made control of the town and surrounding area desirable Buell issued orders for all corps to move at 3 a m the next day and attack at 10 a m However movements of the I and II Corps were delayed having deviated several miles from their line of march in search of water Buell decided to delay his attack until October 9 to complete his army s deployment and ordered each corps commander to avoid a general engagement on October 8 Buell was unable to oversee the deployment of his arriving corps Thrown from his horse he suffered injuries that prevented him from riding He established his headquarters at the Dorsey house about 3 miles 4 8 km due west of town 31 Hardee established a line of defense across the three roads leading into Perryville from the north and west Until reinforcements could arrive he was limited to three of the four brigades of Buckner s division Brig Gen Sterling A M Wood was placed at the north of town Brig Gen Bushrod Johnson was to Wood s right east of the Chaplin River near the Harrodsburg Pike Brig Gen St John R Liddell s Arkansas Brigade formed on the crest of Bottom Hill just east of Bull Run Creek a tributary of Doctor s Creek with one regiment the 7th Arkansas sent forward to Peters Hill on the other side of the creek 32 On the evening of October 7 the final Confederate forces began to arrive The first of Patton Anderson s four brigades reached the area around 3 p m Brig Gen Patrick Cleburne s brigade the remainder of Buckner s division followed Around midnight three brigades of Frank Cheatham s division arrived moving quickly and enthusiastically having left their baggage train behind his fourth brigade under Brig Gen Preston Smith received orders to return to Harrodsburg 33 Opposing forces EditUnion Edit Further information Union order of battle Key Union commanders Maj Gen Don Carlos Buell Commanding Maj Gen George H Thomas Maj Gen Alexander M McCook Maj Gen Charles C GilbertOn October 1 Buell s Army of the Ohio left Louisville with Maj Gen George H Thomas as his second in command Two days earlier Buell had received orders from Washington relieving him of command to be replaced by Thomas Thomas demurred refusing to accept command while the campaign was underway leaving Buell in place The 55 000 troops many of whom Thomas described as yet undisciplined unprovided with suitable artillery and in every way unfit for active operations against a disciplined foe 34 advanced toward Bragg s veteran army in Bardstown on three separate roads 35 The I Corps commanded by Maj Gen Alexander M McCook marched on the left along the Mackville Road His 13 000 men consisted of the 3rd Division under Brig Gen Lovell H Rousseau and the 10th Division under Brig Gen James S Jackson 36 The II Corps commanded by Maj Gen Thomas L Crittenden marched on the right along the Lebanon Road His 20 000 men were in three divisions the 4th commanded by Brig Gen William Sooy Smith the 5th Brig Gen Horatio P Van Cleve and the 6th Brig Gen Thomas J Wood 37 The III Corps commanded by Maj Gen Charles Champion Gilbert took the center along the Springfield Pike Just a few weeks earlier Gilbert had been a captain but was elevated to acting major general and corps command following the death by murder of the previous commander Maj Gen William Bull Nelson Gilbert s 22 000 men were also in three divisions the 1st under Brig Gen Albin F Schoepf 9th Brig Gen Robert B Mitchell and the 11th Brig Gen Philip H Sheridan 38 Confederate Edit Further information Confederate order of battle Key Confederate commanders Gen Braxton Bragg Commanding Maj Gen Leonidas Polk Maj Gen William J HardeeBragg s Army of Mississippi consisted of about 16 800 men in two wings Right Wing commanded by Maj Gen Leonidas Polk consisted of a single division under Maj Gen Benjamin F Cheatham Left Wing commanded by Maj Gen William J Hardee consisted of the divisions of Brig Gen J Patton Anderson and Maj Gen Simon B Buckner 39 Battle EditMorning actions Edit The first shots of the battle were fired early on the morning of October 8 Finding that there were algae covered pools of water in the otherwise dry bed of Doctor s Creek troops from the 10th Indiana advanced to take advantage of them They encountered the forward men of the 7th Arkansas and some shots were exchanged At 2 a m Buell and Gilbert the III Corps commander ordered newly promoted Brig Gen Phil Sheridan to seize Peters Hill Sheridan started off with the brigade of Col Daniel McCook the younger brother of the I Corps commander Sheridan seized the hill driving the Arkansans back to the main line of their brigade but continued to push across the creek Liddell s brigade could not check the momentum of Sheridan s thirsty soldiers and Buckner Liddell s division commander was ordered by Polk not to reinforce him but to pull his brigade back Polk was concerned about starting a general engagement to the west of the Chaplin River fearing he was outnumbered Meanwhile on the Union side a nervous Gilbert ordered Sheridan to return to Peters Hill 40 For the preceding few days Braxton Bragg had been deceived by the diversion launched by Sills against Frankfort assuming that it was the major thrust of Buell s army He wanted Polk to attack and defeat what he considered to be a minor force at Perryville and then immediately return so that the entire army could be joined with Kirby Smith s Polk sent a dispatch to Bragg early that morning that he intended to attack vigorously but he quickly changed his mind and settled on a defensive posture Bragg angered that he was not hearing the sounds of battle rode from Harrodsburg to Perryville to take charge arriving about 10 a m and establishing his headquarters at the Crawford house on the Harrodsburg Pike 41 Bragg was appalled at the condition of Polk s battle line which contained gaps and was not properly anchored on the flanks As he rode in he observed some of McCook s I Corps troops north of town but he assumed that the primary threat continued to be on the Springfield Pike where the action against the III Corps had taken place early that morning He had no knowledge of Crittenden s II Corps approaching on the Lebanon Pike He gave orders to realign his army into a north south line and prepare to attack en echelon Cheatham s division marched north from town and prepared to open the attack on the Union left which Bragg assumed to be on the Mackville Road beginning a large left wheel movement Two brigades from Patton Anderson s division would then strike the Union center and Buckner s division would follow up on the left Another of Anderson s brigades commanded by Col Samuel Powel c would attack farther to the south along the Springfield Pike The large clouds of dust raised by Cheatham s division marching north at the double quick prompted some of McCook s men to believe the Confederates were starting to retreat which increased the surprise of the Rebel attack later in the day 42 By the afternoon of October 8 most of Buell s army had arrived They were positioned with McCook s I Corps on the left from the Benton Road to the Mackville Road Gilbert s III Corps in the center on the Springfield Pike Crittenden s II Corps on the right along the Lebanon Pike The vast majority of action during the battle would be against McCook s corps Because of an unusual acoustic shadow few sounds from the battle reached Buell s headquarters only 2 miles 3 2 km away he did not exert effective control over the battle and committed no reserves until late in the day 43 Attack from the Confederate right Edit Attacks by Donelson Maney Stewart and Jones c 3 p m 44 Cheatham s artillery bombardment began at 12 30 p m but he did not immediately order his infantry forward Union troops continued to file into line extending their flank to the north beyond the intended avenue of attack Bragg moved Cheatham s division into Walker s Bend assuming the redirected attack would now strike the Union s open flank Unfortunately for the Confederates their cavalry reconnaissance withdrew before McCook placed an artillery battery under Lt Charles Parsons and the brigade of Brig Gen William R Terrill onto the Open Knob a prominent hill on the northern end of the battlefield 45 The brigade of Brig Gen Daniel S Donelson was the first to cross the Chaplin River climb the bluffs on the west bank and began its attack around 2 p m Two of the brigade s regiments had been detached leaving only three for the attack Cheatham shouted Give em hell boys One of the enduring legends of the Civil War is that Gen Polk who was also an Episcopal bishop was nearby and seconded the cheer Give it to em boys give em what General Cheatham says 46 The brigade found that instead of striking the open flank it had expected it was performing a frontal assault on the center of the Union position The 16th Tennessee Infantry under Col John H Savage raced ahead of the other two regiments attempting to reach the artillery battery of Capt Samuel J Harris Savage held Donelson in disdain considering him a drunkard with limited military ability and often paid little attention to orders from his commander He considered Donelson s order to attack Harris s battery to be a death sentence against him As it moved west into a depression it came under crossfire from the 33rd Ohio Infantry and the eight guns of Parsons artillery on Open Knob 200 yards 180 m to the north Cheatham ordered the brigade of Brig Gen George E Maney forward to deal with Parsons on the Open Knob but Donelson s brigade could not withstand the fire and withdrew to its starting point at 2 30 p m with about 20 casualties Savage s regiment lost 219 of its 370 men 47 Parsons battery position on the Open Knob 2007 Parsons eight guns on the Open Knob were manned by inexperienced soldiers some of whom were infantry recruits from the 105th Ohio Infantry Terrill s 33rd Brigade was posted to defend the guns Meanwhile Confederate Brigadier General George Maney s brigade was able to approach the Knob undetected through the woods as the Union troops attention was focused on Donelson s attack Eventually the Union artillery redirected their guns and a fierce firefight ensued Brig Gen Jackson the 10th Division commander was killed in the action and command fell to Terrill who immediately made a poor command decision Obsessed with the safety of his artillery he ordered the 123rd Illinois to mount a bayonet charge down the hill The 770 raw Union troops suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the 1 800 veteran Confederates As reinforcements arrived from the 80th Illinois and a detachment of infantry commanded by Col Theophilus T Garrard the two sides were briefly stalemated Maney s artillery commanded by Lt William Turner pounded the inexperienced defenders and Maney ordered a charge up the steep slope which swept the Union men from the hill and captured most of Parsons guns the tenacious Parsons had to be dragged away from the scene by his retreating soldiers 48 Starkweather s brigade fights in the cornfield Maney s attack continued to the west down the reverse slope of the Open Knob through a cornfield and across the Benton Road after which was another steep ridge occupied by the 2 200 men in the Union 28th Brigade of Col John C Starkweather Rousseau s division and twelve guns Those guns made the Open Knob an untenable position Starkweather had placed his 21st Wisconsin in the cornfield about the time that Maney was attacking Parsons position The inexperienced men of the 21st some of whom had never fired their weapons before the regiment having been formed less than a month earlier could see little through the 10 to 12 foot 3 7 m high cornstalks of the cornfield They were surprised as the remnants of Terrill s brigade retreated through their position As Terrill himself retreated he shouted The Rebels are advancing in terrible force Terrill convinced the regimental adjutant to order yet another bayonet charge 200 men advanced and were quickly smashed by the oncoming Confederates While the Union men had to hold their fire to keep from shooting their retreating comrades artillery fire from Starkweather s batteries caused numerous friendly fire casualties The 21st managed to fire a volley into the Confederate ranks but it was answered by a 1 400 musket volley that decimated the Union regiment and the survivors fled toward the Benton Road 49 Attacks by Maney Brown Johnson and Cleburne c 3 45 p m 50 To fill a gap in the Confederate line where Donelson s brigade had fought Cheatham deployed the Tennessee brigade of Brig Gen Alexander P Stewart and they joined Maney s brigade in the advance against Starkweather The 1st Tennessee attacked the northern end of the hill while the remainder of Maney s brigade assaulted directly up the slope Starkweather s position was a strong one however and the Confederates were initially repulsed by strong infantry and artillery fire A second charge and vicious hand to hand fighting brought the Confederates to the crest among the batteries The guns were discharged so rapidly that it seemed the earth itself was in a volcanic uproar The iron storm passed through our ranks mangling and tearing men to pieces The very air seemed full of stifling smoke and fire which seemed the very pit of hell peopled by contending demons Private Sam Watkins 1st Tennessee 51 High water mark c 4 15 p m 52 At that time Brig Gen Terrill returned to the fight leading his troops up the reverse slope of the hill He was mortally wounded by an artillery shell exploding overhead and died at 2 a m the following day Starkweather meanwhile was able to salvage six of his twelve guns and move them 100 yards 91 m west to the next ridge Col Albert S Hall began the day as regimental commander of the 105th Ohio and with the deaths of Jackson Terrill and Col George Webster advanced all the way to command of the 10th Division by the end of the day 53 Once again the Federals had a strong defensive position with good artillery support and a stone wall at the top of a steep slope Maney s and Stewart s men attempted three assaults all unsuccessful and withdrew to the vicinity of the Open Knob at around 5 30 p m The assault by Maney s brigade over three hours was the bloodiest of the battle and arguably its most crucial action Historian Kenneth W Noe describes Maney s final repulse as the high water mark of the Confederacy in the western theater no less important than the Angle at Gettysburg 54 Attack from the Confederate center Edit The en echelon attack continued with Anderson s division in the center At about 2 45 p m the same time that Maney s first attack was being repulsed on the Open Knob the brigade of Col Thomas M Jones began its attack across a valley commanded by a large sinkhole Jones had no orders to attack from Anderson or Hardee but moved forward on his own initiative when he heard the sound of firing to his right As they entered the valley his men were cut down by musketry and fire from twelve artillery pieces on the next ridge where the Union 9th Brigade Rousseau s division under Col Leonard A Harris was posted Confederate artillery attached to Jones s brigade Capt Charles Lumsden s Alabama Light Artillery returned fire but due to an optical illusion that made two successive ridges look the same were unable to fix on the appropriate range and their fire had no effect on the Federal line At 3 30 p m the Confederate brigade of Brig Gen John C Brown moved up to take the place of Jones s retreating men By this time most of the Union artillery had had to withdraw to replenish their ammunition so Brown s men did not suffer the same fate as Jones s Nevertheless they made no headway against the infantry units in place until successes on the Confederate left put pressure on the Union position 55 Attack from the Confederate left Edit Squire Henry Bottom s house in 2007 Almost all of McCook s I Corps units were posted at the beginning of the battle on land owned by Squire Henry P Bottom The corps right flank Col William H Lytle s 17th Brigade was posted on a ridge on which Squire Bottom s house and barn were situated overlooking a bend in the Chaplin River and a hill and farm owned by R F Chatham on the other side At about 2 30 p m Major John E Austin s 14th Battalion of Louisiana Sharpshooters screening Brig Gen Daniel W Adams s Confederate brigade engaged the 42nd Indiana as it was collecting water in the ravine of Doctor s Creek This began a Confederate attack against this area with Brig Gen Bushrod R Johnson s brigade descending from Chatham House Hill at about 2 45 p m crossing the almost dry riverbed and attacking the 3rd Ohio Infantry commanded by Col John Beatty The attack was disorganized last minute changes of orders from Buckner were not distributed to all of the participating units and friendly fire from Confederate artillery broke their lines while still on Chatham House Hill When the infantry attack eventually moved up the hill fighting from stone wall to stone wall Confederate artillery bombarded the 3rd Ohio and set afire Squire Bottom s log barn Some of the Union wounded soldiers had sought refuge in the barn and many were burned to death 56 The Ohioans withdrew and were replaced in their position by the 15th Kentucky As Johnson s men ran low on ammunition Brig Gen Patrick R Cleburne s brigade entered the battle at about 3 40 p m Cleburne s horse Dixie was killed by an artillery shell which also wounded Cleburne in the ankle but he kept his troops moving forward As they advanced up the slope they were subjected to Confederate artillery fire Cleburne later surmised that the friendly fire was caused by his men wearing blue uniform trousers which had been captured from Union soldiers at Richmond On Cleburne s left Brig Gen Daniel W Adams s brigade joined the attack against the 15th Kentucky which had been reinforced by three companies of the 3rd Ohio The Union troops retreated to the west toward the Russell House McCook s headquarters Lytle was wounded in the head as he attempted to rally his men He was left on the field for dead and was captured 57 What soldier under Buell will forget the horrible affair at Perryville where 30 000 men stood idly by to see and hear the needless slaughter in McCook s unaided neglected and even abandoned command without firing a shot or moving a step in its relief Col John M Connell 17th Ohio speaking at a regimental reunion 20 years later 58 While Lytle s brigade was being beaten back the left flank of Phil Sheridan s division was only a few hundred yards to the south on Peters Hill One of the lingering controversies of the battle has been why he did not choose to join the fight Earlier in the day he had been ordered by Gilbert not to bring on a general engagement At around 2 p m the sound of artillery fire reached army headquarters where Buell was having dinner with Gilbert the two generals assumed that it was Union artillery practicing and sent word to Sheridan not to waste gunpowder Sheridan did project some artillery fire into the Confederate assault but when Gilbert finally arrived from the rear he feared that Sheridan would be attacked and ordered him back to his entrenchments 59 Powel s attack on Sheridan c 4 p m 60 Sheridan s division did participate toward the end of the battle The Confederate brigade of Col Samuel Powel Anderson s division was ordered to advance in conjunction with Adams s brigade on Cleburne s left The two brigades were widely separated however with Powel s on Edwards House Hill immediately west of Perryville At about 4 p m Powel received orders from Bragg to advance west on the Springfield Pike to silence the battery of Capt Henry Hescock which was firing into the left flank of Bragg s assault Bragg assumed this was an isolated battery not the entire III Corps Three regiments of Powel s brigade encountered Sheridan s division and although Sheridan was initially concerned by the Confederates aggressive attack and sent for reinforcements the three regiments were quickly repulsed 61 Sheridan who would be characterized in later battles as very aggressive hesitated to pursue the smaller force and also refused a request by Daniel McCook to move north in support of his brother s corps However his earlier request for reinforcements bore fruit and the 31st Brigade of Col William P Carlin Mitchell s division moved up on Sheridan s right Carlin s men moved aggressively in pursuit of Powel chasing them as fast as they could run toward Perryville As they reached the cemetery on the western outskirts of town fierce artillery dueling commenced Carlin pressed forward and was joined by the 21st Brigade of Col George D Wagner Wood s division II Corps They were poised to capture the town and the critical crossroads that dominated Braxton Bragg s avenue of withdrawal but an order from Gilbert to Mitchell curtailed the advance despite Mitchell s furious protestations 62 It was like running a marathon over fences and ditches and cornfields the enemy ahead and we in pursuit At times we were so close that I was once able to give a Rebel a kick in the rear Arthur Siver 15th Wisconsin 63 Dixville Crossroads Edit Defense of the Dixville Crossroads c 5 45 p m 64 Bragg s attack had been a large pincer movement forcing both flanks of McCook s corps back into a concentrated mass This mass occurred at the Dixville Crossroads where the Benton Road crossed the Mackville Road If the Confederates seized this intersection they could conceivably get around the right wing of McCook s corps and effectively cut them off from the rest of the army The southern jaw of the pincer began to slow at the temporary line established at the Russell House Harris s and Lytle s brigades defended until Cleburne s and Adams s attack ground to a halt The northern jaw had been stopped by Starkweather s defense The remaining attacks came from north of the Mackville Road by two fresh brigades from Buckner s division Brig Gen St John R Liddell s and Brig Gen Sterling A M Wood s 65 The initial target of the assault was Col George Webster s 34th Brigade of Jackson s division Webster was mortally wounded during the fighting His death marked the final senior loss for the 10th Division the division commander Jackson and the other brigade commander Terrill had also been mortally wounded The previous evening Jackson Terrill and Webster had been idly discussing the possibility of all of them being killed in battle and they dismissed the thought as being mathematically negligible Webster s infantry and Capt Harris s artillery battery posted on a hill near the Benton Road shot Wood s attackers to pieces and they were forced to fall back They regrouped at the base of the hill and renewed their assault Harris s battery ran low on ammunition and had to withdraw and the Confederate attack pushed Webster s men back toward the crossroads Col Michael Gooding s 13th Brigade Mitchell s division arrived on the field from Gilbert s corps and took up the fight Wood s men withdrew and were replaced by Liddell s 66 The arrival of reinforcements was a result of McCook s belated attempts to secure aid for his beleaguered corps At 2 30 p m he sent an aide to Sheridan on Peters Hill requesting that he secure I Corps right flank McCook dispatched a second staff officer at 3 p m to obtain assistance from the nearest III Corps unit The officer encountered Brig Gen Albin F Schoepf commanding the 1st Division the III Corps reserve Unwilling to act on his own authority Schoepf referred the staff officer to Gilbert who in turn referred him to Buell s headquarters more than 2 miles 3 2 km away The arrival of McCook s staff officer at about 4 p m surprised the army commander who had heard little battle noise and found it difficult to believe that a major Confederate attack had been under way for some time Nevertheless Buell ordered two brigades from Schoepf s division to support I Corps This relatively minor commitment indicated Buell s unwillingness to accept the reported dire situation at face value 67 Liddell s men fired at an unknown unit less than 100 yards 91 m east of the crossroads Calls were heard You are firing upon friends for God s sake stop Leonidas Polk the wing commander decided to ride forward to see who had been the victims of the supposedly friendly fire Polk found that he had ridden by mistake into the lines of the 22nd Indiana and was forced to bluff his way out by riding down the Union line pretending to be a Union officer and shouting at the Federal troops to cease fire When he had escaped he shouted to Liddell and the Confederates fired hundreds of muskets in a single volley which killed Col Squire Keith and caused casualties of 65 in the 22nd Indiana the highest percentage of any Federal regiment engaged at Perryville Although Liddell wanted to pursue the assault Polk had been unnerved by his personal contact with the enemy and halted the attack blaming the falling darkness The Union units moved their supplies and equipment through the endangered intersection and consolidated their lines on a chain of hills 200 yards 180 m northwest McCook s corps had been badly damaged during the day but was not destroyed 68 Aftermath EditCasualties Edit Union casualties totaled 4 276 894 killed 2 911 wounded 471 captured or missing Confederate casualties were 3 401 532 killed 2 641 wounded 228 captured or missing 69 In all casualties totaled one fifth of those involved I was in every battle skirmish and march that was made by the First Tennessee Regiment during the war and I do not remember of a harder contest and more evenly fought battle than that of Perryville If it had been two men wrestling it would have been called a dog fall Both sides claim victory both whipped Private Sam Watkins 1st Tennessee 70 Reactions and effects Edit Marker for Confederate graves on the Goodknight property 2007 Braxton Bragg had arguably won a tactical victory having fought aggressively and pushed his opponent back for over a mile But his precarious strategic situation became clear to him as he found out about the III Corps advance on the Springfield Pike and when he learned late in the day of the II Corps presence on the Lebanon Pike At 9 p m he met with his subordinates at the Crawford House and gave orders to begin a withdrawal after midnight leaving a picket line in place while his army joined up with Kirby Smith s As the army marched toward Harrodsburg they were forced to leave 900 wounded men behind 71 Bragg united his forces with Smith s at Harrodsburg and the Union and Confederate armies now of comparable size skirmished with one another over the next week or so but neither attacked Bragg soon realized that the new infantry recruits he had sought from Kentucky would not be forthcoming although many Kentuckians were willing to join the Confederate cavalry Furthermore Bragg concluded that he lacked the logistical support he needed to remain in the state He made his way southeast to Knoxville Tennessee through the Cumberland Gap Bragg was quickly called to the Confederate capital Richmond Virginia to explain to Jefferson Davis the charges brought by his officers about how he had conducted his campaign who were demanding that he be replaced as head of the army Although Davis decided to leave the general in command Bragg s relationship with his subordinates would be severely damaged Upon rejoining the army he ordered a movement to Murfreesboro Tennessee 72 Buell conducted a half hearted pursuit of Bragg and returned to Nashville rather than pushing on to East Tennessee as the Lincoln administration had wished Pent up dissatisfaction with Buell s performance resulted in a reorganization of the Western departments On October 24 a new Department of the Cumberland was formed under Maj Gen William S Rosecrans and Buell s Army of the Ohio was assigned to it redesignated the XIV Corps After the Battle of Stones River at Murfreesboro in late December another strategic defeat for Braxton Bragg it would receive its more familiar name the Army of the Cumberland Buell was ordered to appear before a commission investigating his conduct during the campaign He remained in military limbo for a year and a half his career essentially ruined He resigned from the service in May 1864 73 The two other corps of Buell s army were each as large as the entire Confederate force engaged Had they both advanced boldly once the battle was underway they could have seized the town of Perryville cut off the attackers from their supply depots in central Kentucky and very possibly achieved a decisive battlefield victory on the model of Austerlitz or Waterloo Gerald J Prokopowicz All for the Regiment 74 Subsequent events Edit Following the Battle of Perryville the Union maintained control of Kentucky for the rest of the war Historian James M McPherson considers Perryville to be part of a great turning point of the war when battles at Antietam and Perryville threw back Confederate invasions forestalled European mediation and recognition of the Confederacy perhaps prevented a Democratic victory in the northern elections of 1862 that might have inhibited the government s ability to carry on the war and set the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation which enlarged the scope and purpose of the conflict 75 Only two days after the battle the drought suddenly ended as a cold front pushed through the region and brought rain and cool temperatures across Kentucky 76 Battlefield preservation Edit Perryville Battlefield Portions of the battlefield of Perryville are preserved by the state of Kentucky as Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site 77 Also the Perryville Historic District covering downtown Perryville includes buildings which had roles in the battle including the Elmwood mansion which was pressed into use as a field hospital during the battle 78 The American Battlefield Trust its members and the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund have saved 1 202 acres at the Perryville Battlefield through late 2021 79 See also Edit American Civil War portal United States portalList of American Civil War battles List of battles fought in Kentucky List of costliest American Civil War land battles Troop engagements of the American Civil War 1862Notes Edit This army at times known by the names Army of the West or Army of the Mississippi the latter particularly at Shiloh was one of the most important in the Western theater with battles from Shiloh to Perryville The Army of Mississippi was also sometimes referred to as the Army of the West The army was activated on March 5 1862 just before the Battle of Shiloh and was renamed by Bragg as the Army of Tennessee in November See Army of Mississippi All of the references for this article spell his name Powell The Official Records spell it variously as Powel and Powell In Bruce S Allardice s Confederate Colonels A Biographical Register Columbia University of Missouri Press 2008 ISBN 978 0 8262 1809 4 he is referred to as Samuel Jackson Powel Kurt Holman of the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Park has confirmed the spelling of Powel References EditCitations Edit National Park Service CWSAC Battle Summary Further information Official Records Series I Volume XVI Part 2 pages 562 564 Kennedy p 127 The entire Army of the Ohio present for duty was approximately 55 000 men Cameron p 197 cites 55 261 men National Park Service cites 55 000 See in this article Opposing forces and Perryville Union order of battle a b Kennedy p 127 Further information Official Records Series I Volume XVI Part 1 pages 1033 1036 Noe p 373 cites 4 276 894 killed 2 911 wounded 471 captured missing Further information Official Records Series I Volume XVI Part 1 page 1112 Noe p 369 cites 3 401 532 killed 2 641 wounded 228 captured missing a b NPS Eicher p 367 Unit actions from Esposito map 76 Noe p 6 McPherson pp 296 97 Noe pp 9 10 Woodworth p 135 Noe pp 29 31 Woodworth pp 135 36 Noe pp 25 30 33 Booneville Mississippi Civil War sites Noe pp 31 32 Woodworth pp 136 37 Noe p 33 Noe pp 34 35 Woodworth pp 137 38 Esposito text for map 75 McPherson p 524 Woodworth p 140 Breiner Invasion np McDonough p 200 Noe p 129 Cameron p 97 Noe pp 130 32 Unit actions from Noe p 194 Pierre Wiart Clive Oppenheimer April 2000 Largest known historical eruption in Africa Dubbi volcano Eritrea 1861 Geology 28 4 291 doi 10 1130 0091 7613 2000 28 lt 291 LKHEIA gt 2 0 CO 2 The Drought That Changed the War October 12 2012 Noe pp 110 11 Prokopowicz p 161 Noe pp 136 39 Cameron p 98 Kennedy p 124 Noe pp 133 34 Noe p 140 Official Records Series I Vol XVI Part 1 pp 1023 24 Esposito text for map 76 Noe pp 94 95 McDonough pp 196 97 Noe pp 373 74 Eicher p 367 Noe pp 375 77 Eicher p 367 Noe pp 97 377 80 Eicher p 367 Noe pp 369 72 Eicher pp 367 68 Noe pp 144 59 McDonough pp 220 23 Noe pp 169 71 McDonough pp 226 28 McDonough pp 232 33 Noe pp 173 76 Cameron p 117 Breiner Battle np Street pp 60 61 Kennedy p 126 Noe p 194 Cameron pp 114 184 McPherson p 520 Unit actions from Noe p 201 Noe pp 186 88 Cameron p 117 McDonough pp 243 45 Street p 64 McDonough pp 245 49 Noe pp 193 204 Cameron pp 123 26 Noe pp 204 11 McDonough pp 249 55 Cameron pp 128 35 Noe pp 250 56 McDonough pp 273 75 Cameron pp 136 44 Unit actions from Noe p 227 Watkins p 82 Unit actions from Noe p 249 McDonough pp 275 80 Noe pp 256 60 Cameron pp 145 50 Hafendorfer pp 386 445 Noe pp 260 61 Breiner Battle np Noe pp 215 18 238 41 McDonough pp 259 60 265 66 Cameron pp 163 64 Noe pp 219 29 McDonough pp 260 62 Cameron pp 174 75 History of 42nd Indiana Noe pp 263 66 McDonough pp 265 72 Breiner Battle np Cameron pp 176 77 McDonough p 271 McDonough pp 267 71 Unit actions from Noe p 279 Noe pp 277 83 Cameron p 184 Noe pp 284 86 291 92 Noe p 285 Unit actions from Noe p 299 Noe pp 292 Cameron pp 178 80 Noe pp 272 74 292 98 McDonough pp 283 84 Cameron pp 181 83 Cameron pp 183 84 Prokopowicz pp 166 180 81 Noe p 290 Noe pp 301 305 McDonough pp 285 286 Cameron pp 184 86 Noe p 302 cites the 65 3 casualty rate of the 22nd Indiana as the highest at the battle A National Park Service regimental website Archived February 22 2014 at the Wayback Machine states the 33rd Alabama sustained an even higher casualty rate 82 of 500 present However Noe p 372 lists the 33rd Alabama at 43 initial strength of 380 14 killed 153 wounded Hafendorfer p 363 states that the 82 figure cited in the Alabama War Records is a little high and exact figures for that brigade are not available Noe pp 369 373 Watkins pp 80 81 Noe pp 313 15 McDonough pp 304 14 McDonough pp 317 18 Prokopowicz pp 186 87 Noe pp 339 43 Eicher p 371 Prokopowicz p 179 McPherson p 858 Kentucky Climate Center Kentucky State Parks Perryville Battlefield Retrieved October 8 2017 National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form Perryville Kentucky Historic District Retrieved October 8 2017 Civil War Trust Saved Land webpage Archived November 25 2017 at the Wayback Machine Accessed Jan 3 2018 and November 24 2021 Sources Edit Breiner Thomas L The Battle of Perryville Accessed January 1 2008 Breiner Thomas L The Battle of Perryville Bragg s Kentucky Invasion Accessed January 1 2008 Cameron Robert S Staff Ride Handbook for the Battle of Perryville 8 October 1862 Fort Leavenworth KS Combat Studies Institute Press 2005 ISBN 1 4289 1645 8 Eicher David J The Longest Night A Military History of the Civil War New York Simon amp Schuster 2001 ISBN 0 684 84944 5 Esposito Vincent J West Point Atlas of American Wars New York Frederick A Praeger 1959 OCLC 5890637 The collection of maps without explanatory text is available online at the West Point website permanent dead link Hafendorfer Kenneth A Perryville Battle for Kentucky Louisville KY K H Press 1991 OCLC 24623062 Kennedy Frances H ed The Civil War Battlefield Guide 2nd ed Boston Houghton Mifflin Co 1998 ISBN 0 395 74012 6 McDonough James Lee War in Kentucky From Shiloh to Perryville Knoxville University of Tennessee Press 1994 ISBN 0 87049 847 9 McPherson James M Battle Cry of Freedom The Civil War Era Oxford History of the United States New York Oxford University Press 1988 ISBN 0 19 503863 0 Noe Kenneth W Perryville This Grand Havoc of Battle Lexington University Press of Kentucky 2001 ISBN 978 0 8131 2209 0 Prokopowicz Gerald J All for the Regiment The Army of the Ohio 1861 1862 Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press 2001 ISBN 0 8078 2626 X Street James Jr and the Editors of Time Life Books The Struggle for Tennessee Tupelo to Stones River Alexandria VA Time Life Books 1985 ISBN 0 8094 4760 6 Watkins Sam Co Aytch Maury Grays First Tennessee Regiment or A Side Show of the Big Show Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House 1882 OCLC 43511251 Woodworth Steven E Jefferson Davis and His Generals The Failure of Confederate Command in the West Lawrence University Press of Kansas 1990 ISBN 0 7006 0461 8 National Park Service battle descriptionFurther reading EditBrown Kent Masterson The Civil War in Kentucky Battle for the Bluegrass State Campbell CA Savas Publishing Company 2000 ISBN 1 882810 47 3 Broadwater Robert P The Battle of Perryville 1862 Culmination of the Failed Kentucky Campaign Jefferson NC McFarland amp Company 2005 ISBN 978 0 7864 2303 3 Harrison Lowell Hayes The Civil War in Kentucky Lexington University Press of Kentucky 2010 ISBN 978 0 8131 9247 5 Harrison Lowell H The Civil War in Kentucky Some Persistent Questions The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 1978 1 21 JSTOR 23378644 Hodge Robert Lee Seley Shane Directors 2010 The Battle of Perryville The Invasion of Kentucky DVD Hodge Films McWhiney Grady Controversy in Kentucky Braxton Bragg s Campaign of 1862 Civil War History 1960 6 1 pp 5 42 Wooster Ralph A Confederate Success at Perryville The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 1961 59 4 pp 318 323 JSTOR 23374696 University Press of Kentucky 2001 Gillum Jamie Understanding the Battle of Perryville The Discovery of the Hafley Cabins and its Impact on Historiography of the Battlefield Jamie Gillum 2022 ISBN 978 1974501663 Primary sources Edit Johnson Robert Underwood and Clarence C Buel eds Battles and Leaders of the Civil War 4 vols New York Century Co 1884 1888 OCLC 2048818 Buell Don Carlos East Tennessee and the Campaign of Perryville Gilbert Charles C On the Field of Perryville Wheeler Joseph Bragg s Invasion of Kentucky Wright J Montgomery Notes of a Staff Officer at Perryville Steely Will Frank and Orville W Taylor Bragg s Kentucky Campaign A Confederate Soldier s Account The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 1959 49 55 JSTOR 23374571 U S War Department Cornell University Library Making of America Collection The War of the Rebellion a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Washington D C U S Government Printing Office 1880 1901 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Perryville Battle of Perryville Battle maps photos history articles and battlefield news Civil War Trust The Battle of Perryville Kentucky History of the Battle of Perryville Animated history of the Perryville and Stones River Campaigns Modern Perryville photos Perryville Order of Battle Battlefield Photographs Battle of Perryville Buell in over his head Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Perryville amp oldid 1137781975, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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