|
Battle of Perryville Kentucky Civil War History
Battle of Perryville
Other Names: None
Location: Boyle County, Kentucky
Campaign: Confederate Heartland Offensive (1862)
Date(s): October 8, 1862
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell [US]; Gen. Braxton
Bragg [CS]
Forces Engaged: Army of the Ohio [US]; Army of the Mississippi
[CS]
Estimated Casualties: 7,407 total (US 4,211; CS 3,196)*
Result(s): Union strategic victory
| Battle of Perryville |
|
| Civil War Battle of Perryville |
Introduction: The Battle of Perryville was fought
during the Kentucky Campaign in late 1862. The Confederate Heartland Offensive or Kentucky Campaign was a series of maneuvers
and battles in East Tennessee and Kentucky in 1862 during the Civil War (1861-1865). From June to October, Confederate forces
under the commands of Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith launched a series of movements to outflank the Union Army of the
Ohio and draw the Border State of Kentucky into the Confederate States of America. Though the Confederates gained some early
successes, their progress was stopped decisively at the Battle of Perryville, leaving Kentucky in Union hands for the rest
of the war. 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. The Confederate
Heartland Campaign, however, from an attrition standpoint, proved to be a Union disaster. Union casualties totaled
more than 14,000, while Confederate casualties numbered less than 5,000.
Summary: Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg’s autumn 1862 invasion
of Kentucky had reached the outskirts of Louisville and Cincinnati, but he was forced to retreat and regroup. On October 7,
the Federal army of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, numbering nearly 55,000, converged on the small crossroads town of Perryville, Kentucky, in three columns. Union forces first skirmished with Rebel cavalry on the Springfield Pike before the fighting
became more general, on Peters Hill, as the grayclad infantry arrived. 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. The fighting then stopped
for a time. After noon, a Confederate division struck the Union left flank 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 troops routed.
Buell did not know of the happenings on the field, or he would have sent forward some reserves. Even so, the Union troops
on the left flank, reinforced by two brigades, stabilized their line, and the Rebel attack sputtered to a halt. Later, a Rebel
brigade assaulted the Union division on the Springfield Pike but was repulsed and fell back into Perryville. The Yankees pursued,
and skirmishing occurred in the streets in the evening before dark. Union reinforcements were threatening the Rebel left flank
by now. Bragg, short of men and supplies, withdrew during the night, and, after pausing at Harrodsburg, continued the Confederate
retrograde by way of Cumberland Gap into East Tennessee. The Confederate offensive was over, and the Union controlled Kentucky.
Kentucky and the Civil War: 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."
| Battle of Perryville Map |
|
| Civil War Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, Map |
Opposing viewpoints within the state vied for control during
the early part of the war, and the state legislature declared official neutrality between the combatants. 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, neither adversary respected
the proclaimed neutrality of the state.
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. The Confederate States recognized Kentucky and added a star representing the state to the Confederate flag.
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."
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.
Smith and Bragg met in Chattanooga on July 31, 1862, 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.
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.
| Battle of Perryville Map |
|
| Civil War Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, Map |
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.
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.
Smith marched north with 21,000 men from Knoxville on August 13; Bragg departed
from Chattanooga on August 27, just before Smith reached Lexington. 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.
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.
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.
| Perryville Campaign Map |
|
| Civil War Perryville Campaign Map |
| Battle of Perryville History |
|
| Credit: Encyclopędia Britannica, Inc. |
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.
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. The area had been afflicted by a drought for months. 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.
On October 7, Buell reached the Perryville area as Union cavalry clashed
with Wheeler's rearguard throughout the day. 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.
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. 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.
| Kentucky Civil War History |
|
| Perryville, Kentucky, Civil War History |
Battle: 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 Infantry 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, Lidell'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.
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.
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, would attack farther
to the south along the Springfield Pike. The large clouds of dust raised by Cheatham's division marching at the double quick
north 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.
| Perryville Civil War Battle Map |
|
| Battlefield of Perryville, Kentucky, Map |
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.
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.
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!" 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.
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. 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 they 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.
| Civil War Perryville Battlefield History |
|
| Perryville Battlefield Historical Marker |
| Civil War Battle of Perryville History |
|
| Battle of Perryville Historical Marker |
| Battle of Perryville Civil War Era Map |
|
| Battle of Perryville Civil War Map |
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.
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. Meanwhile, 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.
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."
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.
| Perryville Civil War Map |
|
| Battle of Perryville Killed |
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. The Confederate attack against this area began 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.
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.
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.
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.
| Civil War Perryville Battle Marker |
|
| Perryville Civil War Battlefield Marker |
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.
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 this intersection could be seized, the Confederates could conceivably get around the right wing of
McCook's corps, effectively cutting 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
| Perryville Battlefield Historic Site |
|
| Civil War location of Battle of Perryville, Kentucky |
Analysis: 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 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.
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.
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.
Considering the casualties related to the strengths of the armies, the Battle
of Perryville was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Whereas it was the largest battle fought in the state of
Kentucky, Union casualties totaled 4,276 (894 killed, 2,911
wounded, 471 captured or missing), and Confederate losses were 3,401 (532 killed, 2,641 wounded, 228 captured or missing).
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.
| Battle of Perryville, Kentucky |
|
| Civil War Battle of Perryville, Kentucky |
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, though many were willing to join the
cavalry, and 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.
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.
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 Civil 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." See also: Kentucky Civil War History and Kentucky Civil War Timeline.
The Confederate Heartland Campaign, however, from an attrition standpoint,
proved to be a Union disaster. Union casualties totaled more than 14,000, while Confederate casualties numbered
less than 5,000.
Confederate Army Order of Battle:
Army of the Mississippi
General
Braxton Bragg
| Major General Leonidas Polk
FIRST DIVISION
Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham
1st Brigade
Brig. Gen. Daniel S. Donelson
8th Tennessee - Col. William Moore
15th Tennessee - Col. R.C.
Tyler
16th Tennessee - Col. John Savage
38th Tennessee - Col. John Carter
51st Tennessee - Col. John Chester
Capt.
William Carnes Tennessee Battery 2nd Brigade
Brig. Gen.
Alexander P. Stewart
4th Tennessee - Col. Otho Strahl
5th Tennessee - Col. Calvin Venable
24th
Tennessee - Col. H.L. Bratton
31st Tennessee - Col. Egbert Tansil
33rd Tennessee - Col. Warner Jones
Capt. John Sanford's
Mississippi Battery 3rd Brigade
Brig. Gen. George E. Maney
41st Georgia - Col. Charles McDaniel
1st Tennessee - Col. Hume
R. Field
6th Tennessee - Col. George E. Porter
9th Tennessee - Lt. Col. John W. Buford
27th Tennessee - Lt. Col.
William Frierson
Lt. Wiliam Turner's Mississippi Battery 4th
Brigade
Col. Preston Smith
12th Tennessee - Col. Tyree Bell
13th Tennessee - Col. A.J. Vaughn
47th
Tennessee - Col. Munson Hill
154th Senior Tennessee - Col. Michael Magevney
9th Texas - Col. W.H. Young
Capt. J.
Martin's Florida Light Artillery
Left Wing
Major General William Joseph Hardee
SECOND DIVISION
Brigadier General J. Patton Anderson
1st Brigade
Brig. Gen. John C. Brown
1st Florida - Col. William Miller
3rd Florida - Col. Daniel Bird
41st
Mississippi - Col. William Tucker
Capt. Joseph Palmer's 14th Georgia Battalion Battery A 2nd Brigade
Brig. Gen. Daniel Adams
14th Battalion Louisiana Sharpshooters - Maj. J.E. Austin
13th
Louisiana - Col. Randall Gibson
16th Louisiana - Col. Daniel Gober
20th Louisiana - Col. August Reichard
25th Louisiana
- Col. S.W. Fisk
Capt. Cuthbert Slocomb's 5th Company, Washington Artillery 3rd
Brigade
Col. Samuel Powell
45th Alabama - Col. James Gilchrist
1st Arkansas - Col. John Colquitt
24th
Mississippi - Col. William Dowd
29th Mississippi - Lt. Col. Horace Rice
Capt. Overton Barret's Missouri Battery 4th Brigade
Col. Thomas M. Jones
27th Mississippi - Lt. Col. James Autry
30th Mississippi - Col.
G.F. Neill
34th Mississippi - Col. Samuel Benton
Capt. Charles Lumsden's Alabama Battery
THIRD DIVISION
Major General Simon B. Buckner
1st Brigade
Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell
2nd Arkansas- Col. John Gratiot
5th Arkansas - Col. L.P. Featherston
6th
Arkansas - Col. A.T. Hawthorn
7th Arkansas - Col. D.A. Gillespie
8th Arkansas - Col. John Kelly
Capt. Charles Swett's
Mississippi Battery 2nd Brigade
Brig. Gen. Patrick R.
Cleburne
2nd Tennessee - Capt. C.P. Moore
35th Tennessee - Col. Benjamin
Hill
48th Tennessee - Col. George Nixon
13th / 15th Arkansas Consolidated - Col. Lucius Polk
Carlton's Texas Sharp
Shooters
Calvert's Arkansas Battery - 2nd Lt. Thomas Key 3rd
Brigade
Brig. Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson
5th Confederate - Col. James Smith
17th Tennessee - Col. Albert
Marks
23rd Tennessee - Lt. Col. Richard Keeble
25th Tennessee - Col. John Hughes
37th Tennessee - Col. Moses White
44th
Tennessee - Col. John Fulton
Capt Putnam Darden's Mississippi Battery 1st
Cavalry Brigade
Col. John A. Wharton
1st Kentucky - Capt. Cyrus Ingles
4th Tennessee - Maj. Baxter
Smith
8th Texas - Lt. Col. Thomas Harrison
2nd Georgia - Lt. Col. Arthur Hood
Maj. John Davis's Tennessee Battalion
2nd Cavalry Brigade
Col. Joseph Wheeler
1st Alabama - Col. William Allen
3rd Alabama - Col. James Hagan
6th
Confederate - Lt. Col. James Pell
8th Confederate - Col. W.B. Wade
2nd Georgia Battalion - Maj. C.A. Waley
1st Kentucky
- Maj. J.W. Caldwell
Lt. Col. James Bennett's Battalion
12th Tennessee Battalion - Maj. T.W. Adrian
6th Kentucky
-
Georgia Cavalry Battalion - Lt. Col. John Hart |
| Perryville Campaign Map |
|
| Civil War Perryville Campaign Map |
Union Army Order of Battle:
Army of the Ohio
Major General
Don Carlos Buell
Major General George H. Thomas
| Major General Alexander McCook
THIRD DIVISION
Brigadier General Lovell H. Rousseau
9th Brigade
Col. Leonard Harris
38th Indiana - Col. Benjamin Scribner
2nd Ohio - Lt. Col. John
Kell
33rd Ohio - Lt. Col. Oscar F. Moore
94th Ohio - Col. Joseph Frizell
10th Wisconsin - Col. Alfred R. Chapin
Indiana
Light Artillery, 5th Battery - Capt. Peter Simonson 17th Brigade
Col.
William H. Lytle (wounded)
42nd Indiana - Col. James G. Jones
88th Indiana - Col. George
Humphrey
15th Kentucky - Col. Curran Pope
3rd Ohio - Col. John Beatty
10th Ohio - Lt. Col. Joseph Burke
Michigan
Light Artillery, 1st Battery - Capt. Cyrus Loomis 28th Brigade
Col.
John C. Starkweather
24th Illinois 0 Capt. August Mauff
79th Pennsylvania - Col. Henry
Hambright
1st Wisconsin - Lt. Col. George Bingham
21st Wisconsin - Col. Benjamin Sweet
Indiana Light Artillery, 4th
Battery - Capt. Asabel Bush
Kentucky Light Artillery, Battery A - Capt. David Stone TENTH DIVISION
Brig. Gen. James S. Jackson (killed)
33rd Brigade
Brig. Gen. William R. Terrill (killed)
80th Illinois - Col. Thomas Allen
123rd Illinois - Col. James
Monroe
105th Ohio - Col. Albert Hall
Parson's Battery - Capt. Charles Parsons 34th
Brigade
Col. George Webster (killed)
80th Indiana - Lt. Col. Lewis Brook
50th Ohio - Lt. Col. Silas
Strickland
98th Ohio - Lt. Col. Christian Poorman
121st Ohio - Col. William Reid
Indiana Light Artillery, 19th Battery
- Capt. Samuel Harris
|
| Major General Thomas L. Crittenden
FOURTH DIVISION
Brigadier General William S. Smith
10th Brigade
Col. William Grose
84th Illinois - Col. Louis Wates
36th Indiana - Lt. Col. O.H.P.
Carey
23rd Kentucky - Lt. Col. J. Jackson
6th Ohio - Col. N.L. Anderson
24th Ohio - Lt. Col. Frederick Jones
4th
U.S. Artillery, Battery H - Lt. S. Canby
4th U.S. Artillery, Battery M - Capt. J. Mendenhall 19th Brigade
Col. William B. Hazen
110th Illinois - Col. Thomas Casey
9th Indiana - Col. William
Blake
6th Kentucky - Col. Walter Whittaker
27th Kentucky - Col. C.D. Pennybaker
41st Ohio - Lt. Col. George Mygatt
1st
Ohio Light Artillery, Battery F - Capt. Daniel Cockerill 22nd
Brigade
Brig. Gen. Charles Cruft
31st Indiana - Lt. Col. John Osborn
1st Kentucky - Lt. Col. David
Enyart
3nd Kentucky - Col. Thomas Sedgewick
20th Kentucky - Lt. Col. Charles S. Hanson
90th Ohio - Col. Isaac Ross
1st
Ohio Light Artillery, Battery B - Capt. William Standart
2nd Kentucky Cavalry - Lt. Col. Thomas Cochran |
| FIFTH DIVISION
Brigadier General Horatio P. Van Cleve
11th Brigade
Col. Samuel Beatty
79th Indiana - Col. Frederick Knefler
9th Kentucky - Lt. Col.
George Cram
13th Kentucky - Lt. Col. J.B. Carlile
19th Ohio - Lt. Col. E.W. Hollingsworth
59th Ohio -- Col. James
P. Fyffe 14th Brigade
Col. Pierce Hawkins
44th Indiana - Col. Hugh Reed
86th Indiana - Col. Orville Hamilton
11th
Kentucky - Lt. Col. S.P. Love
26th Kentucky - Col. Cicero Maxwell
13th Ohio - Col. J.G. Hawkins 23rd Brigade
Col. Stanley Matthews
35th Indiana - Col. Bernard Mullen
8th Kentucky - Col. Sidney
Barnes
21st Kentucky - Col. S. Woodson Price
51st Ohio - Lt. Col. Richard McClain
99th Ohio - Lt. Col. John Cummins
Indiana
Light Artillery, 7th Battery - Lt. Alanson Stevens
Wisconsin Light Artillery, 3rd Battery - Capt. Lucius Druy |
| SIXTH DIVISION
Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood
15th Brigade
Brig. Gen. Milo S. Haskall
100th Illinois - Col. Frederick Bartleson
17th Indiana - Lt. Col.
George Gorman
58th Indiana - Col. George Buell
3rd Kentucky - Lt. Col. William Scott
26th Ohio - Maj. Chris Degenfeld
Indiana
Light Artillery, 8th Battery - Lt. George Estep 20th Brigade
Col.
Charles G. Harker
51st Indiana - Col. Abel Streight
73rd Indiana - Col. Gilbert
Hathaway
13th Michigan - Lt. Col. F.W. Worden
64th Ohio - Col. John Ferguson
65th Ohio - Lt. Col. William Young
Ohio
Light Artillery, 6th Battery - Capt. Cullen Bradley 21st Brigade
Col.
George D. Wagner
15th Indiana - Lt. Col. Gustavus Wood
40th Indiana - Col. John
Blake
57th Indiana - Col. Cyrus Hines
24th Kentucky - Col. Lewis Grigsby
97th Ohio - Col. John Lane
Indiana Light
Artillery, 10th Battery - Capt. Jerome Cox Colonel Edward
McCook's Cavalry Brigade
2nd Indiana - Lt. Col. Robert Stewart
1st Kentucky - Col. Frank
Wolford
4rd Kenucky - Col. Eli Murry
7th Pennsylvania - Maj. John Wynkoop Unattached
1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics - Col. William Innes
1st
Ohio Cavalry - Maj. James Laughlin
3rd Ohio Cavalry - Maj. John Foster |
| Major General Charles C. Gilbert
FIRST DIVISION
Brigadier General Albin Schoepf
1st Brigade
Col.Moses B. Walker
82nd Indiana - Col. Morton Hunter
12th Kentucky - Col. William
Hoskins
17th Ohio - Col. John Connell
31st Ohio - Lt. Col. Frederick Lister
38th Ohio - Lt. Col. William Choate 2nd Brigade
Brig. Gen. Speed Fry
10th Indiana - Col. William Kise
74th Indiana - Lt. Col. James
Kerr
4th Kentucky - Col. John Croxton
10th Kentucky - Lt. Col. William Hays
14th Ohio - Lt. Col. George Este 3rd Brigade
Brig. Gen. James B. Steedman
87th Indiana - Col. Kline Shryock
2nd Minnesota - Col. James George
9th
Ohio - Lt. Col. Charles Joseph
35th Ohio - Col. Fredinand Van Derveer
18th US - Maj. Frederick Townsend
Michigan
Light Artillery, 4th Battery - Capt. J.W. Church
1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery C - Capt. D.K. Southwick
4th U.S.
Battery I - Lt. Frank Smith NINTH DIVISION
Brigadier General Robert B. Mitchell
30th Brigade
Col. Michael Gooding
59th Illinois - Maj. Joshua Winters
75th Illinois - Lt. Col. John
Bennett
22nd Indiana - Lt. Col. Squire Keith
Wisconsin Light Artillery, 5th Battery - Capt. Oscar Pinney 31st Brigade
Col. William P. Carlin
21st Illinois - Col. John Alexander
38th Illinois - Maj. Daniel
Gilmer
101st Ohio - Col. Leander Stem
15th Wisconsin - Col. Hans Christian Heg
Minnesota Light Artillery, 2nd Battery
- Capt. William Hotchkiss 32nd Brigade
Col. William W.
Caldwell
25th Illinois - Lt. Col. James McClelland
35th Illinois - Lit.
Col. William Chandler
81st Indiana - Lt. Col. John Timberlake
8th Kansas - Lt. Col. John Martin
Wisconsin Light Artillery,
8th Battery - Capt. Stephen Carpenter
36th Illinois Cavalry, Company B - Capt. Samuel Sherer ELEVENTH DIVISION
Brigadier General Philip H. Sheridan
35th Brigade
Lt. Col. Bernard Laiboldt
44th Illinois - Capt. Wallace Barrett
73rd Illinois - Col. James
Jaques
2nd Missouri - Capt. Walter Hoppe
15th Missouri - Maj. John Weber 36th
Brigade
Col. Daniel McCook
85th Illinois - Col. Robert Moore
86th Illinois - Col. David Irons
125th
Illinois - Col. Oscar Harmon
52nd Ohio - Lt. Col. Daniel Cowen 37th
Brigade
Col. Nicholas Grousel
36th Illinois - Capt. Silas Miller
88th Illinois - Col. Francis
Sherman
21st Michigan - Col. Ambrose Stevens
24th Wisconsin - Col. Charles Larrabee
2nd Illinois Light Artillery,
Battery I - Capt. Charles Barnett
1st Missouri Light Artillery, Battery G - Capt. Hentry Hescock Captain Ebenzer Gay's Cavalry Brigade
9th Kentucky - Lt. Col. John Boyle
2nd Michigan - Lt. Col. Archibald
Campbell
9th Pennsylvania - Lt. Col. thomas James |
*National Park Service. Depending on the source, however, casualties for
the Battle of Perryville vary slightly.
(Sources and related reading below.)
Advance to:
Sources: Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site; National Park Service;
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Library of Congress; Civil War Trust; 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
& Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5; Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger,
1959. OCLC 5890637; 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; U.S. War Department, The
War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1880–1901; 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; Battles &
Leaders; Hafendorfer. Perryville: Battle for Kentucky; battleofperryville.com.
|
