BGuthrie Photos: KY -- Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site

KY -- Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. PERRY_081005_002.JPG: Confederate cemetery (Stop 1)
2. PERRY_081005_009.JPG: (Stop 1) Confederate Cemetery: When the battle of Perryville ended, thousands of dead soldiers were left on the battlefield. The Confederates, who attacked the Union battle lines, lost 532 killed, 2,641 wounded, and 278 missing (3,401 total). Federal losses were just as staggering. The Union army suffered 890 killed, 2,893 wounded, and 437 missing (4,220 total). While there is no way to find exact numbers because of inaccurate casualty reports, these figures represent the most recent estimates. Although the Confederate army won a tactical victory, they were outnumbered and left Perryville that night. In their haste, they left all of their dead and most of their wounded lying on the battlefield. While the Union army buried their own dead in regimental plots, the Confederates remained unburied. Within days, hogs were rooting up the bodies and hundreds of buzzards and crows scoured the battlefield. Henry P. Bottom, a farm who owned most of the land up on which the battle was fought, organized a civilian burial detail for his property. Bottom, his slaves, and a number of his neighbors buried most of the Southern bodies in two large pits. Bottom recorded as many names as he could, but most of the soldiers buried here remain unknown to this day. It is likely that several hundred soldiers are buried in this mass grave. The Union dead were later moved to Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Jessamine County, Kentucky. Despite the soldiers' and citizens' efforts to mark the burial sites, it is probable that dozens of unmarked graves still exist around the battlefield. In 1901, the Commonwealth of Kentucky erected this monument at the Confederate cemetery, which began efforts to preserve this historic site. "All around us was evidence of the death struggle the day before. Bodies of men and horses lay scattered about. In the fields and by the roadside, every house and barn was filled with the maimed and dying and the dead... Many of them were in the most horrible condition that the mind can conceive. Some were shot through the head, body or limbs. Others mangled by fragments of shell and all suffering the greatest laments." -- Anonymous Union soldier
3. PERRY_081005_027.JPG: Nor braver bled for a brighter land, nor brighter land had cause so grand
4. PERRY_081005_028.JPG: On fame's eternal camping ground their silent tends are spread. And glory guards with solemn round the bivouac of the dead.
5. PERRY_081005_031.JPG: Nor shall your glory be forgot while fame her records keeps, of honor points the hallowed spot where valor proudly sleeps.
6. PERRY_081005_033.JPG: Nor wreck, nor change, or winters blight, nor time's remorseless doom, shall dim one ray of holy light, that gilds your glorious tomb.
7. PERRY_081005_049.JPG: To the valiant soldiers of the Army of the United States, who bravely fought and heroically fell in the Battle of Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862 this monument in grate- ful memory of their loyal service and noble sacrifice has been erect- ed by the reunited rep- ublic they died to save.
8. PERRY_081005_075.JPG: (8) Perryville and the Emancipation Proclamation: In mid-1862, President Abraham Lincoln wrestled with the idea of issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. With Confederate armies pressing into Maryland and Kentucky, Lincoln realized that he could not issue the Proclamation until the Union secured a major military victory. In addition, Lincoln feared how Unionists in Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland would react, although the Proclamation did not free border-state slaves. However, three Confederate failures in the autumn of 1862 gave Lincoln the political conditions necessary to issue the final version of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Union victory at the battle of Antietam, fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, provided Lincoln the first military victory that he had been looking for. Five days later, the president issued the preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation, which was to take effect on January 1, 1863. It gave Union soldiers a moral cause to fight for and helped keep European powers out of the Civil War. Two other Confederate failures that October ensured that the Proclamation would become official. On October 3-4, attacking Southern troops were driven from Corinth, Mississippi. Four days later, at Perryville, the Confederates won a tactical victory but were eventually forced to leave Kentucky. The inability of the rebels to hold the Bluegrass State was another Union victory and ensured that Lincoln had enough political cachet to make the Proclamation official. If the Confederates in Kentucky had linked their armies, won a major victory, and hurled their troops northward into Ohio or Indiana, it is possible that Lincoln would have delayed his Proclamation. Instead, the chain of Union victories in the autumn of 1862 ensured that the Proclamation would take effect. Kentucky slaves were finally freed when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in December 1865.
9. PERRY_081005_081.JPG: Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail sign: (9) Soldiers' Reaction of Lincoln's Emancipation: Whether a soldier was Union or Confederate in his loyalties during the Civil War, there was not a unified reaction to Abraham Lincoln's preliminary or official Emancipation Proclamation. As shown in the following quotations, the individual reaction varied on either side of this struggle, both north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Southern Views "President Lincoln's Government seems to have exercised its ingenuity to dispel any such delusion. Its acts demonstrate clearly that the purpose is to subjugate us, confiscate our property, and emancipate our slaves. To attain this end the plainest provisions of the Constitution have been disregarded . . . It has been superseded by the most odious despotism. If doubt can have lingered in the mind of any of this point it must be removed by President Lincoln's proclamation of the 22d instant. He not only declares his purpose to emancipate our slaves, but commands his officers, civil, military, and naval, to recognize and maintain their freedom." -- Major General Samuel Jones, Department of East Tennessee, September 30, 1862 "The paramount causes which have controlled and influenced my conduct and opinions were love for the Union and an unshaken confidence that we had the best Constitution and Government in the world; but of all the acts of despotism of which the civil war in which we are now engaged has been the prolific source there is not one which in the slightest-degree equals the atrocity and barbarism of Mr. Lincoln's proclamation, At one blow it deprives all the citizens of the slave States without distinction of the right to hold slaves, a right guaranteed by the very Constitution he pretends to uphold." "If you would save yourselves from a species of carnage unexampled in the history of North America, but unequivocally invited in Mr. Lincoln's proclamation, let every man who is able to fight buckle on his armor, and without awaiting the slow and tedious process of conscription, at once volunteer to aid in the struggle against him." -- Honorable Thomas A. R. Nelson to the People of East Tennessee, October 3, 1862. Nelson, a Unionist Tennessee congressman, was arrested by Confederate troops and sent to Richmond as a prisoner of war in 1861, following his reelection to Congress and while en route to Washington, D.C. He was paroled and allowed to return home to Tennessee. "From the fact that all accounts agree in the great demoralization of Buell's army, arising from Lincoln's proclamation, and that putting it in motion is a measure of safety to him [Lincoln]. This does not look very promising for their cause. The information is furnished yon for what it is worth." -- Letter from Major General Leonidas Polk to General Braxton Bragg, September 20, 1862, Bardstown, Kentucky. Northern Views "Sister, you may think the above a singular confession for a Federal soldier but it is true. I enlisted to fight for the Union and the Constitution but Lincoln puts a different construction on things and now has us Union men fighting for his Abolition Platform, and this making us a hord [sic] of Subjugators, house burners, negro thieves, and devastators of private property." -- John T. Harrington, 22nd Kentucky Union Infantry Regiment, January 9, 1863 "The boys are willing to fight for the Constitution, the glorious old Constitution, under which we have acquired such a high position among the "nations on earth," and if the abolition of slavery comes as a natural result of the war, all right, but if it is the intention of the Government [to] wage the war especially for the abolition of slavery, they are down on it." -- An anonymous soldier in the 81st Indiana, Daily Ledger, New Albany, Indiana. "It is difficult to see how they [the Confederates] can get out of the state without being utterly routed, if not utterly destroyed. Lincoln's emancipation proclamation makes them utterly desperate and if crushed now will never rise again here." -- Surgeon Stephen O. Himoe, 15th Wisconsin Infantry, letter to his wife about the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, October 10, 1862.
10. PERRY_081005_087.JPG: (Stop 2) Introduction: The Battle of Perryville: In the summer of 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of the Mississippi invaded Kentucky,. Bragg hoped to enlist recruits, pull Union troops out of Tennessee, and hold Kentucky for the Confederacy. With these objectives in mind,t he Confederate army entered the Bluegrass State. Union soldiers reacted quickly to Bragg's invasion. Moving from Nashville, Union General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio rushed to Kentucky. Realizing that Bragg could capture Louisville, a major supply depot, Buell marched his army to that city. Here, Buell enlisted recruits and advanced on the Confederates. When the 58,000 Union soldiers pressed the Confederates at Bardstown, they withdrew to Perryville. For months, a severe drought affected the area, and both sides were in need of water. The Confederates, camping in Perryville on the night of October 7, placed an advance guard west of town, near Doctor's Creek. When Union forces reached the area, they learned that small pools of water were available in the creek. Union troops were ordered to capture the water and the nearby high ground. At 3:00am, Federal soldiers moved on Peter's Hill, and forced back the Confederates. Bragg was ten miles away in Harrodsburg when he learned that Union soldiers were in Perryville. Thinking this was a minor Federal force, Bragg ordered the Confederates to attack. The assault never happened, and Bragg rushed to Perryville to learn why his orders were disobeyed. His staff had chosen a defensive strategy, so Bragg again ordered his 16,000 troops to attack. Little did he know that 20,000 Union troops were south of Perryville, 20,000 were west of town, and 18,000 were north of Perryville, forming on these hills. At 2:00pm on October 8, Benjamin F. Cheatham's Confederate division crossed the dry Chaplin River and struck Alexander McCook's corps of Union soldiers, who were positioned on these ridges. Encountering heavy resistance from Federal artillery and infantry, Cheatham's soldiers attacked the northern end of McCook's line. To the south, Simon B. Buckner's Confederates hit McCook's right flank, located above the HP Bottom House. The element of surprise greatly aided the Confederate attack. Both ends of the Union line were bent back toward the Russell House, which served as McCook's headquarters. Reforming their lines near the structure, Union reinforcements helped check the Confederate attack. As Buckner and Cheatham drove back McCook's corps, Confederate Colonel Samuel Powell's brigade attacked Charles Gilbert's III corps, located west of town. Outnumbered, Powell was easily repulsed by the Union soldiers. Although Powell was forced back, his actions delayed reinforcements from joining McCook's corps. The Confederates had won a tactical victory, but encountered a strategic defeat. Although the Confederates whipped the Federal left, Bragg finally realized he was outnumbered. The Southerners eventually left the state, ending their invasion and dashing the hopes of a Confederate Kentucky. The Battle of Perryville, which was Kentucky's largest Civil War battle, killed and wounded more than 7,500 Union and Confederate troops.
11. PERRY_081005_096.JPG: (Stop 12) Donelson's Advance: When Donelson's brigade moved into this valley, they were met with a deadly surprise. The rolling terrain had prevented the Confederates from seeing all of the Union troop positions. When the Confederates reached this valley, they became trapped in a deadly crossfire as Union artillery fired at them from both the west and the south. Shells exploded overhead and cannonballs crashed into the Southern lines, but the brigade surged forward. Casualties were horrible from the crossfire, and the accurate fire from the two Union batteries spun the Southern troops into confusion. Donelson's lines wavered and changed direction twice. The unexpected artillery barrage nearly ended Donelson's advance. Although the fire from two Union artillery batteries had killed and wounded dozens of soldiers and had caused chaos in the Southern lines, the Confederates reformed and continued their attack. Pressing the Union soldiers, Donelson's brigade drove a Union infantry regiment out from behind a fence and continued westward up the valley. "I ascertained from the fire of another battery of the enemy's further on our right that I did not have the proper direction. I accordingly gave orders for a charge..." -- Confederate Brigadier General Daniel Donelson, Brigade Commander
12. PERRY_081005_117.JPG: Assault on Parson's Ridge. The Union artillery was atop this ridge, the Confederates advancing from this side.
13. PERRY_081005_122.JPG: (Stop 6) Assault on Parson's Ridge: Maney's Confederates immediately discovered the lethal danger of attacking the eight Union cannon on top of the ridge in front of you. The Confederates sought cover behind a split-rail fence, but the Union artillery shattered the rails, killing and wounding scores of soldiers. The Confederate attack slowed and then stopped. With bullets smashing against the remaining wooden rails, the Confederates traded gunfire with Union infantry. As casualties mounted, the Southern officers knew their men had to take the hill. If they attempted a retreat, they would be cut apart by the Union artillery. Urging their men forward, the officers crossed the fence to lead a renewed charge. The intensity of the Union defense atop this steep slope stopped the Confederates again, only halfway to their objective. Lying down to escape the deadly fire, Maney's men desperately loaded and fired their one-shot muskets as best they could. "[As] soon as the fence was reached, in full view of the battery, such a storm of shell, grape, canister, and Minie balls was turned loose upon us as (??) my troops scarcely ever before encountered. Large boughs were torn from the trees, the trees themselves shattered as if by lightning, and the ground plowed in deep furrows." -- Confederate Lieutenant Colonel William Frierson, 27th Tennessee Infantry "[We] came to a high fence at the edge of the wood, at which time it seemed impossible for humanity to go farther, such was the havoc and destruction that had taken place in [our] ranks." -- Confederate Colonel George C. Porter, 6th Tennessee Infantry
14. PERRY_081005_126.JPG: Parson's Ridge, from the first Union artillery position looking toward the first Confederate assault.
15. PERRY_081005_130.JPG: (Stop 7[a]) Defense of Parsons' Ridge: Union Brigadier General William Terrill was nearly panic-stricken. To his surprise, thousands of Confederates swarmed over the fields in front of you, moving toward the Federal lines. The shouts of attacking Southern troops and the crescendo of gunfire echoed among these hills. Terrill's soldiers, mostly new recruits, were still maneuvering into position as they faced the terror of their first battle. Terrill ordered the eight cannon on this ridge to fire into the Confederate ranks. As the ground shook from the cannon blasts, Confederate troops suddenly appeared at a split-rail fence at the base of the hill. Fearful that his artillery would fall into enemy hands, Terrill ordered a bayonet charge by the 123rd Illinois Infantry. It was a poor decision. Outnumbered, they were driven back with heavy casualties. Even with reinforcements, Terrill's inexperienced men could not withstand the persistent Confederate attackers who had now leapt the fence. Seasoned by battle, the Confederates determinedly loaded and fired, forcing the Federals from the hill and delivering a brutal initiation to the horrors of warfare. "[T]he rebels had the start of us by two rounds while we were forming and loading our pieces. There was no cessation of firing... it was a perfect hail storm of balls all the time." -- Union soldier Bliss Morse, 105th Ohio Infantry "Most of the bullets went over our heads, and sounded like a swarm of bees running away in the hot summer air overhead." -- Union Major James A. Connolly, 123rd Illinois Infantry
16. PERRY_081005_136.JPG: Parson's Ridge again
17. PERRY_081005_140.JPG: (Historical marker atop Parson's Ridge) On this spot Brig. Gen. James S. Jackson Fell Gen. Jackson was born in Fayette Co., Ky, 1823; died Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. Graduated, Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Penna. and Transylvania University; lawyer, Hopkinsville. Lieutenant 1st Ky. Cavalry, Mexican War. Member of Congress, 1861; resigned; organized 3rd Ky. Union Cavalry, Sept. 1861; Brig. Gen. Aug 13. 1862; commanded 10th Div. 1st Army Corps. Impressive in person, graceful in manner, kindly, chivalrous, he was the highest type of Kentucky gentleman.
18. PERRY_081005_142.JPG: Parson's Ridge looking toward the next Union defensive lines, across the cornfield, on Starkweather's Hill.
19. PERRY_081005_148.JPG: Private land exists right next to Parson's Ridge
20. PERRY_081005_155.JPG: (Stop 7[b]) Defense of Parsons' Ridge: As Maney's Confederates reached the top of this hill, they watched the fleeing Union soldiers retreat into the valley in front of you. The Southerners had lost hundreds of men killed and wounded during the fight to take this ridge, and their hearts must have sunk when they saw more Federal troops arriving on the ridges to the west. Because of Perryville's rolling terrain, the Union army established one defensive position after another, each on a hilltop or ridge. While this hill marked the northern end of the Union battle line, other Federal soldiers arrived on the battlefield and occupied other ridges in front of you. Regrouping, Maney's brigade charged down the slope toward the new Union lines. Little did they know that three hours of intense fighting remained in a battle that would decide the fate of Kentucky. "The butchery was something awful. I remembered thinking at the time that I could walk upon dead bodies from where the enemy's line was established until it reached the woods, some three hundred yards away. Of course, in making this charge, we lost a great number of men." -- Confederate officer Thomas Malone
21. PERRY_081005_159.JPG: Folks walking toward Starkweather's Hill, over what would have been the cornfield.
22. PERRY_081005_171.JPG: (Stop 8) The Cornfield: During the Battle of Perryville, a field of ten-foot high cornstalks, brown and dry from a severe drought, covered this valley. Obscured among the corn, 800 members of the 21st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment waited. In the army for less than a month, many of these new recruits had never before fired their rifles. It must have been a terrifying experience. For more than an hour, they listed as Terrill's brigade battled Maney's soldiers for control of the hill above the field. Then, as the roar of battle crested the ridge, Terrill's panicked, retreating soldiers burst through the corn. While many found the courage to hold their ground, some of the Wisconsin soldiers blended with Terrill's brigade and fled. As the Confederates advanced, Union troops positioned on the hill in front of you fired indiscriminately into the field. Victimized by bullets from both armies, the Wisconsonians fired only once before retreating. During the brief, chaotic struggle, most of the officers from the 21st Wisconsin were killed or wounded. With the Union soldiers driven from the cornfield, Maney's brigade continued their attack toward Starkweather's Hill.
23. PERRY_081005_175.JPG: Looking from the cornfield toward Starkweather's Hill
24. PERRY_081005_181.JPG: Looking back toward Parson's Ridge
25. PERRY_081005_203.JPG: (Stop 9[a]) Starkweather's Hill: Their faces and hands begrimed from the smoke of battle, and their ears ringing with the constant ripping of musketry, Starkweather's shattered brigade retreated to this ridge in front of you. They had saved several cannon, pushing them back to a new position. Most of the Union infantry took cover behind a stone wall that ran across part of the hill. Perryville's rolling terrain allowed the Federals to establish another defensive position on high ground. Maney's Confederates regrouped and rushed through the valley. They fought desperately at the stone wall, assaulting the Union troops again and again. Finally,a Union counterattack forced Maney's exhausted brigade, now low on ammunition, to retreat back to this hill. Both sides refused to renew the struggle. Maney's brigade fell back to Parsons' Ridge, and Starkweather's troops retreated to the west. While Maney's attack helped the Confederates secure a tactical victory at Perryville, Starkweather's stand saved the Union army. Bloodied in victory, some Confederate units lost more than half their command. The Southern army soon marched out of Kentucky. Never again was there a concerted effort to hold the Commonwealth for the Confederacy. "... the ground around was slippery with blood, many a poor dark looking powder begrimed Artillery man was laying stretched out upon the ground around us, torn and mutilated, their countenances plainly indicating the awful manner of their death." -- Union Captain Robert B. Taylor
26. PERRY_081005_206.JPG: Starkweather's Hill looking toward Parson's Ridge
27. PERRY_081005_211.JPG: (Stop 9[b]) Starkweather's Hill: As Union Colonel John Starkweather stood on this hill, watching Terrill's brigade retreat, he realized the importance of his position. With its twelve cannon, Starkweather's brigade stood as the only Federal defense between the attacking Confederates and the Union wagons that carried ammunition and medical supplies. As the survivors of Terrill's brigade and the 21st Wisconsin fled past their position, Starkweather's men held firm and awaited the Confederate attack. Although nearing exhaustion, Maney's brigade found the strength to attack up another steep slope. They killed and wounded most of the Federal artillerymen and captured the enemy cannon before, in the confusion of battle, they mistakenly fell back in retreat. Regrouping at the road, the Confederates charged two more time. Amidst hand-to-hand fighting atop this hill, the ground became slippery with blood. Finally, Maney's brigade, with Stewart's Confederates attacking across the field to your right, drove Starkweather's soldiers off the ridge. Falling back, the Federals again formed on the hill behind you. "... we were soon in a hand-to-hand fight -- every man for himself -- using the butts of our guns and bayonets... Such obstinate fighting I never had seen before or since. The guns were discharged so rapidly that it seemed the earth was in a volcanic uproar. The iron storm passed through our ranks, mangling and tearing men to pieces." -- Confederate Private Sam Watkins, 1st Tennessee Infantry
28. PERRY_081005_234.JPG: Looking toward Starkweather's Ridge
29. PERRY_081005_238.JPG: (Stop 9-A) Act of Mercy: The Battle of Perryville was a fierce fight for the 420 members of the 79th Pennsylvania Infantry. Fighting in these fields, this unit suffered 40 killed, 146 wounded, and 30 missing. This represents a loss of more than fifty percent of the regiment. Among the casualties was William Woodward of Company D. Shot in the left side by the Confederate "buck and ball" round (containing a round bullet and three smaller pieces of buckshot), Woodward was shot through the chest and lost a finger and part of his ear. Woodward's canteen was empty, and for more than ten hours he lay near here, thirty and bleeding from his multiple wounds. He soon encountered an unlikely savior. Late that night, a Confederate soldier from the 41st Georgia found Woodward and gave the wounded Pennsylvanian a drink of water. When the Confederate discovered that Woodward's canteen was empty, the Southerner gave Woodward his full canteen and took Woodward's empty one. After this act of mercy, the Confederate departed. Woodward survived the battle and the war. "I myself was unfortunate enough to be shot through the left leg... hauled five miles this morning to Antioch church... and thrown out in a pile like wood... I lay for six days out under a white oak tree, with my wound dressed once." -- Adam S. Johnson, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry
30. PERRY_081005_245.JPG: (Stop 10) Stewart's Attack: Wedged between Donelson's and Maney's brigades, Stewart's Confederates continued their advance. Two Union infantry regiments initially held this area, but Stewart's attack hurled them back. There was more work to be done. From the second ridge ahead of you, Union Captain Samuel Harris' artillery battery fired toward this position, into the advancing Southern line. Soon, this field was filled with the wounded, dead, and dying. Eventually, Stewart's regime is intermingled with other Confederate units and pressed toward the battery. The Union troops on the ridge made a strong stand, but they were overwhelmed and the battery was overrun. By dark, the Confederates had pushed the Federal soldiers past the ridges in front of you. With the sunlight fading, Stewart's command ran out of ammunition and withdrew. His timely arrival on the battlefield helped ensure a Confederate tactical victory. "... [I]n one hour and three-quarters we lost two hundred and eleven men out of our regiment. We went into the fight with forty-three men in our company and came and with eighteen, having had twenty-five wounded and killed; two killed dead and two dying the next day. I myself was unfortunate enough to be shot through the left leg, about two inches below the knee..." -- Union soldier Adam S. Johnson, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry
31. PERRY_081005_248.JPG: Stewart's attack would have been here
32. PERRY_081005_259.JPG: (Stop 11) Donelson Persists: When Donelson's shattered regiments reached this position, nearly half of his men had been killed and wounded. Despite the appalling casualties, the Confederate attack continued to the west. When Donelson's 16th Tennessee Infantry Regiment taking the lead, the stubborn Confederate advance moved past the ridge in front of you. Driving the Union defenders away from the Widow Gibson cabin, Donelson's persistent soldiers were finally stopped by a Union brigade commanded by Colonel George Webster. With his brigade in shambles from the crossfire of several Federal batteries and the obstinate Union defense, Donelson's men withdrew. Their losses were severe. In the four-hour battle, Donelson's 16th Tennessee Infantry suffered nearly 60 percent casualties. These Tennesseans lost more men killed and wounded than any other Southern regiment in the battle. "We advanced through the field where the grapeshot and shrapnel were rolling against the cornstalks." -- Confederate Private Davis Biggs, 38th Tennessee Infantry
33. PERRY_081005_269.JPG: Widow Gibson Cabin location
34. PERRY_081005_280.JPG: (Stop 22) Widow Gibson Cabin: In 1862, the widow Mary Jane Gibson and her children lived here in a small cabin. The Gibsons were poor tenant farmers who scratched out a living on land owned by Henry Bottom, their first cousin. On October 8, the household was spun into confusion as blue-clad Union troops swarmed around the house. Soon, Donelson's Confederate brigade attacked and the Federal soldiers fell back to this ridge, where they reformed on the high ground around the cabin. For the Gibson family, it must have been a terrifying experience. Artillery shells exploded overhead, bullets cracked against the cabin walls, and wounded Union troops swarmed around the structure, desperately looking for shelter. The frightened Widow Gibson took an axe, chopped a hole in the floor, and hid with her family beneath the house. The family was so scared that they refused to emerge from their hiding place for several days. At every barn, home, church, and stable was used as a field hospital following the battle, it is likely that the Gibson cabin also served as a hospital. However, archeological work on the site has determined that cannon fire damaged the cabin so severely that the Gibson family abandoned it shortly after the battle. "We all bounded to our feet like so many parched peas, determined to pour the contents of our muskets into the ranks of our ungodly opposers...; our bullets found them in their hiding places and strewed the ground with their mutilated carcasses -- the legitimate fruits of [their] own treason and folly." -- Union Soldier Joseph Glezen, 80th Indiana Infantry
35. PERRY_081005_293.JPG: (Stop 21) Stalemate: After more than four hours of intense fighting, the unrelenting Confederate attack pushed the Union troops back to the far ridge in front of you. These fields were strewn with the dead, dying, and wounded of both armies, their cries for water and helped drowned by the incessant roar of musketry. The Union army had failed to send these troops reinforcements because Union soldiers west of Perryville never heard the sounds of battle. A strange atmospheric phenomenon, caused by the rolling terrain and wind direction, prevented the roar of cannon and rifle from reaching these troops. Finally, as the sun began to set behind the hills, Union reinforcements arrived and blocked the Confederate advance. These reinforcements prevented the pressed Union troops from being cut off from the rest of their army. When darkness fell, both sides withdrew. The Battle of Perryville was over. More than 7,500 soldiers on both sides had been killed and wounded. Realizing they were outnumbered, the Confederates withdrew from Perryville that night. Their failure to attain a decisive victory at Perryville ended their campaign to secure Kentucky for the Confederacy. "The battle now raged furiously, one after one my men were cut down, but still, with unyielding hearts, they severely pressed the enemy, and in many instances forced them to give way." -- Union Colonel Michael Gooding, 22nd Indiana Infantry
36. PERRY_081005_296.JPG: (Stop 20) Cleburne's Advance: Forced back from the hills above Doctor's Creek, the Union soldiers retreated to this position. Their lines were in chaos -- regiments intermingled, the wounded were left behind, and some panicked troops raced for the rear. Most soldiers, however, continued to stubbornly defy the Southern advance. With ammunition running low, the Federal troops hastily reformed their lines on this ridge. As they had done all over the battlefield, the Union army used successive hilltops to establish new battle lines. Driven off one hill, the Federal troops reformed on another. It was a strategy that helped stem the crushing tide of the Confederate advance. Leading the assault against these Union troops was a Southern brigade commanded by Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne. Their blue and white battle flags flapping in the October wind, Cleburne's infantry again bore down upon the Union line. When Cleburne sent his flag-bearers in front of his main line as a decoy, the Union infantry fired their one-shot muskets at these troops. With their guns emptied, the Federal soldiers were then torn apart when Cleburne's main line appeared. The gun smoke rolled along in waves as the Confederate infantry shattered the Union position. Against Cleburne's intense attack, the Union lines broke. The blue-clad soldiers fell back to their ridges behind you, which became their third and final position. With night falling, the Federal soldiers formed a line of battle. They knew that another retreat would lead to a crushing defeat. "... the rattle of the musketry was almost incessant and our troops fought them in much closer quarters than I have ever known, ... (???) " -- Confederate soldier Robert D. Smart (???), 2nd Tennessee Infantry
37. PERRY_081005_318.JPG: Union position during the artillery duel, facing the Confederate position
38. PERRY_081005_322.JPG: (Stop 18) Artillery Duel: Before the Confederate infantry attacked, the Southern army tried to weaken the Federal position by bombarding the Union lines with artillery fire. At noon, Captain William Cames' Confederate artillery battery took up position on one of the far ridges east of this location. From those distant hills in front of you, the Confederate cannon hammered these lines with fire. With shells and cannonballs whistling through the air and exploding overhead, the Union artillery located on this ridge fired back at the Confederate battery. For more than an hour, these batteries dueled, and the ground surely shook from the rumbling cannon and exploding shells. Since the Union guns could shoot farther, these troops had the advantage. Black powder smoke swirled around these hills as the Union cannon fired, their shells accurately exploding among the Southern guns. Several Confederate cannoneers, and several of their artillery horses, were killed. Suddenly, the duel stopped. While the Union troops mistakenly believed that the artillery fire covered a Confederate retreat, they were soon proven wrong. Within the hour, the fields in front of you were covered with attacking Confederate infantry. While the Union troops had won the artillery duel, it wasted much of their long-range ammunition that they sorely needed late in the day. "The battery we were fighting was something over a mile distant. The smoke from their guns was all we could see. They had the advantage in the fight... and every shell was well aimed... an unlucky shell stretched out three of our boys on the ground." -- Confederate artilleryman William A. Brown, Stanford's Mississippi Battery
39. PERRY_081005_335.JPG: (No Number) The 15th Kentucky Infantry (US): On the ridge to your right front and across the paved road fought the 15th Kentucky Infantry (US). The 15th was recruited in the fall of 1861 from northern Kentucky and the Louisville area. At Perryville, the regiment (part of Colonel William Lytle's brigade of General Lovell Rousseau's division) numbered 517 men and was commanded by Colonel Curran Pope, a graduate of West Point and a prominent Louisville politician. The 15th also contained several representatives of well-known Kentucky families: Pope's second-in-command was Lieutenant Colonel George Jouett, son of a famous artist and former mayor of Lexington, and one of the captains was James Brown Forman, whose family made their fortune in distilleries. Despite being in the army for a year, Perryville was the regiment's first major battle. During the battle, the 15th supported the 3rd Ohio south of the Mackville Road (to your right front, today Hays-May Road) against massed attacks by Confederate General Bushrod Johnson's brigade. Johnson's men pushed across Doctor's Creek and into the yard of the Bottom House (in front of you) and were pinned down by the fire of the 3rd and 15th atop the hill to your right. When the 3rd ran out of ammunition, the 15th took its place in the front. Despite heavy Confederate artillery and rifle fire, the Kentuckians held firm until about 4:15pm when their right flank was turned by Brigadier General Daniel Adams' Louisiana brigade. Colonel Pope, still in command despite being wounded early in the action, turned his men to face this new attack. As the regiment faced south, General Patrick Cleburne's brigade attacked from the Bottom House, forcing the 15th Kentucky and 3rd Ohio to withdraw west toward the Dixville Crossroads. After a brief stand near the intersection, the 15th withdrew from the fight. "[The 3rd Ohio and 15th Kentucky] had, without support, struggled hard to hold their line of battle for several hours, and were only forced to retire after immense loss and the movements of the enemy." -- Brigadier General Lovell H. Rousseau Colonel Pope remained on duty despite his wounds, and gradually grew weaker in the weeks after the battle. He died of typhoid in Danville on November 5, 1862. The unit's losses at Perryville numbered 203 killed, wounded, and missing, a 39% casualty rate. Among the dead was Lieutenant Colonel Jouett. Captain Forman became the regiment's next commander, and was killed on New Year's Eve 1862 in the Battle of Stones River. The 15th continued to serve in all the major battles of the Army of the Cumberland until mustering out in 1865. "This regiment was never out of line or out of order or in confusion during any time of the day." -- Colonel Curran Pope
40. PERRY_081005_337.JPG: (Stop 19[b]) Assault from the Bottom House: They were outnumbered, but they were ready. Watching from the other side of the road, members of the 3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment saw waves of attacking Confederates moving toward them. These Federal soldiers, anchoring the southern end of the Union defensive line, knew that they had to hold their position. With a cheer, a Confederate brigade led by Brigadier General Bushrod Johnson charged the hill. The obstinate Union defenders halted the Confederate advance halfway up the slope, where the Confederates took shelter behind a stone wall. For more than an hour they battled, until the Confederates ran out of ammunition and withdrew. The fight was not over for the stubborn Union troops. As Johnson departed, another Confederate brigade, led by Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne, entered the fray. With Southern artillery pounding the top of the hill, Cleburne's men attacked. While the Union soldiers held, a Confederate artillery shell struck a hay-filled barn at the end of the Federal line. Within minutes, red and yellow flames shot out from the doors, windows, and rafters as a column of dark smoke coiled skyward. The fire gained in intensity, and several wounded Federal soldiers who had crawled into the barn perished in the flames. As the smoke drifted down the Union position, another Confederate brigade led by Brigadier General Daniel Adams struck the right end of the Union line. The intensity of the Confederate attack, combined with the heat and fire of the burning barn, forced the outnumbered Union soldiers back. The Confederates were hot on their heels. "... it seemed as if all hell had broken loose. The air was filled with hissing balls, shells were exploding continuously, and the noise of the guns deafening." -- Union Colonel John B.. (??), 3rd Ohio Infantry
41. PERRY_081005_339.JPG: The Bottom House is located in the bottom area. The Union forces were located there.
42. PERRY_081005_343.JPG: Bottom House
43. PERRY_081005_344.JPG: Doctor's Creek is at the tree line at the bottom of the hill
44. PERRY_081005_357.JPG: (No number) Baptism of Fire: The 500 soldiers of the 42nd Indiana were suffering from an intense thirst. Their canteens dry from a recent drought, their commanders allowed these troops to find pools of water in Doctor's Creek, located in front of you. The men stacked their rifles and filled their canteens with the muddy water. Many of them moved down the creek to your left, where they searched for water near some rock bluffs that rise 20-40 feet above the creek. Suddenly, the Confederates attacked, and the 42nd Indiana was caught by surprise. The high bluffs trapped many inside of the creek bed, ending any hope of escape. Casualties mounted as survivors dashed out of the banks and up the hill behind you. Regrouping, these troops joined the main Union battle line. Like many Northern soldiers who fought here, Perryville was their first fight. At Perryville, the 42nd Indiana suffered 20 killed, 133 wounded, and 21 missing. It was a brutal baptism of fire. When the 42nd Indiana was forced out of the creek bed, Union Captain Charles Olmstead of Company A rallied his men on the hill behind you. "This is as good a place to die as any other," Olmstead shouted. Moments later, he was shot in the forehead and killed.
45. PERRY_081005_362.JPG: (Stop 19[a]) The HP Bottom House: During the battle, more than 7,500 soldiers were killed and wounded. The town's 300 inhabitants were left to bury the dead, care for the injured, and repair their homes after months of post-battle occupation. Perhaps no civilian suffered more than Henry P Bottom, a farmer and cabinetmaker who lived in the house at the base of the hill across the road. The battle wiped out Bottom's farming operations. His property was damaged during the fighting and soldiers on both sides confiscated his livestock and food. When the thousands of soldiers converged on his farm, Bottom lost nine cows, thirty sheep, 8,540 pounds of pork, 4,500 pounds of bacon, 1,300 fence rails, 3,000 bushels of corn, 22 tons of hay, 50 bushels of oats, and two horses. In 1862, the amount of his lost or destroyed property totaled $4,862, a large amount for that time. The house was caught in the crossfire during the fighting, and was so severely damaged that the wood siding had to be replaced. His home was also one of the main field hospitals in this area. Bullet holes in the wall and blood stains on the floor still remain in the house. The HP Bottom House is a private residence. Please do not trespass on the property. An excerpt from War Claim Testimony: Charles C. Fox: "Did Mr Henry P Bottom ever recover from the losses which he suffered on that day?"" Dr. John B. Bolling: "No sire, he never did. He was broken in spirit from that time on until he died." "The house, tents and yard were full of wounded Federal and Confederate soldiers. I can never forget the groans, wails, and moans of these hundreds of men as they lay side by side, some in the agony of death, some undergoing operations on the surgeons' table in one corner of the yard. Near the table was a pile of legs and arms, some with shoes on, others with socks, four or five feet high." -- William Caldwell McChord
46. PERRY_081005_364.JPG: Bottom House Owned by Squire HP Bottom, it was a key position in Battle of Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. At the beginning of battle, held by USA troops. After a massed attack, Confederates took the house and held it. The battle over, Bottom identified and buried CSA dead.
47. PERRY_081005_370.JPG: Bottom House
48. PERRY_081005_384.JPG: Michigan at Perryville: Among the 61,0000 Union soldiers who at the Battle of Perryville ended Confederate attempts to gain control of Kentucky were six Michigan units. The most heavily engaged of these were Coldwater's Loomis Battery (Battery A of the First Michigan Light Artillery), and Second Michigan Cavalry and the Twenty-First Michigan Infantry. During the course of the battle, Battery A, equipped with six ten-pounded Parrott guns, prevented the right flank of General Daniel McCook's corps from being turned and aided in the repulse of General Patrick Cleburne's Rebel brigade. At one point, Loomis was ordered to spike his guns and leave them. By refusing, he retained a key position. Battery A is reported to have fired the first and the last artillery rounds of the battle.
49. PERRY_081005_389.JPG: (Stop 17[a]) Simonson's Battery: The six guns of Union Captain Peter Simonson's 5th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery went posted on this ridge. These Hoosiers had a commanding view of the Confederate advance, and their battery anchored the center of the Union battle line. Prior to the Confederate attack, Southern artillery posted on the far hills in front of you fired on Simonson's battery and Captain Cyrus Loomis' Union artillery, which was deployed to your right. Simonson's rifled guns could shoot farther than the Confederates' smoothebore cannon, and the Rebel guns were quickly silenced. At 3:00pm, more than an hour after the artillery duel ended, Confederate infantry commanded by Colonel Thomas M. Jones advanced against the Union center. Simonson's guns blasted the attacking Southerners with canister rounds, which turned the cannon into giant shotguns. Although Simonson's gunners and supporting Union infantry stifled the initial Confederate advance in this area, Jones's troops hit the artillerymen hard. As Union soldiers on your right fell back, Simonson's guns were in danger. The battery was then ordered to a position 300 yards behind you to high ground located southeast of the Russell House (no longer standing), which was a Union headquarters building. At the new location, Simonson's battery again endured waves of attacking Confederate infantry. Furthermore, a Confederate artillery round struck one of Simonson's limbers, which held an ammunition box. Union Private Ormon Hupp wrote that "a shell from the enemy struck me on the left arm and passing on, struck the ammunition chest, exploded and caused the cartridges in the chest to explode. It was all done in an instant and resulted in the instant death of [soldier Frederick Ehrich] who was struck in the head with a piece of shell and the wounding of four others, C. Miller, burnt, [Abraham Forry], arm broken and badly burnt on head and face; A. Pettit, lip cut and wounded slightly in the head and myself cut in the left arm, right army, and face. When the chest blew up it took me in the air abut ten feet.... I jumped up and saw that I was badly wounded, my clothes were all torn off, and the burn from powder set me near crazy." The battery ran out of ammunition after firing 755 rounds. They then retired from the field. Simonson's ninety men lost two killed, fourteen wounded, and five missing, nearly a quarter of the command. "Shot & shell from Rebel Batteries howled and shrieked over & around, now tearing up the dry earth and again ricocheting with a wild unearthly shriek again [to] strike or explode with terrible effect. This was our first real battle and we soon began to realize what a battle means..." -- Daniel H. Chandler, 5th Battery, Indian Light Artillery At the Battle of Perryville, the rolling terrain frequently put enemy regiments in close proximity to one another. When the troops were a short distance apart, Union and Confederate artillery fired canister rounds. Canister is an artillery projectile that consists of a tin can packed with many (usually thirty to fifty) lead or iron balls. When fired, the balls scatter our of the cannon's muzzle. The blast from a canister round would cut down large swaths of advancing infantry. Robert C. Carden, a member of the 16th Tennessee Infantry, fought in the fields off to your left. At Perryville, Carden witnessed firsthand the savage results when Simonson's battery fired canister. He wrote, "There was a battery on our left that was giving us grape and canister and the bullets were singing around us. A man was standing just in front of me while I was loading my gun and I happened to have my eyes on his just as a canister struck him in the breast and I saw the white flesh before it bled. He was a dead man." Canister was a short-range projectile, with a maximum effective range of about 400 yards. It was used effectively at Perryville.
50. PERRY_081005_395.JPG: (Stop 17[b]) Defense of Loomis' Heights: In 1862, the ravine in front of you was planted in corn, the fields recently cut and harvested. Here, on this ridge, the Union soldiers established a strong defensive position. Two brigades and six cannon awaited the Confederate attack. With a shout, Jones' Confederate brigade crested the hill in front of you. Outnumbering the Confederate attackers, the Union troops' muskets blazed. Sheets of flame erupted from the hundreds of rifles and the rapid fire at close range halted the attackers at the top of the hill. Although the Southerners tried to charge down into the valley four times, the tenacious Federal infantrymen repelled the attack as the cannon blasted holes in the Confederate lines. Torn apart, Jones' brigade retreated. While the Union troops stifled Jones' attack, they were low on ammunition. Furthermore, their artillery withdrew because many artillerymen were killed and wounded by Confederate cannon fire. Their cannon gone and their ammunition depleted, the Union lines wavered when Brown's Confederate brigade crested the hill. Exchanging gunfire with these troops for more than a half an hour, the Union defenders finally fell back when other Union brigades to the south withdrew. With ammunition low, Brown threatening their front, and Confederate units attacking to your right, these Union troops fell back. Using the terrain to their advantage, they then established another defensive line on the ridges behind you. "But a short time elapsed before the enemy could be seen at a mile distant with their bayonets glistening in the sun (for it was a beautiful day) and advancing toward us in three columns deep." -- Union Private Ormond Hupp, 5th Indiana Light Artillery "A volley was poured into the advancing foe, which sent them back over the hill and down the slope. Again, they rallied determined to take that battery at all hazards. From this time, the contest was terrible." -- Anonymous Union soldier, 10th Wisconsin Infantry
51. PERRY_081005_397.JPG: Loomis' Heights
52. PERRY_081005_403.JPG: (No Number) "For God's Sake, Save That Battery" -- The 38th Indiana at Perryville: The 436 members of the 38th Indiana Infantry Regiment deployed here, in a cut cornfield, next to the 10th Wisconsin Infantry. These men supported Captain Peter Simonson's six cannon, which were located to your right. It was a crucial position; along with Simonson's guns, these infantrymen anchored the center of the Union battle line. Simonson's guns roared as an artillery duel opened for Battle of Perryville. The ground shook with the booming cannon, and the Northerners on this ridge readied themselves as Confederate infantry advanced. Union Major General Alexander McCook, the Hoosers' corps commander, implored the men to save Simonson's artillery. "For God's sake," he begged, "save that battery." They paid a heavy price for obeying this order. Soon, Confederate troops appeared on the ridge in front of you and attacked the Union center. The 38th Indiana fought here for more than two hours. When their ammunition was expended, they prepared to defend the position with their bayonets. "Our ammunition gave out," John Sipe of the 38th Indiana wrote, "and we had to stand some time and let the Rebels shoot at us without being able to return the fire." Dozens of casualties were incurred here, and the regimental flag was, an officer wrote, "literally riddled with balls and the staff shot off." Union troops to the right broke under the weight of the rebel assault, and Simonson's battery fell back three hundred yards toward the Russell House. When that flank peeled away, the 38th Indiana was left alone -- without ammunition -- to face the attacking Confederates. Nearly cut off, they fell back toward the Russell House, where they continued to fight. The 38th Indiana lost 38 killed and 132 wounded, representing nearly forty percent of their strength. After the battle, they buried their dead in the cornfield, where most of the men had fallen. These remains were later moved to the Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Jassamine County, Kentucky. The aftermath was traumatic. Sipe wrote that "Of all the horrible suffering, I [hope[ I may never witness the like again. Union and rebel lying side by side with their limbs blown off or shattered to pieces. One Rebel with [both] his arms blown off told me if he were in his grave he would not suffer so." Henry Fales Perry of the 38th concurred. He wrote that, "The spectacle presented by the battlefield was enough to make angels weep." "Our loss is very heavy... The wonder is that any of us were saved, for we were under a murderous cross fire for hours." -- Colonel Benjamin F. Scribner, 38th Indiana Infantry Regiment
53. PERRY_081005_408.JPG: Loomis' Heights
54. PERRY_081005_421.JPG: (Stop 16) Assault on Loomis' Heights: Reaching the top of this ridge, Jones' Confederate brigade was met with a deadly surprise. On the hill across the valley, six Union cannon and thousands of Federal soldiers faced Jones' lone brigade. The outnumbered Southerners tried to charge down into the valley, but they were forced back. Withdrawing to this position, dozens of Confederate dead and wounded were left scattered over the hillside. As the muskets fire and the cannon roared, a haze of black-powder smoke covered the valley between the two positions. According to local legend, the fighting was so severe that a sinkhole at the base of the hill ran red with blood. With hundreds of men killed and wounded, Jones withdrew, allowing Brown's brigade to attempt to take the Federal position. Luckily for Brown, the Union soldiers were running out of ammunition. When the Union artillery retreated, their infantry was left unsupported. Brown's Confederates then charged down the valley, up the steep slope across from you, and forced the Federals troops back. "... never will I forget it: I of course had many narrow escapes, men shot down on every side of me, balls striking near me & once as I lay on the ground taking aim a ball so filled my eyes with dirt as to blind me for some time, but that was the nearest I came to being hurt..." -- Confederate Private William A. Bryant, 3rd Florida Infantry
55. PERRY_081005_424.JPG: The Confederates came up on this ridge only to face six Union cannon and thousands of Federal soldiers across from them on Loomis' Heights in the distance.
56. PERRY_081005_427.JPG: (Stop 15) Jones' Crossing: When the contending armies converged on Perryville, it hadn't rained in central Kentucky for several months. Many streams and creeks were completely dry, and Doctor's Creek, located behind you, was nearly drained from the severe drought. Only a few ponds of stagnant water remained. As musketry rattled from the opening Confederate attack, a Southern brigade led by Colonel Thomas M. Jones crossed the muddy banks of Doctor's Creek and formed here before attacking the center of the Union line. Several hundred yards behind Jones was another Confederate brigade, led by Brigadier General John C. Brown. These troops were to follow Jones in attacking the Federal position. Because of the steep terrain in front of you, Jones' Confederates could not see the Union soldiers. Hearing only the distant echo of rifle fire and the sporadic explosion of artillery shells, the Confederates had no idea that terror and near destruction awaited them on the other side of the ridge. "Line of battle was formed and we advanced over unwooded but broken ground until we were within the line of artillery fire. We were halted behind a ridge, and the shells going over the crest, exploded in our rear, striking up the dust in a dry, plowed field. Some fragments of bursted shells fell among us wounding several of our men. Soon came the word forward." -- Confederate Colonel William Miller, 1st Florida Infantry
57. PERRY_081005_433.JPG: This is Doctor's Creek after a drought quite similar to what was seen during the battle.
58. PERRY_081005_444.JPG: (Stop 14) Widow Bottom Cabin: In 1862, an elderly widow named Mary Bottom lived in a cabin at this site. Many was the mother of Henry P Bottom, who owned most of the land upon which the battle was fought. When Confederate troops crossed Doctor's Creek to attack the center of the Union lines, they formed near the cabin before moving forward. Like most Perryville homes, the Widow Bottom house most likely became a field hospital following the battle. After the Civil War, on April 10, 1866, two Perryville residents named Bill and John Taylor murdered the Widow Bottom during a robbery. According to one resident, this brutal act "had the whole town wild." Citizens formed a posse and caught the culprits. Taken to Perryville, the Taylors were hanged form a tree at the edge of the town's Hillcrest Cemetery. Some how, Bill Taylor managed to escape, but he was recaptured and sent to prison. John Taylor was not as fortunate. When a group of schoolchildren visited the cemetery and found his corpse, one of the children promptly fainted. Because of the lawlessness that pervaded Kentucky in the years following the Civil War, many residents turned to vigilante justice. As the years passed, the mobs disbanded and Perryville residents learned to readjust to peace. "About 9 o'clock they were taken from the guards, a rope put about their necks, and conducted to the graveyard and hung to a tree that was just over the fence and in front of the church door." -- William Linney, Perryville resident
59. PERRY_081005_448.JPG: This is where the Widow Bottom cabin would have been
60. PERRY_081005_451.JPG: The Widow Bottom location was where the sign is. Doctor's Creek is behind it.
61. PERRY_081005_453.JPG: Lumsden's Battery came up to this hill to fire back at the Union cannon on Loomis Heights.
62. PERRY_081005_457.JPG: (Stop 13) Lumsden's Battery: The scene must have been spectacular to the members of Captain Charles Lumsden's artillery battery. Rolling their four cannon up to this hill to support the attacking Confederate infantry, the Southern cannoneers beheld the Union line that stretched across the far ridge in front of you. Thousands of Federal soldiers were positioned on that ridge, their bayonets gleaming in the October sun. When Lumsden's artillery was put into action against the Union position, Perryville's hilly terrain caused confusion among the Confederate gunners. While the Union line was two hills away, an optical illusion made the Federal troops appear to be on the first ridge in front of you. This deceptive terrain turned the accuracy of Lumsden's cannon fire. Most of their shot and shell fell harmlessly into the first hill in front of you, 300 yards away from the Union position. Later in the day, Lumsden's battery moved from this hill and was replaced by Captain Thomas Stanford's artillery. Stanford's four guns moved into position to support Donelson and Stewart's infantry, as these Confederates advanced past the Widow Gibson cabin. "We went into the fight while the enemy were firing upon us -- One of their shells killing one of our horses before we got into position. The music of twelve Yankee guns and the whistling shells is not the most pleasant I have heard. For two hours, we carried on this duel, half a mile distant perhaps. I consider it almost miraculous that [I[ came out alive." -- Confederate Corporal James Search (???), Lumsden's Alabama Infantry
63. PERRY_081005_459.JPG: Loomis Heights is in the distant
64. PERRY_081005_483.JPG: Perryville Battlefield Museum
65. PERRY_081005_496.JPG: This view of the battlefield is from the entrance area. Donelson's attack was here.
66. PERRY_081005_499.JPG: (Stop 3) Donelson's Attack: Confederate Brigadier General Daniel Donelson had been given great responsibility. His brigade was to open the Confederate attack by assaulting the northern end of the Union defensive line. Once Donelson's brigade moved forward, other Southern troops would enter the battle. It was imperative for Donelson's men to strike quickly and forcefully. Before Donelson's infantry deployed, Confederate cavalry rode through these fields, scouting out the Federal position and driving off a Union advance guard. The cavalry failed to see Union troops forming on the ridges to the northwest. Their inability to establish the northern end of the Union line would have disastrous results for Donelson's men. Forming into two lines on the flat ground behind you. Donelson's brigade moved forward. Because the Federal troops were still deploying on the ridges to your front, Donelson's soldiers, instead of striking the northern end of the Union line, moved more toward the Union center. This faulty deployment from a lack of reconnaissance nearly destroying the opening Confederate attack. Confederate General Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of the Mississippi, tried to hit the Union army quickly and simultaneously in multiple locations. Donelson's attack launched the day's hostilities. "... the whole line moved forward in beautiful order. All my conceptions of the hurrah and din and dust of battle were confounded by the cool, business-like operations going on before me. Those badly clothed, some shirtless, dirty and ragged-looking men walked into the harvest of death before them with all the composure and much less of the bustle that a merchant would exhibit in walking to his counting room after breakfast." -- Reporter, Atlanta Southern Confederacy
67. PERRY_081005_508.JPG: Dedicated to the Memory of Sgt. Harris B. cope Company G 16th Tennessee Infantry who fell in the fields ahead October 8, 1862
68. PERRY_081005_516.JPG: (Stop 4) Stewart's Advance: The battle opened with great fury. To your left, Donelson's brigade hurled themselves against the Union lines, but their attack momentarily stalled. In the fields to your right, Maney's Confederate brigade also assaulted the Federal position. To support these troops, Brigadier General AP Stewart's brigade entered the battle. Placing his five regiments into one long line, Stewart's men advanced behind the other attacking Confederate troops. Stewart's regiments immediately came under heavy Federal fire. At one point in the combat, his Confederates grew panicked when they reached a split-rail fence. Instead of climbing over the fence or taking down the rails, dozens of his men tried to squeeze through a small opening. Scores were shot down as the troops attempted to force their way through the fate. Man-made structures on the battlefield could be deadly obstacles. Despite the severity of the fire, Stewart's brigade continued to move forward. "They entered the fight in admirable order & pressed forward under a galling fire with a coolness & yet impetuosity that could not be surpassed. They drove the enemy before them for a considerable distance, until they reached the crest of a ridge." -- Confederate Brigadier General AP Stewart
69. PERRY_081005_519.JPG: Turner's Battery moved up on this ridge
70. PERRY_081005_524.JPG: (Stop 5[a]) Turner's Battery: When General Maney's Confederates attacked the Union left flank, located on the ridge in front of you, a Confederate artillery battery commanded by Lieutenant William Turner took position here. To support Maney's advance, Turner's four cannon rained fire upon the Union position. The Southerners drove the Union troops off the ridge, and Turner moved his guns to that position to support the continued Confederate advance. More Confederate artillery commanded by Captain William Carnes then deployed on the hills far to your right, where they also shelled the Union lines. Confederate artillery played a crucial role at Perryville by successfully supporting advancing infantry brigades. "I immediately opened an infilading fire on them, at the distance of 250 or 300 yards, with canister, and continued it with shell and spherical case as the enemy retired." -- Lieutenant William B. Turner Lieutenant Colonel John Patterson was a respected officer in Maney's 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment. During the Battle of Perryville, Patterson temporarily commanded this unit. Patterson's men were held in reserve as the Confederates attacked, passed the split rail fence, and captured seven Union cannon on the hill in front of you. Continuing the advance against another ridge 400 yards west of here, one soldier wrote, "Our Lieutenant-Colonel Patterson halloed to charge and take [the Union] guns, and we were soon in a hand-to-hand fight..." Patterson was killed while leading the attack against the second ridge. According to Private Sam Watkins of the 1st Tennessee, Patterson "was killed standing right by my side. He was first shot through the hand, and was wrapping his handkerchief around it, when another ball struck and killed him." Private Marcus Toney noted that "Colonel Patterson was slightly wounded in the wrist, but he tied a handkerchief around it and continued to give orders until a grapeshot hit his mustache, going through his head, killing him instantly." After the fight, two of the Union cannon captured from the hill in front of you were given to Turner's Battery. They were engraved with the names of soldiers who had acted bravely in the battle. The first was inscribed with the names of soldiers who had acted bravely in the battle. The first was inscribed with the name of AT Mitchell, a color-bearing slain as Perryville. The second was engraved with the name of Lieutenant Colonel Patterson. Later in the war, at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, the Union army recaptured these two guns.
71. PERRY_081005_530.JPG: (Stop 5[b]) Maney's Attack: Confederate Brigadier General George Maney was growing concerned. On the hill to your front, eight Union cannon blasted away, killing and wounding dozens of Southern soldiers. Maney knew that his brigade had to take the hill and quickly silence those guns. As he formed his 1,600 soldiers into two lines in the fields behind you, trees and rolling terrain hid his men from the Union battery. Four Confederate cannon rolled into position here and began answering the fire from the Union battery. Amidst the thundering concussion and swirling smoke of a close-range artillery duel, Maney's men advanced to within striking distance and then charged into the deadly fire of the surprised Union cannon crews. "I immediately opened an infilading fire on them, at the distance of 250 to 300 yards, with canister, and continued it with shell and spherical case as the enemy retired." -- Confederate 1st Lieutenant William B. Turner, Turner's Mississippi Battery "After proceeding several hundred yards through the woods in the course I had first taken I was informed. Gen. Donelson had become hotly engaged and was in great need of reinforcements." -- Confederate Brigadier General George E. Maney
72. PERRY_081005_543.JPG: (Stop 24) Dixville Crossroads: During the Battle of Perryville, the Dixville Crossroads, the intersection in front of you, was a crucial tactical point on the battlefield. Here, the Benton Road (now called Whites road) which runs to Dixville in Mercer County, intersects the Perryville-Mackville Road (now Hayes May road). On October 8, 1862, this was the key intersection of the battle. All of the Union supply wagons were parked behind you. These important supplies nearly fell into Confederate hands. Had the Confederates captured and held this intersection, the entire Union First Corps would have been cut off from the rest of the Union army, which was posted west and south of Perryville. Fortunately for the Northern troops, Union reinforcements commanded by Colonel Michael Gooding arrived late in the day by marching from the west of town down the Benton Road (to your right) and to this intersection. Gooding's brigade suffered heavily to hold this key point. Gooding's lost one-third of his men and he was wounded and captured. The battle essentially ended around this intersection. The day after the battle, local physician Jefferson J. Polk toured the battlefield. Walking from his house in downtown Perryville and out the Mackville Road, Polk reached this spot. What he witnessed he clearly remembered when he wrote his autobiography in 1867. Polk described the scene near this intersection: "I passed on northward, and saw on either hand, dead men and dead horses, canteens, muskets, cartridge-boxes, broken ambulances, coats, hates, and shoes, scattered thick over the ground. I reached Mr. Russell's white house... Here was the center of the great battle. The house was dotted over with hundreds of marks of musket and cannon balls. All around lay dead bodies of the soldiers... In a skirt of woods close by were scattered hundreds of the dead of both armies.. The ground was strewn with soiled and torn clothes, muskets, blankets, and the various accouterments of the dead soldiers. Trees not more than one foot in diameter contained from twenty to thirty musketballs and buck-shot, put into them during the battle... I counted four hundred and ten dead men on a small spot of ground. My heart grew sick at the sight... I saw dead rebels piled up in pens like hogs. I reached my home, praying to God that I might never again be called upon to visit a battle-field."
73. PERRY_081005_548.JPG: Dixville Crossroads. The Confederates would have coming from the distance toward here. The Russell House and the Bottom House is down the road to the right.
74. PERRY_081005_552.JPG: Illinois Soldiers at Perryville: The Fifty-ninth Illinois Volunteers, commanded by Maj. Joshua Winters, here suffered 113 casualties of 325 engaged. The Seventy-fifth Illinois, Lieut. Col. John E. Bennett, lost 225 of 700. Serving with Col. Michael Gooding's Thirtieth Brigade, the regiments came to the aid of Maj. Gen. Alexander McD. McCook's Corps and coolly resisted vicious charges, firing with "terrible effect."
75. PERRY_081005_560.JPG: The Union army was on the fields preventing the Confederates from taking the intersection.
Wikipedia Description: Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site is a 745-acre (3.01 km2) park near Perryville in Boyle County, Kentucky. The park continues to expand with purchases of parcels by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund and the American Battlefield Trust. An interpretive museum is located near the site where many Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Perryville were buried. Additionally, monuments, interpretive signage, and cannons mark notable events that occurred during the battle. The site became part of the Kentucky State Park System in 1936.

Battle

The battle was fought on October 8, 1862, between the Union Army of the Ohio, commanded by Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, and the Confederate Army of Mississippi, commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg. The battle was a tactical victory for the Confederates, but a strategic victory for the Union because Bragg withdrew his army from Kentucky, which remained in Union hands for the remainder of the war.

Perryville's homes and farms were left in shambles by the battle. Henry P. "Squire" Bottom, a slave-owning Unionist on whose farm a significant portion of the battle was fought, suffered losses of pork, corn, hay, and wood to Union soldiers who remained in the area for weeks after the fighting. During the battle Bottom also had significant damage to his farm, including the loss of a substantial barn filled with hay that burned completely due to artillery fire from a Confederate battery. Other accounts note that nearly all residents of the area suffered some losses as well as having their homes and outbuildings used as field hospitals.

The main force of the Union army had buried most of their dead in long trenches before pursuing Bragg, but most of the Confederate dead were still unburied a week after the battle. Union soldiers finally forced local residents to help them lay the dead in shallow trenches carved in the dry soil. Two months later, 347 were reburied in a mass grave on Bottom's land. In 1886 a total of 435 Confederates were buried on Bottom's land; this land was chosen because their dead lay thickest on the eastern slope. Although Bottom claimed that about 100 were identified, the only remnants of the cemetery were a corner of a stone wall and one headstone—that of Samuel H. Ransom of the 1st Tennessee Infantry CSA.

At the end of the war in 1865, Union soldiers reburied the remains of 969 Federal dead in a national cemetery at Perryville with a stone wall, two gates and plans for a monument. The monument was never erected, however, and in 1867 the new cemetery was closed and the Federal dead transferred to Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, Kentucky, leaving no identified Federal dead on the field at Perryville.
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