Existing comment:
(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. |