Kentucky in the Civil War
Confederate
Brig. Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer’s
main responsibility was to guard Cumberland Gap. However, in November 1861 he
advanced west into Kentucky to strengthen control in the area around
Somerset. Zollicoffer found a strong defensive position at Mill Springs and decided
to make it his winter quarters. He fortified the area, especially both sides
of the Cumberland River.
Union Brig. Gen. George
Thomas received orders to drive the Confederates across the Cumberland
River and break up Maj. Gen. George B.
Crittenden’s army. Thomas left Lebanon and slowly marched through
rain-soaked country, arriving at Logan’s Crossroads on January 17th, where he
waited for Brig. Gen. A. Schoepf’s
troops from Somerset to join him.
Maj. Gen.
George Crittenden, Zollicoffer’s
superior, arrived at Mill Springs and took command of the Confederate
troops. He knew that Thomas was in the
vicinity and decided that his best defense was to attack the Union forces.
The Confederates attacked Thomas at Logan’s
Crossroads at dawn on January 19th. Some of
Schoepf’s troops had arrived and
reinforced the Union troops. The initial Confederates attack was successful
and forced the first
unit it hit to retire. Stiff resistance followed, the Union troops held
their positions and
Zollicoffer was killed. The
Confederates made
another attack but were repulsed. Union counterattacks on the Confederate
right and left were successful and forced the Confederates from the field in a retreat
that ended in Murfreesboro, TN.
Mill Springs, along with Middle
Creek, broke the Confederate in eastern Kentucky. Mill Springs was the larger of the two Union
Kentucky victories in January 1862. With these victories, the Federals
were able to carry the war into Middle Tennessee in February.
The
Mill Springs Battlefield
Association has done a splendid job in creating a lasting monument to the
battle. The battlefield tour has nine stops which track the movements in the
engagement. The tour begins at the visitor with an excellent video on
the battle. The visitor center museum has exhibits of items found on the
battlefield and the Confederate camp.
 The tour starts at the Mill Springs
National Cemetery. The cemetery contains the graves of Union soldiers
killed at the battle. The Confederate dead are buried in a mass grave
located at the second stop of the driving tour. A list of the
Confederate dead was compiled and headstones were placed on the site. An
interesting sidelight to the battle involves the death of
Brig. Gen.
Felix K. Zollicoffer who
was killed when he encountered Union troops. The battlefield describes the
main conflict in the area where
Zollicoffer
was shot and the Confederate retreat and escape to Mill
Springs. The ruins of Camp Beech contain markers where battlefield artifacts
were recovered. This is definitely a site to visit.
Please click on link below for map.
Mill Springs, Wayne, Kentucky, United States
The Confederate Heartland Offensive or Kentucky Campaign was a series of
maneuvers and battles in East Tennessee and Kentucky. From June to
October 1862, 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 Confederacy. 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 following battles were part of this campaign:
-
Chattanooga, TN I
- June 7-8, 1862 D
-
Murfreesboro, TN I
-
July 13, 1862 C
-
Richmond,
KY
- August 29-30, 1862 B
-
Munfordville,
KY -
September 14-17, 1862 B
Perryville,
KY -
October 8, 1862 A
This road trip
covers the battles of Richmond, Munfordville and Perryville.
In Maj. Gen. Kirby
Smith’s 1862 Confederate offensive into Kentucky,
Brig. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne
led the advance with Col. John S. Scott’s
cavalry out in front. The Confederate cavalry, while moving north
from Big Hill on the road to Richmond, Kentucky, on August 29th, encountered
Union troopers and began skirmishing.
After noon, Union artillery and infantry
joined the battle and forced the Confederate cavalry to retreat to Big Hill. Brig.
Gen. Mahlon D. Manson, who commanded Union forces in the area,
ordered a brigade to march to Rogersville, toward the Confederates. Fighting for the day stopped after pursuing
Union forces skirmished briefly with Cleburne’s
men in late afternoon.
That night, Manson
informed his superior, Maj. Gen. William Nelson,
of his situation, and he ordered another brigade to be ready to march in
support, when required. Kirby Smith
ordered Cleburne to attack in the
morning and promised to hurry reinforcements (Churchill’s
division).
Cleburne
started early, marching north, passed through Kinston, dispersed Union
skirmishers, and approached Manson’s battle line near Zion Church.
Additional troops
joined both sides during the day. After an artillery duel,
a concerted Confederate attack on the Union right forced the Federals to
retreat into Rogersville. The Union forces made another futile stand at their
old bivouac. By now, Smith
and Nelson had arrived and taken command
of their respective armies. Nelson
rallied some troops in the cemetery outside Richmond, but they were routed. Nelson and
some men escaped but the Confederates captured approximately 4,000 Union
troops.
The
Confederate victory opened the route north.
The Battle of
Richmond Association has worked to preserve the battlefield.
The association maintains
an auto vehicular tour of the battle corridor. The corridor, areas of
battle interest and involvement, extends 17 miles from Big Hill at the
southern point of Madison County to White Hall State Historic Shrine in the
northern portion of the county. Historical markers provide information at
each tour station and brochures are available from Richmond Tourism.
Please click on link below for map.
Richmond, Kentucky, United States
 While
Kirby Smith's forces moved toward
Lexington, Gen. Braxton Bragg’s
army left Chattanooga, Tennessee, in late August. The Confederates
troops were followed by
Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Union Army.
Bragg approached Munfordville, a
station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and by mid-September had
arrived near the
railroad bridge crossing Green River.
Col. John T. Wilder commanded the Union
garrison at Munfordville which consisted of three regiments with extensive
fortifications. Wilder refused Brig. Gen.
James R. Chalmers’ demand to surrender on September 14th. Union
forces repulsed Chalmers’ attacks
on the 14th, forcing the Confederates to conduct siege operations on the
15th and 16th. Late on the 16th, realizing that
Buell’s forces were near and not wanting to kill or injure
innocent civilians, the Confederates communicated another demand for
surrender. Wilder entered enemy lines
under a flag of truce, and Maj. Gen. Simon B.
Buckner escorted him to view all the Confederate troops and
to convince him of the futility of resisting. Impressed,
Wilder surrendered. The formal ceremony
occurred on the 17th.
The Confederate control of the railroad and the bridge disrupted the movement of Union supplies and men.
This site is in need of repair. The visitor center is
closed, the trails are not mowed and the signs are water-damaged.
Still it is worth a stop to see the railroad bridge and the outlines of
Wilder's star fort.
Please click on link below for map.
Munfordville, Hart, Kentucky, United States
 Gen.
Braxton Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky had reached
the outskirts of Louisville and Cincinnati, but he was forced to retreat and
regroup. On October 7th, the Federal army of
Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell converged on the small crossroads town
of Perryville, KY. Union forces skirmished with Confederate cavalry on
the Springfield Pike and the fighting increased when the Confederate
infantry arrived. At dawn the following day, fighting began again
around Peters Hill as a Union division advanced up the pike and stopped
before the Confederate line. After noon, Confederate forces struck the
Union left flank and forced Union forces to fall back. Union troops on the left flank, reinforced by
two brigades, stabilized their line, and the Confederate attack stalled.
A Confederate brigade assaulted a 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 early evening. With Union
reinforcements threatening the Confederate left flank and the Army of the
Mississippi short of men and supplies, Bragg's
forces left during the night. Confederate forces withdrew into East
Tennessee ending the offensive and giving the Union control of Kentucky.
The State Historic Park has numerous trails
that describe the movement of the attacking Confederate forces and
retreating Union troops. The trails are well documented with markers.
Please click on link below for map.
Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site (state historic park), Kentucky, United States
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Revised
07/08/2010 |
