Munfordville, KY
[Battle of Munfordville. Kentucky, Sunday, Sept. 14th 1862,
c1863, by Harper's History of the Great Rebellion, Harper's Weekly]
Date(s):
September 14-17, 1862
Location:
Please click on link below for map.
Munfordville, Hart, Kentucky, United States
Campaign(s):
Confederate Heartland Offensive
[1862]
Battles in
Campaign:
Situation:
Commanders:
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Union:
Col. Cyrus L. Dunham and Col. John T. Wilder
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Confederate:
Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers and Gen. Braxton Bragg
Principal Forces:
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Union:
Union garrison
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Confederate:
Army of the Mississippi
Description:
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In the 1862 Confederate offensive into Kentucky,
Gen. Braxton Bragg’s army left Chattanooga, Tennessee, in late August.
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Followed
by Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Union Army,
Bragg approached Munfordville, a
station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and the location of the railroad
bridge crossing Green River, in mid-September.
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Col. John T. Wilder commanded the
Union garrison at Munfordville which consisted of three regiments with extensive
fortifications.
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Wilder refused Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers’ demand to
surrender on the 14th.
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Union forces repulsed
Chalmers’ attacks on the 14th,
forcing the Confederates to conduct siege operations on the 15th and 16th.
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Late on the 16th, realizing that
Buell’s forces were near and not wanting to
kill or injure innocent civilians, the Confederates communicated still another
demand for surrender.
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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.
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Impressed, Wilder
surrendered. The formal ceremony occurred the next day on the 17th.
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With the railroad and the bridge, Munfordville was
an important transportation center, and the Confederate control affected the
movement of Union supplies and men.
Photo Gallery:2
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The Battle of Munfordville
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The Battle for the Bridge
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Map of the Battlefield Preserve
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The Woodson Farm
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The Woodson Farm
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The Woodson Farm
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Anthony Woodson Farm
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Kentucky and the Western War
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The Raider - John Hunt Morgan
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Battle for Munfordville
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Battle of Munfordville
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The Battle of Munfordville - Day 1
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L&N Railroad Bridge
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L&N Railroad Bridge
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Fort Craig
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Remains of Fort Craig earthen works
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Remains of Fort Craig earthen works
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Classification3:
B
Casualties4:
-
Union:
4,148
-
Confederate:
714
Results:
 Confederate
Victory
Battlefield Websites:
Recommended
Resources:
1 National Park
Service summary.
2 Please click on the image to
enlarge it. You may copy the images if you include the following note and link
with each image: "Courtesy of
civil-war-journeys.org."
3
Classification:
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A
- having a decisive influence on a
campaign and a direct impact on the course of the war
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B -
having a direct and decisive influence on their campaign
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C -
having observable influence on the
outcome of a campaign
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D
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having a limited influence on the
outcome of their campaign or operation but achieving or affecting important
local objectives
4 Casualties are
someone killed, injured, wounded, captured or missing.
Revised
08/27/2009 |
