154th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Perryville

By Gregory L. Wade · Originally published December 2016 · pp. 26–27

Confederate troops attack up the hill towards the Federal line. (Photos by Gregory Wade otherwise noted)

PERRYVILLE, KY.—Thousands of reenactors converged on the small village of Perryville, Kentucky, to participate in recreating the battle that occurred there on October 8th, 1862. The reenactment took place on the actual battle date and the exact ground of the fighting. Participants were treated with perfect blue skies and crisp nights on the rolling hills of this village located about thirty miles southwest of Lexington. The 1862 fight between the forces of Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi and Union commander Don Carlos Buell and the Army of the Ohio was part of what was known as the Confederate Heartland Offensive. This campaign was intended to bring Kentucky into the Confederacy while recruiting thousands into the Southern cause. Unfortunately for the Confederate leadership in Richmond, neither of these goals were accomplished. While Bragg’s infantry was largely successful in pushing federal troops off the hilly terrain, scoring a tactical victory, the Confederates ultimately withdrew back south leaving Kentucky in Union control for the rest of the war. One unit that led the charge up a steep hill on the Confederate right flank was the First Tennessee Infantry, CSA. Franklin, Tennessee’s Mike Hoover participated in the reenactment of this unit’s charge that pushed federal troops off the high ground. According to Hoover “twenty six soldiers of the Rock City Guards made up of four companies in the First Tennessee” were killed and believed to be in unmarked graves on this site. A memorial was held at the ground where these men may lie with twenty six flags of honor posted by reenactors. Members of the Williamson Grays Company D reenactment unit camped on the rolling meadows that looks as it did 154 years ago in honor of those lost. Rob Dunbar of Smyrna, Tennessee, said of his first visit to Perryville, “it is a privilege to walk this actual field, and it is a great accomplishment how it has been preserved.” The Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site with its 1,027 acres is part of the Kentucky State Park system. The latest addition of ground was in July 2016 when the Civil War Trust added seventy acres as the result of a national fund raising campaign. The Battle of Perryville was Kentucky’s largest with about six thousand casualties, one of the wars most intense for the overall number of active troops at about 38,000. Richard Hoovler, right, of Davis Junction, Illinois Battery G 2nd Artillery 2nd Illinois, USA.

Robert Hoovler of Davis Junction, Illinois Battery G 2nd Artillery 2nd Illinois, USA.

Drum and fife band playing patriotic music to the marching troops.

2nd Lt Daniel Wix of Bremen, Georgia. States Rights Brigade.

Flag planting memorial for the Tennessee dead.

Randy Jackson of Charleston, Illinois sitting on his horse Buddy. U.S. camp neatly organized.

Cool Creek Forge Ben Steppe left and his father John on the right.

Troops on the move at Perryville.

Tryston Smith of Galion, Ohio (Sitting), Jonah Fairfield in white shirt and Ryan Fairfield of Oberlin, Ohio 5th Texas Company A.

154th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Perryville — photograph 7 from the original article

Confederates pour artillery fire into the Federal lines. (DeLynn Walgren)

Artillerist pulling a limber and 12-pounder howitzer into battle.