When one thinks of Civil War battles, the state of Kentucky is not one that readily springs to mind. When we arrived in
Danville yesterday (yes, I'm a day behind), I leaped through the Guest Services Guide and under Area Attractions was information on the Battle of
Perryville. Since the battlefield was a scant 12 miles form our hotel, we jumped back on the bike and roared off.
The Battle of
Perryville was the last battle fought on Kentucky soil. During the summer of 1862, General Bragg's army invaded Kentucky and after maneuvering for more than a month, pushed the Confederates into
Perrysville. In October 1862 and the Confederates planned an attack, but had no idea that their 16,000 troops would face more than 58,000 Union soldiers.
The battle went on for five hours, beginning at around 2:00 pm on October 8. When it was over, more that 7,500 Union and Confederate soldiers had been killed, wounded, or were missing.
We walked the battlefield, which had been the farm of Kentuckian Harry Brown.The rolling hills of Kentucky played as much a part in the battle as the soldiers themselves. The Union soldiers positioned themselves on ridge after ridge on the Brown farm. Even when the Confederates charged and forced the Federal troops from Parson's Ridge, there was always another ridge to fall back to. We stood where the cannons fired mercilessly into the oncoming soldiers and could see just what they saw.. the oncoming soldiers armed with guns and attitude, relentlessly attacking. We also saw the Confederate perspective, and could only imagine what the shelling was like.
The thing that resonated with both Jason and I was the interpretive sign on
Starkweather's Hill.
Starkweather's men were the last stronghold between the Confederates and the Union wagons with supplies and ammunition. The hill was manned with twelve cannon, but the Confederates regrouped and charged the hill two more times. The sign said that during the hand to hand combat, the hill and the ground became slippery with the blood that was shed.
The Federal soldiers were eventually driven off the ridge.
Neither side was able to claim a definitive victory, and the Battle of
Perryville was the last of the Civil War fought in Kentucky.
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