Perryville, battle of.
Bragg's troops formed a junction with those of Gen. E. Kirby Smith at Frankfort, Ky., on Oct. 1, 1862, when they made Richard Hawes “provisional governor of Kentucky” while Bragg's plundering bands were scouring the State and driving away southward thousands of hogs and cattle
| Perryville. |
and numerous trains bearing bacon, breadstuffs, and store-goods taken from merchants in various large towns.As a show of honesty, these raiders gave Confederate scrip in exchange.Regarding Kentucky as a part of the Confederacy, conscription was put in force by Bragg at the point of the bayonet.The loyal people cried for help.The cautious Buell made a tardy response.He had been engaged in a race for Louisville with Bragg, and, on Oct. 1, turned to strike his opponent.His army, 100,000 strong, was arranged in three corps, commanded respectively by Generals Gilbert, Crittenden, and McCook. Gen. George H. Thomas, Buell's second in command, had charge of the right wing, and soon began to feel the Confederates.Bragg, outflanked, fell slowly back towards Springfield, when Buell, informed that he was moving to concentrate his army at Harrodsburg or Perryville, ordered the central division of his army under Gilbert to march for the latter place.The head of this division, under Gen. R. B. Mitchell, fell in with a heavy force of Confederates (Oct. 7) within 5 miles of Perryville, drawn up in battle order.These were pressed back about 3 miles, when General Sheridan's division was ordered up to an eligible position.Buell was there, and, expecting a battle in the morning, he sent for the flank corps of Crittenden and McCook to close up on his right, and, if possible, surround the Confederates.There was a delay in the arrival of Crittenden, and Bragg, perceiving his peril, had begun to retreat.He was anxious to secure the exit of the plunder-trains from the State.
As Crittenden did not speedily arrive, Bragg resolved to give battle in his absence.His army was immediately commanded by General Polk.There had been a sharp engagement on the morning of the 8th, when the Confederates were repulsed and driven back by troops under Col. D. [145] McCook, of Sheridan's division, with Barnett's battery, some Michigan cavalry, and a Missouri regiment.The Confederates were repulsed, and so ended the preliminary battle of that day. Mitchell, Sheridan, Rousseau, and Jackson advanced with troops to secure the position, and a Michigan and an Indiana battery were planted in commanding positions.A reconnoisance in force was now made.Bragg was stealthily approaching, being well masked, and Cheatham's division fell suddenly and heavily upon McCook's flank with horrid yells, when the raw and outnumbered troops of General Terrell broke and fled.General Jackson had been killed.In an attempt to rally his troops, Terrell was mortally wounded.When Terrell's force was scattered, the Confederates fell with equal weight upon Rousseau's division.An attempt to destroy it was met by Starkweather's brigade and the batteries of Bush and Stone, who maintained their positions for nearly three hours, until the ammunition of both infantry and artillery was nearly exhausted.Bush's battery had lost thirty-five horses.Meanwhile, Rousseau's troops fought stubbornly, and held their position while resisting Confederates commanded by Bragg in person.The Confederates finally made a fierce charge on the brigade of Lytle, hurling it back with heavy loss.They pressed forward to Gilbert's flank, held by Mitchell and Sheridan.The latter held the king-point of the Union position.He quickly turned his guns on the assailants, when Mitchell sent Carlin's brigade to the support of Sheridan's right.This force charged at the double-quick, broke the Confederate line, and drove them through Perryville to the protection of their batteries on the bluff beyond.
Meanwhile, Colonel Gooding's brigade had been sent to the aid of McCook, and fought with great persistence for two hours against odds, losing fully one-third of its number, its commander being made prisoner.General Buell did not know the magnitude of the battle until 4 P. M., when McCook sent a request for reinforcements.They were promptly sent.The conflict ended at dark in a victory for the Nationals, the Confederates having been repulsed at all points, and during the night they retired to Harrodsburg, where Bragg was joined by Kirby Smith and General Withers.All fled towards east Tennessee, leaving 1,200 of their sick and wounded at Harrodsburg, and about 25,000 barrels of pork at various points.The retreat was conducted by General Polk, covered by Wheeler's cavalry.Buell's effective force that advanced on Perryville was 58,000, of whom 22,000 were raw troops.He lost in the battle 4,348 men, of whom 916 were killed.The Confederate loss was estimated at about the same.Bragg claimed to have captured fifteen guns and 400 prisoners. It is believed that the Confederates lost more than they gained by their plundering raid.Buell was soon superseded in command by General Rosecrans, and the name of the Army of the Ohio was changed to the Army of the Cumberland.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.
