Battle of Munfordville: Siege

Battle of Munfordville: Siege. . When Braxton Bragg arrived at Green River, Cyrus Dunham had taken command of the Union garrison. The 15th had been spent clearing casualties from the field, but by the next day, gunfire erupted from Bragg’s advance guard, starting a day-long exchange. Gen. Buckner suggested sending a division of Polk’s wing to the other side of the river to place cannons where they could command the garrison’s position. Gradually, a total of 46 guns were placed on the high ground south of the river, and 26 guns north of the river. , , Faced with grimly superior numbers, Dunham recommended surrender to the Union officers, and telegraphed his intention to the Union command in Louisville. Dunham received a reply telling him to place Col. Wilder in command. Wilder, unsure of the ethics of surrender, sought advice from the only source available, a person who had only months earlier himself surrendered Fort Donelson to Ulysses S. Grant, Simon Bolivar Buckner. This unheard-of request to an enemy officer so intrigued Buckner that he arranged to give Wilder a tour of the rebel forces. Having seen the vast array of arms against him, Wilder agreed to surrender. It was 2:00 a.m., September 17th. Wilder’s men stacked their arms and the entire force was paroled to Bowling Green. Bragg seized Munfordville, but held it only three days before departing. His decision not to fight Buell’s approaching army here squandered the Confederacy’s greatest potential for success in the west, and resulted in the bloody but indecisive struggle at Perryville three weeks later that would end their ambitions in Kentucky.