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Perryville in Boyle County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
 

The Battle of Perryville

 
 
The Battle of Perryville Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, August 18, 2011
1. The Battle of Perryville Marker
Inscription. The Battle of Perryville was fought on October 8, 1862. It was the climax of a campaign that lasted almost two months and affected the entire state of Kentucky. The campaign started when Edmund Kirby Smith’s Confederate army entered Kentucky on August 13, 1862. Smith’s army by-passed the Union stronghold at Cumberland Gap and smashed a hastily assembled Union force at Richmond, Kentucky on August 30. Smith’s army then occupied Lexington and Frankfort by early September.

Braxton Bragg’s Confederate Army of the Mississippi began its march into Kentucky on August 28, 1862. This army bypassed Buell’s Union Army of the Ohio in middle Tennessee and captured Munfordville, Kentucky on September 17, 1862. Bragg initially intended to capture Louisville but instead, marched his army to Bardstown. This allowed Buell free access to Louisville. Arriving there on September 29, 1862, he reorganized his 80,000 strong army into four columns. One column marched straight towards Frankfort as a diversion, while the other three marched to the southeast on parallel roads. Bragg, thinking the objective of the Union army was Lawrenceburg, ordered both his and Smith’s armies to concentrate at that place. As the Army of the Mississippi moved towards Lawrenceburg, its line of march brought it through Perryville. One of Buell’s columns, called III Corps,
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was in almost constant contact with the Confederates moving east. The Confederates believed that III Corps (numbering 22,000) was the only Union force in the area. In reality, two other Union columns (I Corps and II Corps) were close by, bringing the total Union force to almost 60,000 men. Bragg concentrated three quarters of his Army of the Mississippi (about (16,000 men) in Perryville. The remainder of Bragg’s army continued its march toward Lawrenceburg where Kirby Smith’s Army awaited. In the bloody battle that followed, almost 8,000 Americans were killed, wounded, or missing.

6:00 AM, The Battle Begins
Union III Corps attacked Peters Hill to secure the water supply in Doctors Fork. They had orders to hold their position and wait for Union I Corps and Union II Corps to arrive before bringing on a major battle.

8:00 AM to Noon, Confederate Deployments
The Confederate Battle Plan was to mass their troops in the Sq. H.P. Bottom House area, attack down the valley of Doctors Fork, and hit III Corps in the flank. At about 10:30 AM, Union troops were encountered in that area so the Confederates moved farther to the north to get around the Union flank. These troops were units from Union I Corps arriving from Mackville. By 12:30 PM, Benjamin Cheatham’s Division (one third of the Confederates present) were in position at the Walker House.
The Battle of Perryville Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, August 18, 2011
2. The Battle of Perryville Marker
The only fighting during this time was done with sporadic artillery at long range.

1:45 PM, Wharton’s Cavalry Sweep
Colonel John Wharton of Terry’s Texas Rangers, was assigned the task of making sure the Union flank was where it was supposed to be. He led his Cavalry brigade along the Benton Road but left the road and proceeded behind a large hill and did not see two Union Brigades with 20 cannon setting up farther north than expected.

2:00 to 4:00 PM, Confederate Attacks
Daniel Donelson’s Brigade led the attack. Because of the Union brigades Wharton did not see, the 16th Tennessee Infantry, lead unit of the brigade, lost 54% of their men. The Confederates re-deployed to meet the new threat and their entire line erupted, forcing the hapless Union I Corps back at every place along the line. The troop symbols on the map represent positions occupied at approximately 2:45 PM.

Union II Corps Vs. Joe Wheeler
Confederate Cavalry Commander Joe Wheeler was assigned the task of keeping the 12,000 Union soldiers of Union II Corps out of the battle. Wheeler had about 1,200 cavalrymen and two small smoothbore cannon under his command. Using hit-and-run tactics, he successfully kept Union II Corps from being a factor in the battle of Perryville.

5:30 PM, Gooding Saves the Day
Colonel Michael Gooding’s
The Battle of Perryville Trail Map image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bradley Owen, February 24, 2021
3. The Battle of Perryville Trail Map
Provided by the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.
Brigade was sent from III Corps just before sundown to assist the embattled I Corps. He slammed into the Confederates at the intersection of the Mackville and Benton Roads. The Confederates had just captured this intersection and had almost completely isolated Union I Corps from the rest of the army. Gooding recaptured the intersection and stabilized the Union line before darkness ended the battle. Gooding was wounded and his brigade lost one third of its men in the desperate struggle that lasted less than 30 minutes. One of Gooding’s regiments, the 22nd Indiana Infantry, lost 65% of their men.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1935.
 
Location. 37° 40.49′ N, 84° 58.255′ W. Marker is in Perryville, Kentucky, in Boyle County. Marker can be reached from Park Road, 0.3 miles west of Battlefield Road (Kentucky Route 1920). Located in Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Perryville KY 40468, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Perryville Battlefield (a few steps from this marker); Perryville Confederate Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Squire Henry P. Bottom (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Union Monument
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(within shouting distance of this marker); Army of the Ohio (within shouting distance of this marker); Perryville and the Emancipation Proclamation (within shouting distance of this marker); Soldiers' Reaction to Lincoln's Emancipation (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Perryville.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on May 18, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 22, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,045 times since then and 26 times this year. Last updated on January 21, 2019, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on August 22, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.   3. submitted on February 24, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024