Mill Springs and the Civil War

Mill Springs and the Civil War. Mill Springs Battlefield. , An Oasis for Zollicoffer's Army , In November 1861, Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer ordered captains Thomas Estill and Victor Von Sheliha to find a base camp on the Cumberland River. They chose Mill Springs, which had abundant food, forage, grist and saw mills, and a ferry. On November 29, Zollicoffer marched his Confederate army into this rich, fertile valley. "We have here an abundance of beef, pork, and corn, at low prices, he wrote, adding, The better classes of citizens sympathize with us." , Calm Before the Storm , The abundant resources boosted the spirits of Zollicoffer's foot-sore army. The raw soldiers drilled and became a fighting force. Mounted patrols rode north from Beech Grove across the river, seeking the Union army. The eyes of the United States and the Confederacy were on this corner of Kentucky, where Zollicoffer's army held the eastern end of the line that delineated the northern extent of the new Confederate nation. , Swept by War , The quiet was shattered on January 19, 1862. Ten miles north of here two armies clashed at the Battle of Mill Springs. After the Confederate defeat, hundreds of wounded men came here for medical care. According to the New York Herald, ". . . every house, hut, hovel and stable was filled with wounded soldiers." Mill Springs experienced the horror of war in the battle's bloody aftermath., Over the course of the war, hundreds of soldiers passed through Mill Springs, Union garrison troops, Confederate cavalry and guerrillas. In March 1863, Confederate General John Pegram's cavalry fought an engagement here. That summer, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry rode through the county at the beginning of Morgan's raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio., Photo captions:Top left: Gen. Felix Kirk Zollicoffer was a newspaper editor in Nashville before the war. , Middle map: This illustration is based on a map drawn by a Union engineer. The map appeared in the New York Herald three days after the Battle of Mill Springs.