Victory!

Victory!. Mill Springs Battlefield. , The Last Minutes of the Battle , Union commander General George H. Thomas described the last minutes of the battle: "The 12th Kentucky . . . and the Tennessee brigade reached the field to the left of the Minnesota regiment, and opened fire on the right flank of the enemy, who began to fall back. The 2nd Minnesota kept up a most galling fire in front, and the 9th Ohio charged the enemy on the right with bayonets fixed, turned their flank, and drove them from the field, the whole giving way and retreating in the utmost disorder and confusion." , Like Chaff Before the Wind , Colonel Speed Fry, 4th Kentucky (U.S.) wrote, "the enemy gave way, flying before our forces like chaff before the wind." His men replenished their cartridge-boxes, gathered up their wounded, and joined in the pursuit of the retreating Confederates. , In their haste to reach the camp at Beech Grove, the Confederates left their dead and wounded on the field. The road south was strewn with muskets, swords, knapsacks, blankets and provisions. Wagons and cannons stood abandoned. , A Most Complete Defeat , The fighting here was violent and bloody-especially so, considering the inexperience of nearly all of the soldiers on both sides. Only when the Confederate line collapsed was the unseasoned nature of that force exposed. The rout of the Southerners at Mill Springs was one of the most complete defeats suffered by a Confederate army during the Civil War. , Drawing inset , The Federals and Confederates on both sides of the Mill Springs road struggled to gain the upper hand. By late morning the better-armed Union troops had prevailed. When the Union army flanked the Confederates, frustration with their ineffective, outdated weapons turned to panic and they ran. , Photo caption: Union commander Gen. George H. Thomas was a West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican War.