Assault From The Bottom House

Assault From The Bottom House. Perryville . The Battle For Kentucky. They were outnumbered, but they were ready. Watching from the top of the hill across the road, members of the 3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment saw waves of attacking Confederate infantry moving toward them. These Federal soldiers, anchoring the southern end of the Union defensive line, knew that they had to hold their position., With a cheer, a Confederate brigade led by Brigadier General Bushrod Johnson charged the hill. The obstinate Union defenders halted the Confederate advance halfway up the slope, where the Confederates took shelter behind a stone wall. For more than an hour they battled, until the Confederates ran out of ammunition and withdrew., The fight was not over for the stubborn Union troops. As Johnson departed, another Confederate brigade, led by Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne, entered the fray. With Southern artillery pounding the top of the hill, Cleburne's men attacked., While the Union soldiers held, a Confederate artillery shell struck a hay-filled barn at the end of the Federal line. Within minutes, red and yellow flames shot out from the doors, windows, and rafters as a column of dark smoke coiled skyward. The fire gained in intensity, and several wounded Federal soldiers who had crawled into the barn perished in the flames., (i>(captions) , Colonel William Haines Lytle (November 2, 1826 - September 20, 1863) Commanded the Union 17th Brigade. He was badly wounded at tte Battle of Perryville and was killed almost a year leter at the Battle of Chickamauga., This 1865 painting, part of a much larger panorama painted by William D.T. Travis, shows the assault from the Bottom House as it appeared from the ground in front of you.