Churchill's Draw

Churchill's Draw. The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky. , The tree line in front of you marks the location of Churchill's Draw, a steep-sided, narrow gully formed by Mound Creek. The ways commanders use landscape features to gain the tactical advantage influences the way a battle unfolds, and its outcome. The Confederates used the Draw to flank Union forces near Mt. Zion Church., Good Luck or Good Intelligence? , Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith may have seen the Draw as he rode toward Kingston in the early morning hours of August 30, 1862. A local guide or a member of the Buckner Guards, a Kentucky detachment familiar with the area, may have provided the information. No one knows how the general learned of the Draw, but he recognized its military potential., The Turning Point , All battles have a pivotal moment when the outcome is decided. At Richmond, that moment came when Gen. Thomas J. Churchill's brigade emerged from the Draw. The Confederates slammed into Gen. Mahlon Manson's right flank near Mt. Zion Church, routing his army and sending it into a headlong retreat from which it never fully recovered. The veteran Confederate army rolled up the untested Federal soldiers, eventually pushing them all the way to Richmond. Kirby Smith's use of the Draw demonstrates the significance natural features play in the outcome of battles.