Carnes' Battery

Carnes' Battery. Perryville . The Battle For Kentucky. , Captain William Watts Carnes had just turned 22 years old when the Battle of Perryville was fought. A student at the United States Naval Academy when the Civil War began he resigned and joined Jackson's Tennessee Battery as a lieutenant. He was soon promoted to captain and the battery bore his name until, late in the war, he transferred to the Confederate States Navy with the rank of lieutenant., Carnes' Battery was assigned to Daniel Donelson's 1st Brigade, Benjamin F. Cheatham's 1st Division, of Leonidas Polk's Right Wing of Braxton Bragg's Army of the Mississippi. When the brigade was moving towards its assigned position down the dry bed of the Chaplin river, one of his horse teams became entangled in a fence post. The resulting delay caused the rest of the brigade to move on. Just at that time, an artillery battery was needed to counter the Union batteries assembling in the distance. Carnes was ordered to the front., Arriving at this point, supported by the 8th and 51st Tennessee Infantry Regiments, Carnes opened fire against, first Loomis Michigan battery, then Simonson's Indiana Battery. These shots fired from here were the first fired in the main part of the Battle of Perryville. Carnes shells could barely reach the Yankees, since the distance of a mile was technically beyond the range of his guns. The Yankee cannon opposing him were rifled. Exploding shells were soon landing in and around the Tennesseans. After some time, Carnes was relieved by Stanford's Mississippi Battery since the Mississippi battery was armed with rifled cannons., After a short rest and some minor repairs, Carnes then advanced forward in an attempt to join up with the rest of his brigade which, by that time was heavily engaged. Failing to do so, Carnes was met by Colonel John Wharton, commanding the cavalry brigade. Carnes' battery as well as the 8th and 51st Infantry Regiments were then lead, by Wharton, over a mile and a half from here around the northern flank of the Union army. From that point, Carnes was able to lay down a devastating fire down the Yankee lines. One of Carnes' shells struck and killed Union General W.R. Terrill., In passing through a farm gate, one of my teams ran afoul of a gatepost, and there was some delay getting clear, while the infantry passed on. While so delayed, an officer hastily rode up and told Gen. Leonidas Polk, who with his staff was nearby, that General Wood very urgently asked for a battery of artillery on his line as he could see Federal artillery ready to open on him from the woods across open fields between them. Our battery being then ready to move, Genaral Polk directed me to follow the officer (named Judson, as I remember) and report to General Wood". , Captain W. W. Carnes, Carnes' Tennessee Battery., "When we reached the position . . . the guns were unlimbered and formed in battery front for action just in the edge of heavy timber, with an open valley in front, across which, in the edge of the woods opposite, our field glasses showed the battery that had caused the call for us; but there had been no firing up to that time. We were ordered to open fire. We first took full time to estimate the distance and instruct the gunners about cutting the time fuses of our shell and shrapnel shot, and then began firing as ordered." , Captain W. W Carnes, Carnes' Tennessee Battery., "I was instructed by an onder from General Cheatham to withdraw beyond range, repair damages, and await orders. Moving back to open ground near a cornfield, we replaced horses killed or hurt, rearranged all details, and then fed our horses with corn from the adjacent field." , Captain W. W. Carnes, Carnes' Tennessee Battery., Carnes' Battery was armed with four, 6-pounder smoothbore cannon. Carnes was completely outmatched against Loomis' 1st Michigan Battery and the rifled section of Simonson's 5th Indiana Battery. These batteries engaged Captain Carnes with 8 rifled cannon that could shoot up to 5,000 yards. Carnes' guns had a maximum effective range of 1,523 yards with solid shot and only 1,200 yards with shell. Both Yankee batteries were almost exactly a mile away. A mile is 1,760 yards., (Photo Caption):, Captain William W. Carnes , 9/18/1841 - 5/26/1932, (Photo Points of Reference Descriptions):, Cyrus Loomis' 1st Michigan Battery 1,750 Yards, Peter Simonson's 5th Indiana Battery 1,700 Yards, Samuel Harris' 19th Indiana Battery 2,300 Yards, John Starkweather's Artillery Batteries (Stone's 1st KY and Bush's 4th IN) 1,870 Yards, Charles Parsons' Improvised Battery 1,720 Yards