The H.P. Bottom House

The H.P. Bottom House. Perryville . The Battle For Kentucky. , During the battle, more than 7500 soldiers were killed or wounded. The town's 300 inhabitants were left to bury the dead, care for the injured, and repair their homes after months of post-battle occupation., Perhaps no civilian suffered more than Henry P. Bottom, a farmer and cabinetmaker who lived in the house across the road. The battle wiped out Bottom's farming operations. His property was damaged during the fighting and soldiers on both sides confiscated his livestock and food., When the thousands of soldiers converged on his farm, Bottom lost 9 cows, 30 sheep, 8540 pounds of pork, 4500 pounds of bacon, 1300 fence rails, 3000 bushels of corn, 22 tons of hay, 50 bushels of oats, and 2 horses. In 1862, the amount of his lost or destroyed property totaled $4862.00, a large amount for that time., The house was caught in the crossfire during the fighting, and was so severely damaged that the wood siding had to be replaced. His home was also one of the main field hospitals in this area. Bullet holes in the walls and bloodstains on the floors still remain in the house., An excerpt from the War Claim testimony:, Charles C. Fox: Did Henry P. Bottom ever recover from the losses which he suffered at that time?, Dr. John B. Bolling: No sir, he never did. He was broken in spirit (unreadable) on until he died., (Sidebar):, The house, tents and yard were full of wounded Federal and Confederate soldiers. I can never forget the groans, wails and moans of these hundreds of men as they lay side by side, some in the agony of death, some undergoing operations on the surgeon's table in one corner of the yard. Near the table was a pile of legs and arms; some with shoes on, some with socks, four or five feet high. In the orchard back of the house the dead were being gathered from all parts of the battlefield, and were laid along side by side on their backs, in a row three hundred feet long, everyone with eyes open with a vacant stare while hundreds of soldiers were digging a trench several feet wide, in which the dead were laid close together and their faces covered with a coffee sack, after which their bodies were covered with dirt. , - William Caldwell McChord, The H. P. Bottom House is a private residence. Please do not trespass on the property., (Captions), Henry P. Bottom at the age of 90, This photograph taken in 1885, shows that the H.P. Bottom House has not changed much since the Battle of Perryville.