Bottom's Burned Barn

Bottom's Burned Barn. Perryville . The Battle For Kentucky. , Since about 10:00 in the morning, William H. Lytle's brigade had taken up position on the right flank of Union 1st Corps commanded by General Alexander M. McCook. The 3rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, supported by the 15th Kentucky infantry, were positioned in Henry P. Bottom's barn yard overlooking Henry Bottom's House. They were on the extreme right flank of 1st Corps. Although arrayed in battle formation, they didn't expect to do battle that day. They believed that, as had been the case for the last week, the Confederates were retreating to the northeast, towards Harrodsburg. Since there appeared little threat to their front, another regiment, the 42nd Indiana, was sent forward to the semi-dry bed of Doctor's Creek to rest, boil some coffee, and fill their empty canteens in the drought-stricken area. Suddenly, the calm was broken by a fusillade of Confederate artillery shot and shell landing all around. Soon after, two heavily supported Confederate Infantry brigades came out of the woods and attacked towards the 3rd Ohio and the 15th Kentucky, driving the hapless 42nd Indiana in a panic from the creek bed. The Confederates had problems too. Bushrod R. Johnson's Confederate brigade was assigned to attack this area. The Confederates became mixed and disorganized by the cliffs along the creek, just to the north of the road as well as other terrain features. At the same time, another Confederate brigade under the command of Daniel W. Adams was approaching the area from the southeast. When these two brigades collided where the road crosses the creek, there was extra confusion causing them to fire at each other, both brigades thinking the other was the enemy. This was soon worked out and soon both Johnson and Adams began their coordinated attack on the 3rd Ohio and the 15th Kentucky. There were just over 1,000 Union soldiers in the barn yard, being attacked on three sides by almost 3,500 veteran Confederates. As the 3rd Ohio was desperately trying to hold the line, Confederate artillery fire caught Henry Bottom's barn on fire. The strong southerly wind blew the smoke right up the Union battle line. Many wounded from the 3rd Ohio were too weak to pull themselves out of the barn and perished in the flames. Not only was the barn on fire, but the drought-starved vegetation on the whole hillside was also in flames. The battle lines were only 60 yards apart. The Confederates were protected by a stone wall, but the 3rd Ohio was protected only by a post and rail fence. The 3rd Ohio held the line. All the time, messengers from the 15th Kentucky were offering to advance from their reserve position and relieve the 3rd Ohio on the firing line. After about 30 minutes of horrendous fire, the 3rd Ohio then acquiesced to the wishes of the Kentuckians and withdrew. The 15th Kentucky then held the line behind the post and rail fence, the smoke from the burning barn still choked and blinded them. After about another 30 minutes, the 15th Kentucky was forces back when some of Daniel Adam's men, using the creek for cover, positioned themselves behind the Yankees. Bushrod Johnson's supporting brigade, commanded by Patrick Cleburne, at about the same time, broke the Union positions more towards the north, forcing the entire Union line in that area to crumble and fall back. The Confederates forced the Union soldiers back another third of a mile west to the Dixville Crossroads, where darkness ended the battle. The two Union regiments suffered almost 400 casualties (40%)., Our line was steadfastly maintained until the barn on our right, was fired by a shell from the enemy's batteries, and in a few minutes the heat became so intense that my right was compelled to fall back. After rallying we were relieved by the Fifteenth Kentucky, Colonel Curran Pope, and our ammunition being nearly exhausted, we retired to the bottom of the hill. Soon after I sent Companies A, D, and F to act in conjunction with two companies of the Fifteenth Kentucky in endeavoring to hold a fence which ran along the side of a field in which we had been fighting and perpendicular to our former line, but the fire of the enemy's battery, combined with that of his infantry, was so deadly that these men were again ordered to retire. - Col. John Beatty, 3d OH, We were by a small post-and-rail fence which had taken fire from the burning barn. It was falling on our dead, and the kind-hearted rebel captain removed them and put the fire out. I was a prisoner, with my left arm half torn off. - A.J. Hearld, 3d OH, The 3rd Ohio was placed on the brow of the same hill where the batteries were all placed, along a post and rail fence. A little to the right of their centre was a large barn filled with hay. This was immediately set on fire by the enemy's batteries, and caused intense trouble to the regiments during the whole day. - Col. Curran Pope, 15th KY, Our boys were partly covered by what was known as "Bottom's barn." Many of our wounded had crawled into this barn for protection, but a rebel shell exploding directly among the hay set the barn on fire, and several of our poor wounded boys perished in the flames. - Alf Burnett, War Correspondent, All along our front a solid line of dead and wounded lay, in some places three deep, extending to the right from the barn, which served for a temporary hospital for the wounded enemy. One of our batteries in our rear, in endeavoring to assist us, exploded a shell into this barn, fired it, and amid the clash of arms we heard the shrieks of the wounded as they burned. A flag of truce would have been respected, but none was raised; the barn was on their side, and the fight went on. - C.W. Frazer, 5th Confederate Infantry, (Captions):, A view of the battle around the burning barn; part of a 32-piece panorama painted by William D. T. Travis after the Civil War from on-the-spot sketches and memories accumulated while accompanying the army as a staff artist for Harper's Weekly and the New York Illustrated News., The flag of the 15th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry as it appears now. The hand-made flag still bears the scorch marks made by the burned barn. It now resides at the Kentucky Historical Society.