The Cornfield

The Cornfield. Perryville . The Battle For Kentucky. , During the Battle of Perryville, a field of high cornstalks, brown and dry from a severe drought, covered this valley. Obscured among the corn, 663 members of the 21st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment waited. New recruits, in the army for less than a month, many had never fired a rifle in battle., It must have been a terrifying experience. For more than an hour they listened as Terrill’s brigade battled Maney’s soldiers for control of the hill above the field. Then, as the roar of battle crested the ridge, Terrill’s panicked, retreating soldiers burst through the corn. While many found the courage to hold their ground, some of the Wisconsin soldiers blended with Terrill’s brigade and fled., As the Confederates advanced, Union artillery positioned on the hill in front of you, fired into the advancing Confederates. The Unions' wooden sabots fell in the corn, killing and wounding the unfortunate members of the 21st. Victimized by fire from both armies, the Wisconsinites fired only once before retreating. During the brief, chaotic struggle, all of the officers from the 21st Wisconsin were killed or wounded., With the Union soldiers driven from the cornfield, The Confederate brigade continued their attack toward Starkweather’s Hill., I looked for the front. All at once I saw a rebel flag above the cornstalks and not far away neither. I sat down on my right knee and said as loud as I could: Boys be ready! they are coming! They got on their knees; some looked forward, some back at me. Instinctively I yelled: Why don't we fire? "I looked to the right, [the] Colonel was not there; I looked to the left, [the] Major was not there. I leveled my rifle at some butternut colored jacked which I saw among the stalks. Instantly the Company. followed suit. The rebs staggered a little and in their turn saluted. , - Union Soldier John H. Otto, 21st Wisconsin Infantry, After the belt of woods was passed, we entered a cornfield; the enemy followed sharply and their bullets cut stalk and leaf and rattled the kernels from the drooping ears beside us, every now and then claiming a victim. , - Albion Tourgee, 105th Ohio Infantry, U.S., (Captions):, Christian Weinman, 21st Wisconsin - Mortally Wounded, "The Cornfield" by John Cleveland