American Civil War Battlefields

Perryville, KY

Fall Field Trip to Perryville

October 28, 2018              

Text and Photos courtesy of LCWRT Member John Davis

On Sunday, October 28, twenty-four members and guests of the Louisville Civil War Round Table gathered at the visitor’s center and museum in Perryville to learn about the battle that occurred there on October 8, 1862. The weather was cool and cloudy as we began the tour under the guidance of Perryville historian Chuck Lott. We walked from the visitor’s center to the place where Confederate brigades from Cheatham’s division deployed in line of battle around 2:30 PM searching for the Union left flank which consisted mostly of men from Alexander McCook’s 1^st Corp. From there, we would walk the battlefield following the action in the order it occurred that October afternoon.

Thanks to the efforts of preservationists and especially the Civil War Trust (now the American Battlefield Trust) the park encompasses 1100 acres with 150 more coming. You cannot appreciate this battle and how it unfolded unless you come and walk these rolling hills over which the fighting occurred. The steep hills separated by narrow hollows made for difficult maneuvering for the armies. 

Confederate Monument, Perryville 

When the wind picked up and began gusting and howling just as it did on the day of battle, we could understand how Don Carlos Buell did not hear the battle that was underway just over two miles from his headquarters. As a result of this ‘acoustic shadow’, nearly two thirds of the Federal army were never engaged allowing the much smaller Confederate force to drive the Union left flank in before darkness brought a halt to the fight. We followed in the footsteps of the Confederate assault on the Union far left flank up and down one hill after another and through a now famous cornfield where a Wisconsin regiment made a stand before falling back. We passed the sites of where Union Generals William Terrill and James Jackson fell mortally wounded. 

We halted at noon and returned to the visitor’s center for a very good boxed lunch provided by the Great American Deli of Danville. In the windy afternoon, we followed the  Confederate attacks that took place on the Union center and right flanks by divisions under the leadership of Patton Anderson and Simon Buckner that were finally halted at dark. After walking nearly four miles of hills and valleys, we retreated to the visitor’s center tired but filled with a renewed appreciation of this important battle and the land over which it was fought.