|
|
The Battle of Perryville |
|
| October 8, 1862 |
Moving to recover eastern Tennessee and hoping to bring the border state of Kentucky into the Confederacy, GEN Braxton Bragg led his army (32,000+ men - soon to be known as the Army of Tennessee) north from Chattanooga in mid-August 1862. Operating with MG Edmund Kirby Smith's command in East Tennessee (18,000+ men), Bragg's twofold invasion of Kentucky scored an initial success at Richmond, TN (30 August) where Kirby Smith, marching swiftly from Knoxville, TN, overwhelmed a division of raw Federal recruits. Slow to respond to the Confederate threat, the Union Army of the Ohio (MG Don Carlos Buell, commanding) fell back toward Louisville on the Ohio River. Reinforced by Grant (two divisions from Rosecrans giving the Army of the Ohio 50,000+ men) and prodded by Washington (Buell was faced with removal), the Army of the Ohio finally advanced from Louisville to confront portions of Bragg's army concentrating in the vicinity of Perryville. Buell hoped to engage Bragg before he could link-up with Kirby Smith's forces in the Lexington-Frankfort area. But Bragg welcomed an attack knowing that only the Union Army of the Ohio stood in the way of the South controlling most of Kentucky. The ensuing Battle of Perryville was the largest and most costly (heavy casualties) confrontation of the War in Kentucky. Moreover, the battle (8 October) was fought only between portions of Bragg's army (16,000+ men - MG Leonidas Polk, the former Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana and MG William Joseph Hardee, commanding) and Buell's army (36,000+ men - MG Alexander McD. McCook and MG Charles C. Gilbert, corps commanders and BG Philip H. Sheridan, division commander). GEN Bragg was in Frankfort for the installation of a provisional Confederate government of Kentucky. MG Buell spent most of the day at headquarters unaware that a major battle was being fought (unusual atmospheric conditions kept the battle noise from reaching him and elements of his command). The fighting at Perryville, lasting most of the day and ending in a tactical draw, resulted in a strategic victory for the North. Unwilling to renew the engagement with the larger Federal army to his front and aware of the Confederate defeat at Corinth, Mississippi (3-4 October), Bragg retreated from Kentucky into Tennessee, ending his ambitious invasion. The border state of Kentucky would remain in Union hands for the duration of the War. Buell's pursuit of Bragg - slow, unenthusiastic, and ultimately abandoned - met with considerable disfavor in Washington. On 24 October President Lincoln replaced Buell with MG William S. Rosecrans, and the Army of the Ohio was renamed the Army of the Cumberland. Estimated Casualties: Union - 3,696+; Confederate - 3,145+.
Notes:
Numbers in parentheses reflect estimated strength of armies or units.
Estimated casualty figures are totals for killed, wounded, missing in action, and taken prisoner.
Alternative names of battles and campaigns appear in parentheses.
Military and naval rank abbreviations in text: LT - Lieutenant, CPT - Captain, MAJ - Major, LTC - Lieutenant Colonel, CDR - Commander (Navy), COL - Colonel, BG - Brigadier General, MG - Major General, RADM - Rear Admiral (Navy), LTG - Lieutenant General, VADM - Vice Admiral (Navy), and GEN - General.
Army Organization: Although authorized and actual strength and the rank of the commanding officer often varied, the standard military unit during the War was the infantry regiment (1,000 men, COL commanding) which was comprised of 10 companies (100 men each, CPT commanding). 3-4 Regiments = 1 Brigade (3,000-4000 men, BG commanding). 3 (sometimes 4) Brigades = 1 Division (9000-12,000 men, BG or MG commanding). 2-4 (usually 3) Divisions = 1 Corps (18,000-24,000+ men, MG - North and MG or LTG -South commanding). 2 or more Corps = An Army (usually 20,000-100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding). 2 or more Armies = An Army Group (usually 100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding).
Sources:
Atlas for the American Civil War, The West Point Military History Series, 1986.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, by James M. McPherson. 1988.
Battlefields of the Civil War, by Roger W. Hicks and Frances E. Schultz. 1989.
The Centennial History of the Civil War, 3 Vols., by Bruce Catton. 1961-65.
The Civil War (Series), Editors of Time-Life Books. 1983.
The Civil War: A Narrative, 3 Vols., by Shelby Foote. 1958-1974.
The Civil War: An Illustrated History, by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns. 1990.
The Civil War Battlefield Guide, Ed. by Frances H. Kennedy. 1990.
The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, by E.B. Long with Barbara Long. 1971.
The Encyclopedia of Military History, Second Rev. Ed., by R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy. 1986.
West Point Atlas of American Wars, Vol. I, Ed. by Vincent J. Esposito. 1959.
Who Was Who in the Civil War, by Stewart Sifakis. 1988.
Photographs courtesy of The Generals of the American Civil War Website.
