(Here's another one for the History Lovers out there.)
This is seriously one of the most important battles of the Civil War, that people seem to forget about it. This was the largest battle fought in the state of Kentucky, and it actually helped change the course of the War, just as Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg did. In fact, this fight occurred just about three weeks after Antietam. It all started when Confederate General Braxton Bragg decided to launch an invasion of Kentucky during August of 1862.
Perryville, Kentucky is a very small town located in Boyle County of no more than 800 people. It was here that one of the Civil War's bloodiest engagements took place. At the time of the Battle of Perryville, the central Kentucky area had been experiencing a severe drought for several months. As a result, the battle had an interesting start: the fight started over getting water. Several pools of water were found at a small creek known as Doctor's Creek, a small tributary of Kentucky's Chaplin River, and the skirmishers of the opposing forces ran in to each other here on the night of October 7, 1862.
The battle occurred the next afternoon on October 8. At this time, there were over 16,000 Southern Confederates, and more than 58,000 Midwestern Federals on the field. The entirety of the fighting happened on the Union Army of the Ohio's left flank (or end). This was the 1st Corps of around 22,000 Union soldiers. Lined up along a ridge, these were mostly green, inexperienced recruits. The battle began at about 2:00 PM in the afternoon, with the attacks of Confederate brigades (large groups of infantry/foot soldiers) under General's Maney, Donelson, and Johnson being carried out until nightfall. They were all under the command of Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham, who led the entire division. The Rebels were also reinforced by the brigade of General Liddell during the final hours of the engagement. Unlike most of the Union troops, these Confederates were seasoned veterans.
The Confederates pushed Union brigades back off the first ridge, and then another, until the forces finally stood their ground backed by artillery guns and halted the advance of the tired Southerners. The fighting was also more intense here then a lot of battles and skirmishes of the Civil War. In one account, it was said that "the fighting became so heavy that the slopes of the hills became slippery with blood."
One of the most shocking aspects about this considerably-unknown fight is that the other two Union Corps of about 36,000 men were actually held at bay and never entered the fighting because of skirmishing by 1,000 Southern Cavalrymen under Joseph Wheeler. His presence was actually enough to prevent those Union soldiers that more than doubled the Rebels from swinging around and crushing them. The Confederates finally withdrew on the night of October 8th when they realized they were outnumbered by several times the size of their force. Casualties where very high: The Union defenders lost an estimated 845 killed, over 2,800 wounded, and around 500 captured. Southern Confederate casualties, though a little bit lighter, were still quite much: They suffered roughly 510 killed, 2,600 wounded, and more than 200 captured as prisoners-of-war.
This is seriously one of the most important battles of the Civil War, that people seem to forget about it. This was the largest battle fought in the state of Kentucky, and it actually helped change the course of the War, just as Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg did. In fact, this fight occurred just about three weeks after Antietam. It all started when Confederate General Braxton Bragg decided to launch an invasion of Kentucky during August of 1862.
Perryville, Kentucky is a very small town located in Boyle County of no more than 800 people. It was here that one of the Civil War's bloodiest engagements took place. At the time of the Battle of Perryville, the central Kentucky area had been experiencing a severe drought for several months. As a result, the battle had an interesting start: the fight started over getting water. Several pools of water were found at a small creek known as Doctor's Creek, a small tributary of Kentucky's Chaplin River, and the skirmishers of the opposing forces ran in to each other here on the night of October 7, 1862.
The battle occurred the next afternoon on October 8. At this time, there were over 16,000 Southern Confederates, and more than 58,000 Midwestern Federals on the field. The entirety of the fighting happened on the Union Army of the Ohio's left flank (or end). This was the 1st Corps of around 22,000 Union soldiers. Lined up along a ridge, these were mostly green, inexperienced recruits. The battle began at about 2:00 PM in the afternoon, with the attacks of Confederate brigades (large groups of infantry/foot soldiers) under General's Maney, Donelson, and Johnson being carried out until nightfall. They were all under the command of Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham, who led the entire division. The Rebels were also reinforced by the brigade of General Liddell during the final hours of the engagement. Unlike most of the Union troops, these Confederates were seasoned veterans.
The Confederates pushed Union brigades back off the first ridge, and then another, until the forces finally stood their ground backed by artillery guns and halted the advance of the tired Southerners. The fighting was also more intense here then a lot of battles and skirmishes of the Civil War. In one account, it was said that "the fighting became so heavy that the slopes of the hills became slippery with blood."
One of the most shocking aspects about this considerably-unknown fight is that the other two Union Corps of about 36,000 men were actually held at bay and never entered the fighting because of skirmishing by 1,000 Southern Cavalrymen under Joseph Wheeler. His presence was actually enough to prevent those Union soldiers that more than doubled the Rebels from swinging around and crushing them. The Confederates finally withdrew on the night of October 8th when they realized they were outnumbered by several times the size of their force. Casualties where very high: The Union defenders lost an estimated 845 killed, over 2,800 wounded, and around 500 captured. Southern Confederate casualties, though a little bit lighter, were still quite much: They suffered roughly 510 killed, 2,600 wounded, and more than 200 captured as prisoners-of-war.
The Battle of Perryville is very important and it is an event in American history that a lot more people should know about. The schools should be teaching it as well. If the Confederates had won this battle, or if they were able to link up with the estimated 30,000 troops and General Edmund Kirby Smith at Harrodsburg, the War could have turned out completely different.
This would not only of had the potential to change the course of the war, but even decide the fate of the Nation if the situation continued to progress in favor of the Southern Rebels. Even President Abraham Lincoln himself declared that "To lose Kentucky, is to lose the whole game."
(I KNOW THAT THIS WAS LONG, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO EXPLAIN THE BATTLE IN DETAIL AND THE SITUATION AT THE TIME.)
This would not only of had the potential to change the course of the war, but even decide the fate of the Nation if the situation continued to progress in favor of the Southern Rebels. Even President Abraham Lincoln himself declared that "To lose Kentucky, is to lose the whole game."
(I KNOW THAT THIS WAS LONG, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO EXPLAIN THE BATTLE IN DETAIL AND THE SITUATION AT THE TIME.)
by Union Infantry Reenactor December 16, 2004
Get the Battle of Perryville mug.That bitch wouldn't have a bubble blowing contest with me after we got done using the Battle Mountain gumballs.
by grizzlygibb September 27, 2009
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Have you heard of Battlefield 3 already? That poor Bobby Kotick would wish he would've worked for EA instead of Activision.
by shockdude June 9, 2011
Get the Battlefield 3 mug.A game deemed beter that call of duty ( cod ).
Developer: DICE
Publisher: Electronic Arts ( EA )
"Battlefield 3 players step into the role of the elite U.S Marines where they will experience heart-pounding single player missions and competitive multiplayer actions raging across diverse locations from around the globe including Paris, Tehran and New York.
The game features a top of the range physics engine ( FROSTBITE 2 ) which enables, unlike many other games the player to experience breath-taking destruction
Developer: DICE
Publisher: Electronic Arts ( EA )
"Battlefield 3 players step into the role of the elite U.S Marines where they will experience heart-pounding single player missions and competitive multiplayer actions raging across diverse locations from around the globe including Paris, Tehran and New York.
The game features a top of the range physics engine ( FROSTBITE 2 ) which enables, unlike many other games the player to experience breath-taking destruction
dude 1 : did you see the explosion last night?
dude 2 : yer as soon as i played battlefield 3 my call of duty imploded
dude 2 : yer as soon as i played battlefield 3 my call of duty imploded
by The xbox reviewer October 30, 2011
Get the battlefield 3 mug.A decisive battle during the Second World War in which, surrounded, American troops sent out underwear model Richard Couverant to engage in one-on-one combat with model Heinrich Herzog. The bout culminated in a sword fight between their semi-erect Wilhelms. Upon seeing this, American general Anthony McAuliffe responded with a succinct: "Nuts." The win was a gamechanger for the Americans, who coerced the Germans into signing an agreement that not only would the war end, but that the DeutscheBescheidenheit Kompanie would be renamed to Calvin-Klein, a name chosen for it's being "a little American; a little German." Acclaimed war photographer Robert Capa was scheduled to shoot the event but was rebooked by clients in Normandy. In lieu of him, the military hired fashion photographer Richard Avedon. Unfortunately, to preserve the fighters' integrity, the treaty required the negatives to be burnt. Despite this, the event is survived in print due to a soldier who totally snuck a pic while no one was looking.
by yourcreepygrandpadavidlynch July 13, 2015
Get the Battle of the Bulge mug.A piss poor school that is practically living off of welfare and Kellogg funds. Good sports program but no one seems to graduate. Loses all their students to Lakeview because they were either expelled for fighting or bagged grass up and sold it as that bomber ass cheesecake kush. Practically 90% Blacks, 5% Thots, 5% White kids who mysteriously can say nigga.
“You wanna go to Battle Creek Central to watch the varsity game?”
“No Linda, remember we are fucking white”
“No Linda, remember we are fucking white”
by ChickenCockAndTatterTots June 28, 2019
Get the Battle Creek Central mug.Two post-pubescent males watch the same sexually stimulating act (eg. porn video, strip tease, pole dance) with sweat pants/gym shorts on. The male who gets a full erection first loses the battle.
by 3FWW November 1, 2010
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