Buell caught up with the Confederates outside of Perryville on October 7. Bragg
was installing a provisional government in Frankfort, so General Leonidas Polk
deployed the Confederate army in front of the Union lines west of Perryville.
Bragg arrived the next morning around 10 a.m., perturbed because Polk had not
yet attacked the Yankees. Bragg did not realize the size of the force he faced--he
assumed it was a single corps and not the bulk of Buell's army. He ordered a
strike for the early afternoon, hoping to fold the Union left flank back upon the
rest of the army. The plan nearly worked. The assault drove Federals under the
command of Alexander McCook back in disarray, and an acoustic shadow
prevented Buell, who was two miles away, from hearing the battle. When Buell
was finally alerted, he rode forward and directed two brigades to effectively
shore up McCook's sagging line. A smaller Confederate attack against the right
side of the Yankee line was turned back, and nightfall halted the fighting.
Realizing that he was outnumbered, Bragg began a withdrawal.
The losses were heavy. Of 23,000 Yankees engaged in the battle, 4,200 were
killed, wounded, or missing; of 15,000 Confederates involved, 3,400 were lost.
Bragg retreated south to rejoin Smith, and the Confederates slipped back to
Tennessee through the Cumberland Gap. Buell did not pursue, and as a result
he was replaced by General William Rosecrans. The Confederates abandoned
the invasion of Kentucky and it remained firmly in Federal hands for the rest of
the war.
BACK
October 8, 1862
Battle of Perryville
The Confederate invasion of Kentucky stalls when Union General Don Carlos
Buell stops General Braxton Bragg at Perryville.
In August, two Confederate forces, commanded by Bragg and General
Edmund Kirby Smith, entered Kentucky. The Rebels hoped to raise troops
and recoup territory lost during the summer. The invasion started well when
Bragg captured a Yankee garrison at Mumfordsville on August 28 and Smith
routed a Union force at Richmond on August 30. Despite the victories, the
Confederates were disappointed by the response they received from
Kentuckians. Bragg's army hauled 15,000 extra rifles to equip Kentuckians
they hoped would join the Rebel army, but Union sentiment and presence
were strong in the state. Buell's army had 78,000 men, and another 80,000
Federal recruits were drilling in Louisville and Cincinnati. With such a strong
Union presence, many Kentuckians were unwilling to take up with the
Confederacy.
Buell marched 58,000 men toward Bragg's army while he sent another 20,000
to confront Smith.
Battle of Perryville
The Confederate invasion of Kentucky stalls when Union General Don Carlos
Buell stops General Braxton Bragg at Perryville.
In August, two Confederate forces, commanded by Bragg and General
Edmund Kirby Smith, entered Kentucky. The Rebels hoped to raise troops
and recoup territory lost during the summer. The invasion started well when
Bragg captured a Yankee garrison at Mumfordsville on August 28 and Smith
routed a Union force at Richmond on August 30. Despite the victories, the
Confederates were disappointed by the response they received from
Kentuckians. Bragg's army hauled 15,000 extra rifles to equip Kentuckians
they hoped would join the Rebel army, but Union sentiment and presence
were strong in the state. Buell's army had 78,000 men, and another 80,000
Federal recruits were drilling in Louisville and Cincinnati. With such a strong
Union presence, many Kentuckians were unwilling to take up with the
Confederacy.
Buell marched 58,000 men toward Bragg's army while he sent another 20,000
to confront Smith.
