Kentucky Civil War

I think this bit from Arrested Development perfectly sums up the attitude of many of the Army of Northern Virginia’s general officers at Malvern Hill. They sent battery after battery piecemeal into the fight while the Army of the Potomac had dozens of guns ready to sweep the fields. Not only were these Confederate batteries severely outnumbered, but they were sorely outclassed in terms of skill and gun quality. Major oof moment for the Army of Northern Virginia. They took massive losses in guns and men that they could ill afford to lose. This Malvern Hill book coming out gives a great overview of this major blunder. I really like it so far and will talk more about it as it gets closer to release. For now, I continue the index!

I don’t know about some of you all, but I’m sick of the snow and ice. It just won’t go away and teaching online sucks. But the real thing I want to talk about is a book I indexed toward the end of last spring for Savas Beatie. Baptized by Fire, part one of a series on the famous 14th Brooklyn, covers their story from their formation to the end of 2nd Bull Run. It’s a great book, and probably the best looking nonfiction book on the inside. The pages are colored, with color images and maps. Just amazing to read. I’m looking forward to reading part two, and I definitely recommend this one. It’s top notch.

Also, while I’m on the subject of indexing…I’m currently doing another Eastern Theater book, and I have to say, I’m not that impressed with Jackson. I know he hit the point of exhaustion during the Seven Days, but man. He just ignores the concerns of some subordinates and orders them to do something anyway. Promptly and willingly. I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t feel too confident sending two four-gun batteries against a massed Union battery of 50 guns. I’ll talk more about this one when I’m finished. But it’s good so far!

Tonight we record Episode 27 with Sean Michael Chick. Our conversation will mostly center around the Battle of Shiloh. If you have questions, drop them in the comments below!

I’m venturing east here for a moment. Late last summer I had the opportunity to index this fine book. Joe is a super great guy, too. This book helped me understand the fight on Little Round Top in a way I had never really thought about. In this, the emphasis is mostly taken away from the 20th Maine and Chamberlain, and focuses on how the rocky hill was actually defended. Those Alabama boys were really in no shape to make the attack. They had marched dozens of miles just to get to Gettysburg, and then had to march even more to get to the launching point of the attack (with a counter march thrown in there too). A lack of water, missing a few companies, and having previously ascended Round Top, with some fighting, and then have to fight and try to take Little Round Too was just never going to allow them to be successful. It’s a pretty good book, and one I am proud to have on my shelf!

New book came in today. Looking forward to it!

With today being the anniversary of the Battle of Mill Springs, I have a couple of book recommendations. If you are a beginner, or just want a quick understanding of the battle, my friend Stuart has a wonderful book that you should get. If you want to get into all the details of the entire campaign, then go with Hafendorfer. It’s over 600 pages and will probably give you more than you really want. Both are highly recommended!

In continuing to highlight the books indexed last year, this was one of my favorites. The book is straight up beautiful inside and out and tells the amazing story of the 14th Brooklyn from their formation to 2nd Bull Run. Color images and maps, plus the pages themselves are not the regular white. Highly recommend this one.

In 2025, I started indexing books for Savas Beatie authors. Right now, I’m finishing up one for University of Tennessee Press, with another SB title on the horizon. It’s a fun side job. Indexing can be extremely tedious, but the way I look at it is that I get to read some great books and make a little money in the process. I’m going to start highlighting the ones I’ve indexed and let you know about them. First up is From Camp Douglas to Vicksburg: The Civil War Letters of William J. Kennedy. Kennedy was in the 55th Illinois and this book is mostly a collection of his letters to his wife. As you read it, it’s like you are getting into the man’s personal life and are a part of his family as you learn about the struggles, hardships, and sadness they face. At the end, you feel like you’ve actually lost some friends. I highly recommend it. Rachel Mellen edited the letters and put the collection together, and Dave Powell provided the historical context before each chapter. This is one you will really enjoy. Go grab it at Savas Beatie!

My favorite prewar images are of the Kentucky State Guard at Camp Boone in Louisville in 1860. I just wish there was more. In it, you can see different companies in line within their camps, and off to the left, is a stand for “refreshing ice cream.” Most, but not all, of these men later joined Confederate regiments in 1861–before and after the end of neutrality. The stage guard was well equipped and well drilled, and that definitely helped those Kentucky regiments early in the war.

Image: Steamboat Grampus in Confederate service.

“Events on the rivers also threatened to unravel Kentucky’s neutrality in the latter half of August. Even with gunboats engaging one another on the Mississippi River, civilian vessels still ventured south. Some evidently believed that if they stopped at Kentucky wharfs, then they would be safe from seizure by either side. However, military authorities had other plans as many of the civilian vessels served dual purposes. One unfortunate victim of these circumstances was a comedian by the name of “Yankee” Bierce of Lafayette, Indiana. Bierce had foolishly taken his comedic show to the waters of the Ohio and purchased a show boat. The vessel was safe as long as it stayed on the Ohio River, but something pushed Bierce to venture further south to Hickman. Perhaps there was an opportunity to wow an audience with his Shakespearean shows, wax figures, and stuffed, wild animals. While there, the boat encountered engine trouble and sat imobile.

Lurking in the same waters was the Grampus, a Confederate sidewheel steamer armed with two 12-pounder Napoleon guns and a number of Confederate soldiers commanded by Capt. Marshall J. Miller. Miller was of Mississippi River boatmen heritage and had offered the Grampus and his services to the Confederacy. The Grampus steamed north to Hickman on August 19th or 20th and found Bierce’s boat. Ignorant to Miller’s loyalties and true vocation, Bierce offered $500 to the captain if he would tow the showboat to Columbus. The bargain was agreed upon but as soon as the Grampus entered the middle of the river the connected boats steamed south instead of north. Bierce then “divined the movement, and immediately threw himself overboard and swam ashore.” The Grampus continued south with her prize and a stuffed lion and tiger on the pilot house. The men on board arrayed themselves in the costumes abandoned by Bierce, and at New Madrid charged ten cents for guests to view the spectacles on board. Miller, with yet another prize, turned the money and boat over to Gen. Pillow.”
-Next book.

Within Kentucky’s boisterous political climate in June 1861, a convention was held in Mayfield, the seat of Graves County. The Jackson Purchase region held what was possibly the strongest inclination for secession in the state. A large number of the region’s citizens were disappointed at Kentucky’s refusal to hold a secession convention, and resolved to settle the matter themselves. The seven Kentucky counties were joined by several from Tennessee to debate the possibility of a new Confederate state. These Kentuckians were frustrated by Kentucky’s refusal to secede, while Tennesseans grew tired of Tennessee’s slow walk to join the Confederacy even though it had already seceded.

As the delegates met in Mayfield, in what became known as the Mayfield Convention, a feeling of anxiety proliferated in Frankfort. Would Kentucky have to send its own forces to subdue its own people? Would that not mean that they were acting in the same way as the Federal government? Magoffin hoped to avoid such cataclysmic political questions. R. D. Gholson, former governor of the Washington Territory, urged the delegates to not tear apart the very fabric of Kentucky. By removing their own section from the state, they would destroy the whole. For 90 minutes he railed by candlelight at the Graves County courthouse, and argued that the proposal was contrary to state rights and state sovereignty, “the very thing for which the South was fighting.” Gholson believed the fighting around Kentucky would eventually rouse the people of the Commonwealth, and by the fall Kentucky would be the newest member of the southern Confederacy. Gholson was not arguing for complacency for the southwestern part of the state. He urged its men to form companies and go to Tennessee.

The Mayfield Convention, though it did not produce secession or move the state any closer to it, did show that Kentuckians valued their state over the Union or Confederacy. The delegates, through frustrated, would rather stand with Kentucky in her neutrality than see their state torn apart. Even Unionists throughout the state harbored the same feelings. At least most Kentuckians could at least agree to that.

*The longer and more detailed version can be found on the Western Theater site, and is part of my next book. I’ll link it in the comments.

on October 8, 1862 the Battle of Perryville erupts. Roughly 162 years ago today the battle for the state of Kentucky opened up. To gain a better understanding of the battle we will share brief experiences of three different units at the battle and what their Perryville was like. For starters let's look into the 13th Kentucky Infantry US.

The 13th was a seasoned unit within the Army of the Ohio. Raised from south central Kentucky, this unit saw prior service in the March to Nashville, Battle of Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, and Buell’s North Alabama Campaign. At the Battle of Perryville, the unit was within the II Corps under Union General Thomas L. Crittenden. For the 13th and many regiments within the II Crops, their experience at Perryville was filled with an unimaginable march from Louisville, filled with roasting heat, almost zero water, and long marches that never seemed to end. When they reached Perryville, the unit and many in the II Corps took up positions along the Lebanon Turnpike, far away from the central part of the action. For most of the battle, the 13th recuperated from their march and, on the following morning, moved toward the town where they saw the brutal aftermath.

The next unit we will discuss is the 12th Tennessee Infantry CS. The 12th was raised primarily from Western Tennessee. The regiment saw service in the Battles of Belmont and Shiloh. In the summer of 1862, the regiment was consolidated with the 22nd Tennessee Infantry but retained their original designation. At the Battle of Perryville, the 12th Tennessee, they belonged to Preston Smith’s brigade, the last large Confederate unit to arrive at Perryville on the morning of the 8th. For much of the battle, the regiment was held in reserve, waiting to be put into the central part of the action. However, towards the evening, they were called into the town where, for several vicious minutes, they engaged in a brutal street action with Federals trying to break the Confederate center. Only darkness ended the struggle. The following morning, they were selected to help cover the Confederate retreat from the battlefield.

Lastly, the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics battalion of companies A,C, & H. raised in the fall of 1861, the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics saw services as the engineering unit for the army of the Ohio, helping to clear roads, build bridges and ensure the armies supply lines were kept in working order, no easy task. At the Battle of Perryville, the regiment was divided among the I and II corps in the Federal army. The battalion above belonged to Lovell Rousseau's Division of the I Corps. This particular unit was held in reserve near the Russell House at the battle. However, towards the afternoon, the unit was called into action at the apex of the battle. Confusion and chaos around the Russell House made Federal commanders desperate to throw anything toward the Confederate juggernaut to buy precious time. The only fresh unit available then was the 1st Michigan, who had taken up positions to the rear of the Russell House on a small hill. Under Rousseau's orders, the unit desperately pushed into Russell Farm buildings where remnants of Union General William H. Lytle’s brigade were fighting. Sadly, their effort was swept away with the withdrawal of Lytle’s worn-out brigade.

Three units, three different locations, and three different experiences—all connected to the brutality of the Battle of Perryville. Visit today to commemorate their deeds of service.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Battle of Perryville battlefield map.