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Posted for Chad Greene due to forum problems:
The Road to Perryville
On October 1, the Union Army of the Ohio filed out of Louisville. General
Don Carlos Buell’s three corps moved along parallel roads that converged on
Bardstown. At the same time General Joshua W. Sill and a smaller force of
infantry and cavalry marched directly towards Frankfort from Louisville. A
powerful cavalry screen moved several miles in advance of each column to
cloak the Union movements and drive away Confederate cavalry.
Buell’s total strength numbered nearly 80,000 men, with 19,000 under Sill’s
command, 13,000 in the 1 Corps, and 22,000 in each of the II and III Corps.
The I Corps’ smaller size reflected the detachment of an infantry division
to Sill’s column. Despite these numbers, many of Buell;s regiments remained
green and untested, having only recently formed. Total CS forces in
Kentucky numbered about 50,000 men, and many of them were veterans.
However, they lay strewn across the state in a rough arc stretching from
Bardstown across the Kentucky River to Mt. Sterling. Further complicating
the Confederate situation they did not possess a unified command or plan of
action. Polk was left to his own devices at Bardstown, while Bragg
addressed political affairs in Frankfort, and Smith remained focused upon
northeastern Kentucky.
The Union advance benefited from good roads and Confederate surprise. The
columns moved rapidly. By October 2, Sill had reached Shelbyville, which
lay only 30 miles from Frankfort. The same day I Corps neared Taylorsville,
the II Corps moved to Mt. Washington and the III Corps approached
Shepherdsville. Confederate cavalry patrols were driven back without being
able to secure accurate information regarding the Union dispositions.
Against the avalanche of Union forces advancing upon Bardstown from the
north, Wharton’s small cavalry brigade struggled for survival. To the
west, Wheeler’s larger cavlary force fared better, but it, too, failed to
slow the Union juggernaut. On the road to Frankfort, Scott’s cavalry
brigade retired in the face of Sill’s column.
So went the Union advance through Bardstown. Each Corps marched towards its
Confederate foe via different roads that ultimately would converge in a town
named Perryville.
Source: Staff Ride Handbook for the Battle of Perryville
Dr. Robert S. Cameron
United States Army Center
The March
The 2006 Preservation March will be on Saturday morning 7 October 2006. The
marchers will be in close proximity to Major General Alexander McD. McCook's
I Corps route to the battlefield, but this is not designed to be a precise
replication of McCook's march. Instead, the Preservation March will provide
a representative view of the Federal approach, incorporating events and
elements of both Major General T. L. Crittenden's II Corps and Acting Major
General C. C. Gilbert's III Corps' arrival on the field at Perryville.
The march will benefit the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association
and Kentucky State Parks, and proceeds from the event will go toward
restoring the 18th US Infantry Regiment's battle flag, which the Perryville
Battlefield State Historic Site recently acquired from the Kentucky
Historical Society. The flag dates from later in the war, but the battle
honor "Chaplin Hills" (an alternate name for the battle) appears prominently
on it. Veterans of Perryville marched and served underneath this banner.
Approximately $25,000 is needed to conserve the flag and prepare it for
display.
Each marcher's registration fee will be set aside and put toward the
conservation effort.
The Preservation March and the remote campaigner campsite will be
administered and under the command of the Army of the Pacific. The march
is open to all Union Infantry, Mounted Artillery and Cavalry. Confederate
participation is open to all Cavalry, Mounted Artillery and a limited number
- no more than 100 CS Infantry willing to portray an unorganized Confederate
rear guard retreat. This infantry must be able to do fully functional
skirmisher impression as a group. This is not a “bushwhacking or sniper”
impression.
This march will be physically demanding and will entail some limited action
over private land. Marchers and mounted individuals should be prepared to
cover approximately five miles with 1 mile on a paved wartime road.
Confederate forces should retire from the march at the conflux of the
Dixville Crossroads and return to their respective commands. All US
participants will retire once the column has reached Loomis Heights on the
park. At that time all US participants should return to their respective
commands to participate in the Saturday afternoon Battle “The Fight for
Loomis Height,” which will begin at 2:00 P.M.
Anyone wanting to participate should approach their respective command
structure for more information. Registration for Perryville closes on
Friday September 8 at midnight. If you have not already registered please
do so immediately. Please also check the Perryville website for event
authenticity standards and more information. www.perryvillereenactment.org
Thanks,
Chad Greene
Reenactor Coordinator
Perryville 06
On October 1, the Union Army of the Ohio filed out of Louisville. General
Don Carlos Buell’s three corps moved along parallel roads that converged on
Bardstown. At the same time General Joshua W. Sill and a smaller force of
infantry and cavalry marched directly towards Frankfort from Louisville. A
powerful cavalry screen moved several miles in advance of each column to
cloak the Union movements and drive away Confederate cavalry.
Buell’s total strength numbered nearly 80,000 men, with 19,000 under Sill’s
command, 13,000 in the 1 Corps, and 22,000 in each of the II and III Corps.
The I Corps’ smaller size reflected the detachment of an infantry division
to Sill’s column. Despite these numbers, many of Buell;s regiments remained
green and untested, having only recently formed. Total CS forces in
Kentucky numbered about 50,000 men, and many of them were veterans.
However, they lay strewn across the state in a rough arc stretching from
Bardstown across the Kentucky River to Mt. Sterling. Further complicating
the Confederate situation they did not possess a unified command or plan of
action. Polk was left to his own devices at Bardstown, while Bragg
addressed political affairs in Frankfort, and Smith remained focused upon
northeastern Kentucky.
The Union advance benefited from good roads and Confederate surprise. The
columns moved rapidly. By October 2, Sill had reached Shelbyville, which
lay only 30 miles from Frankfort. The same day I Corps neared Taylorsville,
the II Corps moved to Mt. Washington and the III Corps approached
Shepherdsville. Confederate cavalry patrols were driven back without being
able to secure accurate information regarding the Union dispositions.
Against the avalanche of Union forces advancing upon Bardstown from the
north, Wharton’s small cavalry brigade struggled for survival. To the
west, Wheeler’s larger cavlary force fared better, but it, too, failed to
slow the Union juggernaut. On the road to Frankfort, Scott’s cavalry
brigade retired in the face of Sill’s column.
So went the Union advance through Bardstown. Each Corps marched towards its
Confederate foe via different roads that ultimately would converge in a town
named Perryville.
Source: Staff Ride Handbook for the Battle of Perryville
Dr. Robert S. Cameron
United States Army Center
The March
The 2006 Preservation March will be on Saturday morning 7 October 2006. The
marchers will be in close proximity to Major General Alexander McD. McCook's
I Corps route to the battlefield, but this is not designed to be a precise
replication of McCook's march. Instead, the Preservation March will provide
a representative view of the Federal approach, incorporating events and
elements of both Major General T. L. Crittenden's II Corps and Acting Major
General C. C. Gilbert's III Corps' arrival on the field at Perryville.
The march will benefit the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association
and Kentucky State Parks, and proceeds from the event will go toward
restoring the 18th US Infantry Regiment's battle flag, which the Perryville
Battlefield State Historic Site recently acquired from the Kentucky
Historical Society. The flag dates from later in the war, but the battle
honor "Chaplin Hills" (an alternate name for the battle) appears prominently
on it. Veterans of Perryville marched and served underneath this banner.
Approximately $25,000 is needed to conserve the flag and prepare it for
display.
Each marcher's registration fee will be set aside and put toward the
conservation effort.
The Preservation March and the remote campaigner campsite will be
administered and under the command of the Army of the Pacific. The march
is open to all Union Infantry, Mounted Artillery and Cavalry. Confederate
participation is open to all Cavalry, Mounted Artillery and a limited number
- no more than 100 CS Infantry willing to portray an unorganized Confederate
rear guard retreat. This infantry must be able to do fully functional
skirmisher impression as a group. This is not a “bushwhacking or sniper”
impression.
This march will be physically demanding and will entail some limited action
over private land. Marchers and mounted individuals should be prepared to
cover approximately five miles with 1 mile on a paved wartime road.
Confederate forces should retire from the march at the conflux of the
Dixville Crossroads and return to their respective commands. All US
participants will retire once the column has reached Loomis Heights on the
park. At that time all US participants should return to their respective
commands to participate in the Saturday afternoon Battle “The Fight for
Loomis Height,” which will begin at 2:00 P.M.
Anyone wanting to participate should approach their respective command
structure for more information. Registration for Perryville closes on
Friday September 8 at midnight. If you have not already registered please
do so immediately. Please also check the Perryville website for event
authenticity standards and more information. www.perryvillereenactment.org
Thanks,
Chad Greene
Reenactor Coordinator
Perryville 06
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