Battle of Munfordville

Last updated
Battle of Munfordville
Part of the American Civil War
Battle of Munfordsville.png
Confederate troops attacking Union fortifications near Green River, September 14 1862
DateSeptember 14, 1862 (1862-09-14) September 17, 1862 (1862-09-17)
Location
Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg United States (Union) Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
John T. Wilder   White flag icon.svg
Cyrus L. Dunham
Simon Bolivar Buckner
James Ronald Chalmers
Units involved
Munfordville Garrison
Army of the Ohio
Army of Mississippi
Casualties and losses
4,148 714

The Battle of Munfordville (also known as the Battle of Green River) was an engagement in Munfordville, Kentucky during the American Civil War. Victory there allowed the Confederates to temporarily strengthen their hold on the region and impair Union supply lines.

Contents

Battle

On August 26, 1862, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's army left Chattanooga, Tennessee and marched north through Sparta, TN and then to Glasgow, KY. Pursued by Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Union Army, Bragg approached Munfordville, a station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and the location of an 1,800 foot long railroad bridge crossing Green River, in mid-September. Col. John T. Wilder commanded the Union garrison at Munfordville, which consisted of three regiments behind extensive fortifications.

Wilder's force was first approached by Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers who marched on Munfordville from Cave City, KY without orders. Chalmers had received an erroneous report from cavalry under Kirby Smith that the federal force in Munfordville had "not more than 1,800 men, entirely raw troops, and that they were fortifying their position, but that the railroad and telegraph had been destroyed in their rear, cutting them off completely from all communication and re-enforcements." Upon arriving on September 14, Chalmers demanded a surrender, which was rejected, and then proceeded to launch frontal assaults that were repulsed by the federal defenders. Chalmers' brigade suffered 288 casualties in the attacks before retreating back to Cave City.

Braxton Bragg was angry at Chalmers for his "unauthorized and injudicious" assault, but determined to force Munfordville's surrender nonetheless. Bragg believed that leaving Munfordville intact would "throw a gloom upon the whole army…[but forcing its surrender would] turn defeat into victory." Thus Bragg's army made a forced march of 25–35 miles the night of September 15–16 to Munfordville.

Late on September 16, realizing that Buell's forces were near and not wishing to kill or injure innocent civilians, the Confederates sent another demand for surrender. Wilder entered enemy lines under a flag of truce, and Confederate Maj. Gen. Simon B. Buckner escorted him to view the Confederate strength to convince him resistance was futile. Realizing the odds he faced (45 cannon and 25,000+ infantry), Wilder agreed to surrender. The formal ceremony took place the next day as the paroled federals marched out of Munfordville with new uniforms. W.L. Trask, a Confederate soldier, said the federals "were well clothed, looked fat and sleek and clean and neat and were in strange contrast to our own hungry, ragged and dirty looking rebels."

Despite the capture of over 4,000 federals and stores of supplies at Munfordville, the victory did little for the Confederates other than slow them down. Author Kenneth W. Noe said "Unless he [Bragg] intended to fight it out along the Green River, an idea that flickered only briefly under duress, Munfordville was a three-day distraction the Confederate cause could ill afford." The incident is a good example of how Bragg had little overall vision for the campaign and instead simply reacted from event to event. [1]

National Register of Historic Places

Battle of Munfordville Site
USA Kentucky location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationRoughly bounded by Green R., US 31, Rowletts, and L and N RR tracks, Munfordville, Kentucky
Coordinates 37°15′44″N85°53′24″W / 37.2622°N 85.8901°W / 37.2622; -85.8901
Area164 acres (66 ha)
Built1862 (1862)
Bridge designerAlbert Fink
NRHP reference No. 97000866 [2]
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1999

Three places in the National Register of Historic Places are related to the battle.

Battle of Munfordville site

The entire battlefield is listed in the National Register as the Battle of Munfordville Site. This includes the Green River Bridge designed by Albert Fink and built by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in 1859, Fort Craig, a union-built star shaped wood and earthen fort, a small cemetery at the northern edge of the battlefield, and other buildings existing at the time. [2]

Smith Monument

The Colonel Robert A. Smith Monument near the river is part of the battlefield historic site and separately listed as well. [2] A monument to Colonel Smith also exists in Dean Cemetery in his home town of Edinburgh, Scotland.[ citation needed ]

Unknown Soldier

The Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave marks the grave of a Louisiana soldier accidentally killed while clearing timber for the Confederate advance.

Battlefield Preservation

The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved about 135 acres of the Munfordville Battlefield as of mid-2023. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braxton Bragg</span> Confederate Army general (1817–1876)

Braxton Bragg was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Western Theater. His most important role was as commander of the Army of Mississippi, later renamed the Army of Tennessee, from June 1862 until December 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Bolivar Buckner</span> Confederate Army general and American politician (1823–1914)

Simon Bolivar Buckner was an American soldier, Confederate soldier, and politician. He fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War. He later fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he served as the 30th governor of Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Carlos Buell</span> American Union Army General (1818–1898)

Don Carlos Buell was a United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles—Shiloh and Perryville. The nation was angry at his failure to defeat the outnumbered Confederates after Perryville, or to secure East Tennessee. Historians generally concur that he was a brave and industrious master of logistics, but was too cautious and too rigid to meet the great challenges he faced in 1862. Buell was relieved of field command in late 1862 and made no more significant military contributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Stones River</span> Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Of the major battles of the war, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. The battle ended in Union victory after the Confederate army's withdrawal on January 3, largely due to a series of tactical miscalculations by Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, but the victory was costly for the Union army. Nevertheless, it was an important victory for the Union because it provided a much-needed boost in morale after the Union's recent defeat at Fredericksburg and also reinforced President Abraham Lincoln's foundation for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which ultimately discouraged European powers from intervening on the Confederacy's behalf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Perryville</span> 1862 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi initially won a tactical victory against primarily a single corps of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Union Army of the Ohio. The battle is considered a strategic Union victory, sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky, since Bragg withdrew to Tennessee soon thereafter. The Union retained control of the critical border state of Kentucky for the remainder of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hoover's Gap</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Hoover's Gap was the principal battle in the Tullahoma Campaign of the American Civil War, in which Union General William S. Rosecrans drove General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates out of Central Tennessee. Rosecrans’ feigned move on the western end of the Confederate line had left the eastern mountain passes lightly defended, and Colonel John T. Wilder's mounted infantry achieved total surprise when they attacked Hoover's Gap. Success was attributed both to Rosecrans’ brilliant deception tactics and the high morale of Wilder’s "Lightning Brigade", equipped with the new Spencer repeating rifle.

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Iuka</span> 1862 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Iuka was fought on September 19, 1862, in Iuka, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. In the opening battle of the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans stopped the advance of the Confederate Army of the West commanded by Maj. Gen. Sterling Price.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Corinth</span> Major battle of the American Civil War

The siege of Corinth was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry Halleck engaged in a month-long siege of the city, whose Confederate occupants were commanded by General P.G.T. Beauregard. The siege resulted in the capture of the town by Federal forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western theater of the American Civil War</span> American Civil War area of operations

The western theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military operations in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, as well as Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Operations on the coasts of these states, except for Mobile Bay, are considered part of the Lower Seaboard Theater. Most other operations east of the Appalachian Mountains are part of the eastern theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the trans-Mississippi theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky in the American Civil War</span> Involvement of the state in the war

Kentucky was a southern border state of key importance in the American Civil War. It officially declared its neutrality at the beginning of the war, but after a failed attempt by Confederate General Leonidas Polk to take the state of Kentucky for the Confederacy, the legislature petitioned the Union Army for assistance. Though the Confederacy controlled more than half of Kentucky early in the war, after early 1862 Kentucky came largely under Union control. In the historiography of the Civil War, Kentucky is treated primarily as a southern border state, with special attention to the social divisions during the secession crisis, invasions and raids, internal violence, sporadic guerrilla warfare, federal-state relations, the ending of slavery, and the return of Confederate veterans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville, Kentucky in the American Civil War</span> Major stronghold of Union forces

Louisville in the American Civil War was a major stronghold of Union forces, which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in the Western Theater. By the end of the war, Louisville had not been attacked once, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Perryville and Corydon, Indiana, took place nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Rowlett's Station</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Rowlett's Station was a land battle in the American Civil War, fought at the railroad whistle-stop of Rowlett's in Hart County, Kentucky, on December 17, 1861. The outcome was inconclusive, although the Union Army continued to hold its objective, a railroad bridge across the Green River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site</span>

Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site is a 745-acre (3.01 km2) park near Perryville, Kentucky. The park continues to expand with purchases of parcels by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund and the American Battlefield Trust. An interpretive museum is located near the site where many Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Perryville were buried. Monuments, interpretive signage, and cannons also mark notable events during the battle. The site became part of the Kentucky State Park System in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate Heartland Offensive</span> Confederate military campaign during the American Civil War

The Confederate Heartland Offensive, also known as the Kentucky Campaign, was an American Civil War campaign conducted by the Confederate States Army in Tennessee and Kentucky where Generals Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith tried to draw neutral Kentucky into the Confederacy by outflanking Union troops under Major General Don Carlos Buell. Though they scored some successes, notably a tactical win at Perryville, they soon retreated, leaving Kentucky primarily under Union control for the rest of the war.

The 6th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was formed from Nelson, Barren, and surrounding counties. It was also part of the First Kentucky Brigade.

89th Indiana Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Augusta (1862)</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Augusta was an engagement during the American Civil War that took place on September 27, 1862, in Augusta, Kentucky, between the Bracken County Home Guard (Union) and the Confederate Second Kentucky Cavalry Regiment under command of Colonel Basil W. Duke, a brother-in-law of John H. Morgan. The skirmish resulted in a victory for the Confederacy but the number of Confederate casualties and lack of ammunition for his artillery caused Colonel Duke to abandon plans to cross over the Ohio River into Ohio. A result of the fighting was that twenty buildings were set on fire and destroyed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Riggins Hill</span> Minor battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Riggins Hill was a minor engagement in western Tennessee during the American Civil War. A Confederate raiding force under Colonel Thomas Woodward captured Clarksville, Tennessee, threatening Union shipping on the Cumberland River. Several Union regiments led by Colonel William Warren Lowe advanced from nearby Fort Donelson and drove off the Confederates after a struggle lasting less than an hour. The action occurred during the Confederate Heartland Offensive but only affected the local area.

References

  1. Noe, Kenneth (2001). Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 69–71. ISBN   0-8131-2209-0.
  2. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. "Munfordville Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust . Retrieved June 20, 2023.