DK - The American Civil War

Bragg Invades Kentucky

Throughout the second half of 1862, the Confederates tried to seize the initiative in the Western Theater,

mounting a bold invasion of Kentucky. But the Confederate commander, Braxton Bragg, was first driven

out of Kentucky and then forced to concede the field at the bloody Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro).

General Braxton Bragg was at Tupelo,

Mississippi, trying to restore discipline

and morale to his beaten men. In this

grim picture, Confederate General John

H. Morgan’s cavalry raid on Kentucky

in July shone out like a beacon of hope.

The raid prompted the idea that the

Bluegrass state might be the Union’s weak

point, full of Southern sympathizers eager

to join the Confederate ranks. In late July

and early August, Bragg moved the

Army of Mississippi to Chattanooga

by railroad—he sent in a division at

a time on a roundabout route. This

BEFORE

Its population split between Confederate
and Union sympathizers, Kentucky initially
opted for neutrality. Perhaps inevitably, it
was soon drawn into the conflict.

BATTLE FOR KENTUCKY
On September 3, 1861, Confederate commander
Leonidas Polk entered Kentucky, taking Columbus
on the Mississippi. The Union then seized Paducah
and Smithland. The state’s congress called for
war against the Southern invaders, while the
pro-Confederates formed an alternative
government, recognized by the Confederacy.
Union troops took over most of the state, with
the Confederate army controlling the southwest.
The two clashed at Fort Donelson ❮❮ 104–105
and Shiloh ❮❮ 106–107. Union victories at both
forced a Confederate withdrawal from most of
Kentucky—their last position lost
in June 1862. They were
encouraged, however,
when General John H.
Morgan’s cavalry force
made a sweep through
Kentucky in July,
raiding towns and
attracting recruits.

maneuver contrasted with the difficulty

Buell had in moving his men, his supply

lines harassed by the Confederate cavalry

of Morgan and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Invading Kentucky

Installed at Chattanooga, Bragg devised

a plan with Major General Edmund

Kirby Smith, commander of the Army

of East Tennessee. Moving north from

Knoxville, Smith would retake the

Cumberland Gap and join with Bragg

in an invasion of Kentucky. But Smith

then decided that the Gap was too

I

n summer 1862, the Western Theater

was a disaster for the Confederates.

They had lost Nashville and western

Tennessee, though they still held

Vicksburg, which denied the Union

control of the Mississippi. As a Union

force under Major General Don Carlos

Buell advanced slowly on Chattanooga,

GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN

Confederate Bowie knife

Probably designed by Rezin Bowie (brother of Jim

Bowie) for cowboys to catch and skin animals, the

Bowie knife was a standard Confederate weapon.

This one was found on the battlefield at Perryville.

Curved blade for

skinning animals

Wooden handle

Brass quillon 13-in (33-cm) steel blade