which would have faced superior
Union numbers if combat had
resumed the following day.
Bragg, at last, joined up with Smith,
and the two Confederate commanders
hotly debated their next move. Neither
Bragg’s nor Smith’s forces had the
strength in numbers or the logistical
organization to keep a hold on the
state of Kentucky once a Northern
counteroffensive got underway.
Controversially, Bragg decided to
abandon the invasion and pull back
to Tennessee. With the almost
simultaneous defeat of a Confederate
army under Major General Earl Van
Dorn at the Second Battle of Corinth,
and Lee’s withdrawal from Maryland
after the Battle of Antietam, the picture
for the Confederacy looked bleak.In the Stones River Valley
Bragg faced criticism for his decision
but he kept his job. Buell did not, and
was replaced by Major General William
S. Rosecrans as head of what would
soon become known as the Army of the
Cumberland. Bragg and Smith endedup at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in the
Stones River Valley, with their armies
united to form the Army of Tennessee
under Bragg’s command.
On December 26, Rosecrans marched
out of Nashville to engage Bragg, in
response to Lincoln’s continued pressure
for offensive action. By December 30,
he was facing the Confederates at
Stones River. That evening, bands from
both armies struck up to help raise their
men’s spirits. In the words of Sam Seay
of the Confederates’ 1st Tennessee
Infantry, “The still winter night carried
[the bands’] strains to great distance. At
every pause on our side, far away could
be heard the military bands of the other.
Finally one of them struck up ‘Home
Sweet Home.’ As if by common consent,
all other airs ceased, and the bands of
both armies as far as the ear could
reach, joined in the refrain.”
The next morning, real battle
succeeded the previous night’s dueling
bands. The Confederates attacked at
dawn, catching the Union troops still
eating their breakfast. The panicked
Union right wing was driven back
3 miles (4.8km) in what would have
been a fatal rout, but for resistance
organized by Sheridan, who held a
position for four hours at great cost to
his division. A Union defensive line was
stabilized, hinging on woods known as
the Round Forest. When nightfallbrought combat to an end, Bragg felt
he had won a great victory. But Union
commanders resolved to fight on. Over
the next two days Bragg could make no
further progress, and by the afternoon
of January 2, he had to order Major
General John C. Breckinridge to lead
his Kentucky Orphan Brigade in a near
suicidal assault. Bragg resolved to
withdraw the next day, conceding the
field to Rosecrans. Union losses were
13,249 out of 43,400 engaged; the
Confederates lost 10,266 out of 37,712.Like Lee’s invasion of Maryland, the
Confederate offensive had been based
on the assumption that local people
would greet the invaders as a liberation
force. Bragg brought with him rifles to
arm thousands of Kentucky volunteers.
He also brought the state’s Confederate
governor, Richard Hawes, who was
formally inaugurated in the state capital,
Frankfort, on October 4. But it became
obvious that the state’s enthusiasm for
the South had been exaggerated when
the volunteers never materialized.The Battle of Perryville
Meanwhile, goaded by Lincoln, Buell
had advanced from Louisville on
October 1. Hawes’s inauguration
ceremony at Frankfort was ruined as
the town came under attack by the
Union. By this time the South should
have concentrated their forces, but
Bragg’s army was based at Bardstown
while Smith’s was some 60 miles
(97km) away at Lexington. The
campaign’s key battle was fought
before the two could unite.
While away at Frankfort for the
inauguration, Bragg left his army at
Bardstown under the command of
General Leonidas Polk. Confronted by
three columns of Buell’s army advancing
on him on October 7, Polk fell back to
Perryville on the Chaplin River. A
drought had struck Kentucky and the
marching Union troops were desperate
for drinking
water—which
the Confederates
controlled. A
Union division
under Brigadier
General Philip Sheridan seized control
of a creek in fierce fighting early on
October 8, the men strongly motivated
by thirst. Bragg was slow to realize that a
major battle was beginning, but returned
to assume command in
the late morning.
On the afternoon of
October 8, a daring
Confederate assault
almost routed the Union
left, but the Union right
pushed into the streets of
Perryville. When darkness
fell, Bragg prudently
withdrew his forces,BRAGG INVADES KENTUCKYAfter the Battle of Stones River, General
Braxton Bragg faced harsh criticism and an
ugly internal dispute. The state of Kentucky
became the scene of guerrilla fighting.SUBORDINATE INSURRECTION
While Rosecrans was turning Murfreesboro into
an impregnable fortified base, Bragg faced a
revolt of his subordinate officers, orchestrated by
Polk. President Jefferson Davis elevated General
Joseph E. Johnston to theater commander, and
expected him to relieve Bragg. But Johnston
left Bragg in his command.KENTUCKY UNDER THE HEEL
There was no further Confederate attempt to
invade Kentucky, but it remained the target of
cavalry raids—by John H. Morgan in December
1862 and July 1863, and by Nathan Bedford
Forrest in spring 1864. Guerrilla warfare in the
state was met in July 1864 by the imposition
of military rule under Union Major General
Stephen Burbridge. His harsh regime earned
him the nickname “the Butcher of Kentucky.”strongly defended to take by assault, so
without consulting Bragg, he chose to
bypass it. Smith took an unopposed
route to Kentucky instead, routing
Union forces at Richmond on August
- Braxton Bragg, racing to catch up,
left Chattanooga
on August 28
and crossed
into Kentucky.
Advancing toward
Louisville, Bragg’s
progress was delayed by a Union
garrison at Munfordville, which held
out for three days before surrendering.
This gave Buell enough time to hurry
back to defend Kentucky.
AFTER
The Slaughter Pen
The site of Sheridan’s stiff four-hour
resistance to the Confederates was
dubbed “the Slaughter Pen” for its
gory appearance on the first day of
the Battle of Stones River.General William S. Rosecrans
As commander of the Army of the Cumberland,
Rosecrans showed resolute leadership in the Battle of
Stones River, rejecting the option of withdrawal after
a disastrous first day’s combat.Confederate retreat after Perryville
This section from William Travis’s panorama shows the
battered but triumphant Union forces in the foreground,
Bragg in retreat in the distance. Travis shadowed the
Army of the Cumberland, often sketching on site.“To lose Kentucky is nearly the
same as to lose the whole game.”
PRESIDENT LINCOLN, LETTER TO SENATOR ORVILLE BROWNING, SEPTEMBER 1861ORPHAN BRIGADE The name given to
the Confederate 1st Kentucky Brigade,
possibly because of the brigade’s forced
exile from its home state.