Slavery and four years of war : $b a political history of slavery in the United States, together with a narrative of the campaigns and battles of the Civil War in which the author took part, 1861-1865. Vols. 1-2Keifer, Joseph Warren
History
Slavery and four years of war : $b a political history of slavery in the United States, together with a narrative of the campaigns and battles of the Civil War in which the author took part, 1861-1865. Vols. 1-2
Keifer, Joseph Warren
Slavery -- United States; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns
Beatty was appointed by President Lincoln a Brigadier-General of
Volunteers, November 29, 1862, and he thereafter, as before at
Perryville, especially distinguished himself at Stone's River and
Chickamauga. He has since served three terms in Congress with
distinction.
It was my good fortune to meet and shake hands, one year and about
eight months later, with some of the survivors of this Western army
at Greensborough, North Carolina, after Lee's surrender, and on
the occasion of the surrender of Joe Johnston's army to Sherman.
Although my humble connection with Buell's army ceased at Louisville,
I will summarize its history, covering a few days longer.
Polk's and Hardee's corps constituting Bragg's army we left in the
vicinity of Bardstown and Harrodsburg, with some portions at
Frankfort and Lexington. Kirby Smith was at Salvisa, about twenty
miles northeast of Perryville, with the main body of his army, and,
believing he would be the first attacked, called loudly for
reinforcement, and Bragg sent him, on the eve of Perryville, Withers
and Cheatham's divisions from Polk and Hardee's corps. Bragg placed
Polk in command of his army in the vicinity of Perryville, and
repaired to Frankfort to witness the inauguration (October 4th) of
a new Secession Provisional Governor of Kentucky--Richard Hawes
(28)--her former one, George W. Johnson, having been killed at
Shiloh while fighting as a private soldier.
Buell, being further reinforced with new troops, mostly from Ohio
and Indiana, commenced, October 2d, a general movement against both
Bragg and Smith. General Joshua W. Sill's division of General
Alexander McD. McCook's corps, followed by General Ebenezer Dumont
with a raw division, moved through Shelbyville towards Frankfort.
McCook, with the two remaining divisions of the First Corps,
commanded, respectively, by Generals L. H. Rousseau and James S.
Jackson, moved from Bloomfield to Taylorsville, where he halted
the second night. Crittenden's corps marched _via_ Bardstown on
the Lebanon and Danville road, which passed about four miles to
the south of Perryville, with a branch to it. Gilbert's corps
moved on the more direct road to Perryville. Thomas, second in
command, accompanied Crittenden on the right, and Buell kept his
headquarters with Gilbert's corps, the centre one in the movements.
As the Union columns advanced, the armies of Bragg and Kirby Smith
found it necessary to commence concentrating. For some reason,
not warranted by good strategy, two points of concentration were
designated by Bragg, Perryville and Salvisa, twenty miles apart.
Smith persisted in the belief he would be the first to be struck
by the advancing army.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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