Perryville Preview

We are a few short weeks away from our THIRD annual Symposium on the Field at Perryville! If you plan on attending this free event, please RSVP so we know how many guests to expect. This helps us plan the logistics and also aids the Friends of Perryville Battlefield for the Saturday night portion of the event.

RSVP HERE!

Below is a general rundown of what to expect:

If you would like to hear from the tour guides themselves, take a listen to the latest episode of the Department No. 2 Podcast.

Join us for a series of tours led by historians that will cover detailed aspects of the battle that took place at Perryville on October 8th, 1862.  Each tour will be 90-120 minutes in duration.  Wear comfortable shoes and bring water as there is often a fair amount of walking on hilly terrain! These tours will take place all over the Perryville, Kentucky area on private and public property.

Friday

5:00 P. M. -  October 7th, 1862, Wheeler vs. Gilbert: The Skirmishes of Springfield, Pleasant Run, Brown's Hill, and Peters Hill - Darryl Smith - Meet in Perryville at the corner of West 3rd Street and US 68 (Click HERE for location). We will carpool to Springfield and then work our way back to Perryville, stopping at the various skirmish sites. This tour will allow you to get to places you might not have explored on your own.

Saturday

9:00 A. M. - Starkweather's Stand - Dan Masters

Starkweather's Stand is sometimes referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy in the West." As the brigade entered combat near Open Knob and fell back to the hill that now holds Starkweather's name, the men attempted to hold back the rushing Confederate tide on the Union left.

11:00 A. M. - Liddell's Brigage - Derrick Lindow

Liddell's brigade of Arkansans had the unique honor of firing some of the first and final shots of the fighting on October 8th. This tour will focus on the movements of the brigade that took place in the late afternoon and early evening.

LUNCH

2:30 P. M. - Town Fighting, Part II - Taylor Bishop - Meet in Perryville at the corner of West 3rd Street and US 68 (Click HERE for location). When we think of the final moments of the Battle of Perryville, we tend to think of the actions in the slaughter pin. You might be surprised to learn that the final moments of Kentucky’s deadliest battle occurred around October 9, 1862, not in the fields west of the town but in the small city itself. 

5:30 P. M. - Evening Meet and Greet at the historic Bottom House, hosted by the Friends of Perryville Battlefield. Books by some of the tour guides will be available for purchase. Please bring cash for voluntary donations to the Friends.

Sunday

10:00 A. M. - A Different Take on Donelson - Jamie Gillum. This tour will explore the 1860 census, existing maps, wartime reports and primary sources to reevaluate the role of Donelson’s brigade at the Battle of Perryville.  Overwhelming evidence supports the idea that the battle on the Confederate right at Open Knob has long been misinterpreted.  Donelson’s brigade—namely the Sixteenth Tennessee—was heavily engaged for thirty minutes confronting Parsons’ battery before Maney’s brigade came to their relief and saved them from complete annihilation.  The fight was centered around a long-lost cabin site occupying the eastern slope of Open Knob and tenanted by Joseph C. Hafley and his family.  The evening before the battle, Hafley retreated with his family to the Gammon house a half mile north in Mercer County.  Little did he know that his homesite would become the scene of horrific slaughter from the guns of Parsons’ battery and Terrill’s brigade.  After Colonel Savage and his Sixteenth Tennessee had made two unsuccessful attempts to take the battery, Maney and his brigade appeared in time “to save the day” and Savage’s regiment successfully gained the crest of the knob with the assistance of these timely reinforcements.  A clear look at Donelson’s and Cheatham’s reports, coupled with Maney’s report and the participants in the Sixteenth Tennessee will show that they were not engaged at Widow Gibson’s homesite.

Noonish - Tour debrief and ideas for next year

Did you RSVP yet?