In 1862, the Confederate armies in Tennessee Theater began their offensives north. Braxton Bragg commanded one army and Kirby Smith the other. Meanwhile the Confederate army in Virginia under Robert E. Lee was on the offensive, too.
In the west the Confederate offensive rolled into Kentucky and took the state capital at Frankfurt. On October 4, the Confederates installed their Governor for Kentucky, Richard Hawes. Governor Hawes gave a lengthy inauguration address to the crowd. The day’s festivities were interrupted by the sounds of cannon fire.
The Union army was attacking.
The Confederate Kentucky government had to postpone the evening’s inaugural ball. The generals joined their forces outside of town. The Battle (Perryville) caused the Confederates to retreat. Had the battle gone the other way and had the Confederates managed to flip the state of Kentucky from the Union to their side, the entire war may have gone differently.
The soldiers of the Union Army of the Ohio under General Don Carlos Buell may be little remembered but on this Memorial Day, let’s give a thought to their sacrifice at the Battle of Perryville which meant so much.
P.S. The Confederates never did get their inaugural ball.
We remember the sacrifice of those who died in service to the United States of America.
Further information on: Memorial Day.
On the story of this campaign and the battle.
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