The Battle of Perryville

The Battle of Perryville is not one of the big name battles of the Civil War, but it was important. Kentucky was a little iffy as to whether it would join the Confederacy. After Perryville, Kentucky was never in doubt. Lincoln thought if he lost Kentucky, that might make the difference in the war. So anyway, they have some areas you can drive or walk. I've decided the way to see one of the battlefields is to jog the trails. I'm pretty sure that's what the soldiers did. When you're getting shot at, you don't want to move at leisurely strolling pace. So walking doesn't give you the right feel, and driving it, you go way to fast and you miss a lot of stuff. Jogging is just the right pace. Plus charging up the hill gives you the feel of the battle. They say the advantage goes to the side that has the high ground. That has to be true. You are charging uphill, tired and every once in a while stopping to try to get a shot off. The guys on top of the hill are just sitting there, probably behind some kind of protection, casually firing away at you. You can see that in the picture above. Ken Burns and I are renowned for our cannon in the foreground shots. This picture shows the Union up there on the hill with their cannons. The poor confederates were charging up the hill. It turned out that the confederates did push the union off that hill. In fact, off a series of hill. They technically won, but the Union was reinforced over the next several days and the Confederates ended up pulling back into Tennessee. They never were much of a presence in Kentucky again.

 

That same day we went to Ft. Harrod. It, with Boonesboro, were the first two forts in Kentucky. We happened to be there when they were doing a Civil War reenactment. That was fun. However, there were different levels of authenticity. Note to reenactors - After you get shot dead and are lying there for awhile, don't start talking to the guy you shot you. Don't think we don't notice. And do not, I can't stress this enough, get up and start walking around. This isn't a Roadrunner cartoon, where coyotes get hit by a train and the next scene, they're fine. Next time you pull that, don't be surprised if there isn't some live ammo involved.