The largest battle of the Civil War in Kentucky took place on October 8, 1862 in Perryville (a.k.a. Chaplin Hills, from the location west of Perryville).
The battle could be considered a tactical Confederate victory, yet also a strategic Union victory.
Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi of about 16,000 engaged the single corps of Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio (37,000). With total casualties of about 4,400 Union to 3,400 Confederates, the Rebels retreated to the Cumberland Gap into Tennessee, hauling off large amounts of grain and supplies stolen from Kentucky.
The Union retained the critical control of the border state of Kentucky for the rest of the War. However, for allowing Bragg’s force to slip away, Buell would be replaced by General William Rosecrans two weeks later.
Randy Buchman
Enfilading Lines 