Posted October 12, 200816 yr Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville State Historic Site is nestled in the serene countryside of Kentucky's lower-Bluegrass region. One of the best preserved Civil War battlefield sites in the nation, much of the land around the region has been unaltered, with little to no development visible for miles upon miles in all directions. The vistas that the soldiers and generals noted over one-hundred-years ago are pretty much the same today. This historic site contains a museum that has numerous exhibits on the Civil War and Kentucky's largest battle, along with maps and brochures on the numerous events and programs that occur at the site every year. There are numerous marked trails that lead up to several information kiosks and interpretative displays. This is the first year that I have seen the battle. Crowds lined up on both sides of the Fight for Gibson Farm, which occurred on October 8, 1862 when Confederate General Daniel Donelson’s Brigade attacked three veteran Union regiments on the Widow Gibson Farm. The 16th Tennessee was the only regiment to be successful in that. The Union, comprising of the 24th Illinois, and the 2nd, 33rd and 50th Ohio, soon came back forced the Tennesseans back. The Confederates sought reinforcements and soon captured the small farm after commandeering a small hill. 1 Scenes from the camp 2 3 4 5 6 7 A surgeon describes the process in repairing a wound. 8 9 Want to wake him up fast? This cold can does the trick... 10 11 The Union is pulling back at this point. I had no idea what to do with some of these images -- colorwise, they were fantastic, with some hues or orange and yellow in the background, but the crowd's colorful shirts clashed with the natural colors. 12 The Union dot the hillside, which was eventually captured by the Confederates. 13 14 Note the falling Confederate soldier! By this point, the battle had moved up the hill, so a lot of the crowd were moving upward. This is not a stationary battle! 15 I also liked this... 16 @#$^ing power lines. 17 18 A lone soldier carrying the Confederate flag after the Confederates were victorious at the short fight for Gibson Farm. 19 Two young boys watch as two Confederate generals cross. 20 You can find many more photographs and a brief history of the battle at my article. Enjoy!
October 13, 200816 yr Super-nice shots! Matthew Brady couldn't have done that with his wet plates and darkroom on a wagon!
October 14, 200816 yr Very interesting. What's the story behind the flag, when you said Confederate flag I was expecting something like the General Lee's roof...
October 14, 200816 yr Wowzers "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 18, 200816 yr Very interesting. What's the story behind the flag, when you said Confederate flag I was expecting something like the General Lee's roof... ...the flag in the battle pix was the "Stars and Bars", which was the "official" CSA flag. The "General Lees Roof" flag was a battle flag. The CSA had at least 4 flags I know of. (cool pix, too)
October 19, 200816 yr Every fall there's a similar reenactment near Hartford City, Indiana. The newspaper account this year mentioned that the surgeon was the most riveting performance for the school kids who went. It's probably largely the same group of reenactors. My brother has gone several times, and he says it's wonderfully authentic. He's read a lot of Civil War books.
December 11, 200816 yr "Start regulating" to what people can do with their property? Oh, give me a break Devins. When you have cities that fail to regulate anything and end up with trailer homes in historic districts, junk cars piling up on lawns, haphazard development with no planning or zoning, and a lack of coordination within the city, then you need to realize that regulation is the essence of historic preservation. Especially when a city such as Perryville features many residences and properties on the National Register of Historic Places. And when a city such as Perryville lies adjacent to the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site. Many of the buildings along Merchants Row are in bad condition and need immediate repair. As the city does not want to dedicate funds towards their rehabilitation, then the option of historic tax credits and other funding measures needs to be implemented. Historic Preservation Ordinance on hold for new Perryville council after second reading By Jonathan Schwab, Advocate Messenger, December 6, 2008 PERRYVILLE - The Historic Preservation ordinance dominated discussion Thursday at the Perryville City Council meeting, but the council voted 4-1 to table the topic until next year when the new council will be in session. Council members Julie Clay and Dawn Hastings opposed tabling the ordinance after its second reading. Clay urged the council to consider limiting the ordinance to preserving and restoring Merchants Row. Councilwoman Georgeanne Edwards did not attend the meeting because of a family emergency. The ordinance, which has been in the works for more than a year, requires a five-member commission to designate historic sites and districts within the city. The current draft of the ordinance does not designate any areas or buildings as historic. About 25 members of the public attended the meeting, including incoming City Council members, and nearly all of them opposed passing the ordinance as is. One of the most vocal citizens was Janet Reynolds, who called the ordinance "very demanding." Reynolds said it infringes upon a homeowner's rights. "If you have a house that's in the historic district, that's on the national register," Reynolds said. "I think that if someone owns the property, they should have the right to do with that property whatever they want to as long as they do not devalue that." Clay told Reynolds, "Part of the problem that we've had so many starts and stops on the preservation of this row for the 68 years that you've lived here is because the majority of money the (Perryville) Enhancement Project has been able to secure has been for the purchase of battlefield land only, not buildings." The back-and-forth conversation continued, before Reynolds told the crowd, "If you've got a historical house and you want to do something with it, the Historic Preservation Commission won't let you. How would you feel about it? I wouldn't like it a bit." 'When people don't want something, then the city must listen to them' Clay said voting for the ordinance would by no means be the final straw for this discussion. "We can amend it," she said. "The goal is intended not to be punitive and not to tell people what they can and cannot do with their grant money, but in order to get more grant money we have to have a historic preservation ordinance." J.D. Devins followed Reynolds in opposing the ordinance, saying he has spoken to about 50 Perryville residents who agree with him on this matter. "When you start regulating people in your town, you start having more and more power," Devins said. "When people don't want something, then the city must listen to them." Mayor Anne Sleet suggested holding a community meeting in January where more members of the public are given the opportunity to speak on the matter.
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