|
It was the fight for Kentucky in January of 1862. This battle was reenacted October 2-4 1998 on the original ground. The organizers did an excellent job of arranging for a vast number of re-enactors to gather to pay tribute to the men who gave their lives in the struggle for control of Kentucky during the great civil war. I will attempt to give you a look at The Battle of Mill Springs, Round Two, from an insiders point of view. If you are inclined to study the battle, a number of sources are available to research the history of one of the more important battles in the western theater of the war. For this article I will share my impressions of the reenactment. I am a member of Cobbs Battery which was one of the more famous Confederate units from Kentucky and was part of the "Orphan Brigade". If you remember history class, you were probably told that Kentucky was neutral during the Civil War. The truth is they raised troops in Kentucky for both Union and Confederate armies. This was truly a situation that pitted brother against brother. Maryland, Tennessee, West Virginia, and others were also deeply divided by the break up of the union by secession. A cannon crew is made up of about seven men per gun. Our crew is led by Sergeant Mike Elliott of Aurora, Indiana and Corporal Paul Bennett of Harrison, Ohio, who jointly own a replica of a full scale 1841, 6 pound field piece. The gun is typical of one of the types of cannons used by the Confederacy early in the war. With its smooth bore it was effective only out to 1500 yards. The smoothbore cannons were replaced with rifled guns as the war wore on, when they were available. Sgt. Elliott instructed us to bring both blue and gray uniforms because as with most reenactments, south of the Ohio River, it is some times hard to come up with enough Yankees to put on a good battle. This proved to be true for the Battle of Mill Springs. With Confederate guns out numbering the Union 7 to 3 we were asked to fall in on the Union side to balance out the numbers a bit. We were already camped in the Confederate artillery camp, so we camped Rebel and fought Union. Our camp mates gave us some good natured ribbing while we promised to over shoot them. After settling in on Friday, we were spectators for the all calvary battle on Saturday morning. In the interest of following the actual battle scenario, the first engagement was a clash of Union and Confederate calvary. This was quite impressive with around 150 mounted calvary soldiers coming together before a large crowd. They skirmished with revolvers and sabers and conducted a running battle over much of the field. Horse holders tried to control six horses at once as the men dismounted and formed a battle line on foot with carbines in hand. The action, all over the field, was a site to behold. Artillery and Infantry re-enactors found themselves fielding questions from spectators as the battle raged on. Some of the youngster were heard saying that no one ever fell from their horses. It was explained that in the interest of safety that a mix of runaway horses and crowds would be a very bad situation. Saturday afternoon the morning rain had let up for the fight for the cornfield. Kentucky Governor Paul Patton was scheduled to light the eternal flame in a ceremony. I heard his intention was to conduct this ceremony and leave. Instead he was treated to quite a show and was totally caught up in the action and stayed to talk to some of the re-enactors. It was reported that Governor Patton was thoroughly impressed. The armies took the field and cannoneers manned their guns and the battle was on. This was by far the biggest event that I have witnessed. Infantry converged and put up a constant musket fire like I had never seen. Just when the crowd believed that all participants were engaged large numbers of Union infantry held in reserve behind a hill flanked and surprised the Confederate line. They fell back to the tree line and prepared to form up and make an orderly retreat. Union calvary converged on them and harassed them all the way back to camp. As the crowd cheered and the "dead and wounded" rose and moved back to camp, each man was jolted back into reality and was thankful that this was all pretend. I really believe that neither side had any concept of the total number of soldiers until they met on the field. We camped separately and with camps scattered through out the woods, with a deep ravine between the Union and Confederate camps. On some level this was true of actual battlefield conditions. As each man retired to the confines of his camp, evening meals were prepared and horses tended. As night fell the glow of candles and campfires punctuated the blackness of night. The drone of hundreds of conversations and the hypnotic effect of staring into the campfire soon put me in my tent to settle in for the night. My cohorts stayed up and took in a minstrel show and slithered through the sutlers row. At 4:00 am the bugle calls and long drum rolls summoned all for a dawn battle. This also followed the original battle scenario for control of the split rail fence. I rolled out to witness this event even though our battery was not included in the morning action. The campfire was nothing but a few embers and as I groped to get a fire going I could hear the calvary horses pass within 6 foot of me without being able to see them. Occasionally I could make out a stirrup from the direction of the hoof beats. As infantry and calvary began to assemble in the ridge top field I was joined by, gun mate, Dan Goris. We stood in awe in the field as morning began to break, revealing that the Kentucky countryside was blanketed with a heavy fog. Ghostly images of men and horses formed up for inspection. Because of the fog their presence could only be imagined as there was no shape or form in the early morning darkness. You could hear the clinking of tin cups and canteens, the squeaking of saddles and the shuffling of feet and the quiet voices of the men as they formed up in brigades. As the drummer moved among the troops, the beat let you follow his progress, with only sound and the faint image of the white drum head the only clue of his presence. As the brigades moved out the gray snake was a mass of humanity. With only the occasional white haversack, white shirt sleeve or pant legs giving the sight any indication that this army on the move was made up of individuals. Dan and I went out to the guns. Two crews were working the morning battle on the Union side. We had occasion to listen to the Wisconsin crew talk about the big twelve pound Napoleon. the tube was cast of bronze in 1864. It never saw service in the war and was in pristine condition. The barrel alone was valued at 80,000 dollars. The limber was made with original hardware. A muffled lull was the prelude to a battle we could not see. Visibility was about 50 yards and I have no idea if a crowd showed up to see the dawn engagement. We could see no soldiers and their presence could have gone unnoticed until the report of musket fire from the valley. The two operating guns fired the occasional shot into the fog with out any idea what was unfolding below. The crew conducted themselves as if being watched by a thousand watchful eyes. In reality only the crews themselves and two confederate observers were there to witness their expertise. The experience of this foggy morning battle had a feel of its own that I will not soon forget. The afternoon battle on Sunday was for "Last Stand Hill". This engagement was quite a site for the crowd as it took place directly below the viewing area. The Confederates occupied both sides of the road and under Union pressure fell back to the hill. It was not a route, but a fighting retreat. After the second retreat the Union topped the hill thinking they were to be met by a defeated foe. Instead they were face to face with three fresh regiments. The battle raged. As the one of the new regiments flanked the Federal troops, they were driven back off the hill. The Confederates disengaged and marched toward the camp which was protected by Confederate Calvary. The calvary slowed the Union advance and allowed the remaining Rebel soldiers to get away. As for our guns, both sides volleyed through out the battle. In real battle, the goal is to win. To be honest, in reenacting the operation of an artillery battery, the most exciting part is to be overrun and to go down under the gun. When your side wins, all the action is on the other end of the field, which reduces the crew to spectators. In 1862, The Battle of Mills Springs pretty much pushed the Confederacy out of Kentucky. Up until this battle, during the first year of the Civil War, Federal forces had failed to win a single major battle in the western theater. This was truly an important event for both sides. Abraham Lincoln was to have implied, " While he hoped to have God on his side, he had to have Kentucky....". For more information, contact: Mill Springs Battlefield Association
|