Donelson Campaign Trip

Two years ago I made my first trip to the Fort Donelson National Battlefield.  I did a bit of backpacking within the Land Between the Lakes Recreational Area, and then toured Fort Donelson after my backpacking excursion.  I hate to admit that while Fort Donelson is a rather close drive compared to other Civil War sites I have visited (and visited more than once), I had never taken the time to make the trip.  While I have an interest in just about any campaign or battle of the war, and own a couple of books on Donelson, it just never really made it to my "must see" places to go.  Now that I have been there once, I am planning a return this coming February with a few Chickamauga  study group friends of mine.  On this trip I plan to use both Blue and Gray tours to cover the various stops not included on the park's official tour, do some hiking near Fort Henry, visit Fort Heiman, and do a lot of walking within the national park's boundaries as well.  This trip will also add the Columbus-Belmont area as an intro to the campaign, and two full days in the Fort Donelson area.  I found a nicely rated and affordable motel in Murray, Kentucky.

All of this is partially due to a need to add on to what I do with Walking With History.  Expanding my tour offerings to keep the business fresh is a good business practice, and the Donelson area, while off the beaten path a bit, is a great area to tour.  Having the details and the sites to visit worked out will allow any future tour I give there go that much smoother.  And, to be honest, I like touring with my Chickamauga buddies as they are of the same mind as I when it comes to getting out of the car and walking the ground.  

There is another plus, there are some units and personalities involved at Fort Donelson that are also involved in the Kentucky Campaign, so having an even deeper knowledge of these units and leaders will also potentially enhance any tour I do give at Perryville!

Review of Kentucky Rebel Town Now on Amazon

I have owned a copy of Bill Penn's Kentucky Rebel Town: The Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County for some months now, and upon looking at the product info on Amazon recently was surprised to see that no one had written a review of this fine work by this time.  So, I decided to throw something together in an effort to give Mr. Penn a bit of good karma as his work deserves some recognition.  The review is now live on Amazon (click HERE to see the review).

I hope, once the holidays are over, to be able to work with the Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation folks to offer one or two of these books as a giveaway on Amazon.  Stay tuned for more details on this and other CBF happenings in 2017!

Random Thoughts

I keep telling myself we are all volunteers, we are all volunteers, we are all volunteers....

I have often wondered why there are not more folks actively engaged in historical preservation and interpretation.  Yesterday saw the fourth meeting of the Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation, and while it was a productive meeting, and a group of folks that definitely shows passion for Cynthiana's Civil War past, I drove home wanting more.  I pondered why I felt a need for more.  Perhaps it is my own never ending stream of ideas of how to improve?  How to create greater awareness and involvement?  My own lack of focus at times?

There are times when we miss the boat when it comes to the management of grass roots organizations.  Those of us who all involved with such groups all have life experiences and ideas that we bring to the table, but we seem to, at times, have blinders on to the larger picture of how a grass roots organization can and should grow.  I am probably just as guilty as others when I fall back to what "I know" but with my managerial experience and process improvement abilities, at times I do become frustrated when the vision or focus is so narrow, or how folks are hesitant to try to methods to promote and grow.  Sorry, in case folks are actually reading this, my last comments are not meant about the CBF, but I am worried that we will not see the larger picture of preservation and interpretation that we will need in the next few years after we have laid the groundwork of the foundation.  I hope I can help drive this larger vision after we have established ourselves as we have the chance to create an awareness nearly from scratch as few know about Cynthiana's involvement in the Civil War.  While I currently serve as membership chair, I hope that I will be able to assist the organization towards a national prominence and help to preserve land that will be open for public visitation in the future.

Again, my comments about missing the boat are not directed to the CBF as we are far too new in our existence for those concerns.  I am just using the CBF as a possible example of what direction a local organization might head if they do not look beyond their normal reach.

Another example could be the Friends of Perryville.  I have already written about this group a few times, so I will not belabor the point, but the inability to have folks with an interest be able to join online, the lack of a consistent newsletter, and the unwillingness to accept folks outside the local area has kept them from growing.  Perryville is an amazing place, a true preservation success story, and that story could not have been written about the passionate people in the Friends group.  But they could have SO much more support if they would do a few simple things or be willing to allow others with abilities do some of these things for them.  But, they seem to be happy doing what they are doing and that is that!

In my role as activities chair for the Cincinnati Civil War Round Table, I come across the issue of "comfort zone" from more than one direction.  I have been trying for the last couple of years to work  with the group that supports the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati to do some sort of annual joint event.  The president of that group was communicating decently during the initial discussions, but try to get a response from him now...forget about it!  Luckily I have been able to work around him with another person in that group and I think we will be able to move forward on this annual event idea.  Just another example of a local group not seeing a larger picture of being effective communicators to build relationships with groups that could aide with increasing awareness and financial support.  

Conversely, getting our Round Table members to get involved on tours and attend events is also a point of frustration.  If we are supposed to be students of the war, then to me it would be a natural tie to go to those places where the history took place.  Having decent attendance for these types of extracurricular events has been something I have not had great success with.  

As some of you may be aware, I also have a deep interest in the Indian Wars of the 1790s that took place in the Old Northwest Territory, really I have an interest in most military history in the Territory (and areas west of the Appalachian Mountains) from the French & Indian period through the War of 1812.  Some have called this period the Sixty Years War and it encompasses a vast amount of history.  I look at the sites that one can visit and think "why isn't there some sort of group for this?"  One could have an annual weekend that would rotate around the region that would have speakers, tours, etc.  Sites like Fort Necessity, George Rogers Clark National Memorial, the new Fallen Timbers battlefield national park unit, Fort Michilimackinac, and several others, would be ideal locations for such an annual event.  Too large in scope?  Perhaps, but one would pull potential members/attendees from across several specific areas of interest.

For the 225th anniversary of the Battle of the Wabash (also called St. Clair's Defeat/Massacre) the folks at the Fort Recovery State Museum are holding a one day symposium which I am attending.  I think this is a grand idea and really think it could (and should) be an annual event, much like the Braddock Road symposium that is held every year.  The Wabash event is just a single day, with a walking tour and speakers.  With the numerous Miami Campaign sites in Ohio and Indiana it would be easy to mimic what the Braddock Road folks do by having a bus tour one day and speakers the next.

What is the point to this post?  Not certain, other than to get my thoughts out and into written form.  Perhaps it is a way for me to look at my widely varied interests and see if I personally can achieve more.  Maybe it is time to start an Ohio Indian Wars group....  

CBF Board Decided/Perryville

Yesterday saw the third meeting of those interested in interpreting and saving the Cynthiana battlefields.  This was the all important meeting to determine who was going to serve on the board, and in what capacity.  While I was interested in serving as president, being an hour away does not allow me to serve in a manner that I think the president role should function, which means being local and being available to attend many of the happenings within the region.  To that end, I will be serving on the board, and filling the role of membership officer.  Richard McCormick, he of My Civil War Obsession fame, has agreed to be secretary, so we have two persons from greater Cincinnati on the board.  Bill Penn, who literally wrote the book on Cynthiana during the Civil War, is also on the board, giving the board a person who has name recognition in the community.  We also have four folks more local who are passionate about this effort on the board as well.  Next steps are now legal...getting the non-profit filing in place, establishing a business account at a local bank, securing a mailing address (which we have been able to do).

You may have noticed that I haven't really posted much about Perryville lately.  I still have a passion for Perryville, but after many attempts to communicate with the Friends group as I wanted to do more, yet being, for the most part, ignored, I am putting my preservation efforts into Cynthiana, which is only an hour away.  Here I have been able to come in and help get the Foundation off the ground, even though I am not a local.  I am still doing tours at Perryville of course (two scheduled in May next year), and will support the battlefield as I can, but my main focus, where I have been welcomed, is Cynthiana.  There is so much to do there, the challenges are many, and it should provide quite the opportunity for long term commitment.  I really look forward in helping to get the battles more recognized, the area visited by those with an interest in the Civil War, and building a strong team along the way.

Look for more about Cynthiana over the next several months!

Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation Update

Last weekend those who are interested in preserving, interpreting, and promoting the Cynthiana battlefields met for the second official CBF meeting.  This meeting covered a lot of topics, but was mostly focused on the nuts and bolts of operating such a group from an organizational and legal perspective.  From the discussion, it was decided to have seven board members, and of those board member positions, six officer positions.  We have to have a board in place in order to create a charter and have representatives to list on some of the official documents as we move forward to some sort of legal recognition (non profit status, tax ID, etc.).  We should be able to determine the actual board members at our next meeting, slated for August 28th at the Chamber of Commerce office.  All are welcome to attend.

I did take the opportunity to head to Cynthiana a bit early and take a look at some of the surrounding countryside to get a better feel of the terrain and Morgan's approach routes.  I drove to where in both the 1862 and 1864 battles Morgan split his forces to enter the town in different directions.  This location is the current intersection of U.S. 27 (Leesburg Pike) and Smith Martin Lane/Wornall Lane.  Interestingly enough, Smith and Martin were two of Morgan's sub-commanders during the 1864 battle.  I drove down Wornall Lane to Lair Road (both Old and New) to follow the route that Smith and Martin took to come into Cynthiana from the southeast.  I found some neat sites that my wife would love to take pictures.  The countryside is rolling, a little less so south of town, but still a very attractive area to tour.  Long term I would personally like to mark these approach routes as part of the expanded driving tour (along with about a thousand other ideas).  While maybe not fair to compare, but Gettysburg has every rock, shrub, house, and stream marked in some manner (a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point), so why not mark hospital sites, driving routes, etc. at Cynthiana?

Where Morgan split his forces...plenty of room for an interpretive sign

Wornall Lane, where Gano (1862), and Smith and Martin (1864) peeled away from Morgan

Another Gig with the CWEA!

Okay, I REALLY owe Dave Mowery a beer, or three, or a dozen....

I have been invited to speak by the Civil War Education Association at a new Civil War symposium that will take place in southern Indiana next August (2017).  My new "best" friend, David Mowery, told the fine folks at the CWEA (Bob Maher) that I would make a good speaker to help launch this new Midwest-based symposium.  Sheesh, Dave, no pressure there, considering some of the noted speakers and authors that have been invited!  

Most likely I will give a talk on Perryville, Camp Wild Cat, or my latest passion, Cynthiana.  As the symposium is over a year away, there is plenty of time to develop a topic, and with another year of work perhaps the Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation will be in a place to accept memberships and donations, so talking about the battles at the symposium might generate some interest in supporting the foundation.

This is the location of the symposium...care to guess the location?  

As with many of my posts, there will be more on this in the future!

The CFB on FB

Just a quick blurb about the new Facebook home for the Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation!  I am sure a website will be forthcoming in the near future, but for now please go take a look over at Facebook and like the page...and then share with your historical-minded friends.

And, if you are interested in being a part of the leadership, make plans to attend the next meeting.  July 31st, 2:00 p.m., in Cynthiana.  UPDATE - The meeting will be held at the Chamber of Commerce office.

Here is a bit on the 1864 battle (really three battles), part of Morgan's Last Raid.

Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation!

Well, after several months of trying to reach folks who might be interested in forming a friends/preservation group for the battles at Cynthiana, we held our first meeting of the Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation this past Saturday at Biancke's Restaurant, and over a dozen folks turned out, including several locals.  While we might not have covered as much as I would have liked to have delved into, we did get a good start, agreeing upon an organization name and looking at some immediate projects to increase awareness for those visiting Cynthiana.  While there is a lot for this group to take on, from redesigning the driving tour, to enhancing the tour stops, to starting the process of forming a non-profit, to preserving and interpreting battlefield property, at the very least there is now an interest locally.  

Our next meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. on July 31st in Cynthiana, location to be determined.  

Tours with the Civil War Education Association

Some exciting news on the tour front....

A couple of weeks ago I reached out to the fine folks at the Civil War Education Association about leading tours for them in Kentucky, locations like Perryville, Camp Wild Cat, Mill Springs, Cynthiana, etc.  I received a quick response, and had a recent phone chat with their organizer, Bob Maher.  It looks like I will be one of their tour leaders in 2017, with a 2.5 day tour at Perryville.  With such noted historians as Ed Bearss, and Jack Davis, and a host of other excellent historians, I feel honored to be able to lead folks from the CWEA to the rolling Chapin Hills and share the Perryville story.  There are several positive aspects to this relationship - first, the organization seems to be very dedicated to providing a great experience to battlefield visitors; second, having tours through CWEA will bring visitors to the Perryville area that may have never ventured there on their own which increases awareness and support for Perryville; and third, this could lead to not only more tours with the CWEA but also help solidify my reputation with folks wanting to sign up for a tour with Walking With History.  Okay, so that last comment was a bit on the self-centered side, but I do need to establish myself as a good tour guide, and working with CWEA gives me another opportunity to do just that!

I had heard comments about the CWEA at our Cincinnati Civil War Round Table meetings from Dave Mowery, who also leads tours for them.  I had never heard of the CWEA until eavesdropping at one of the round table meetings.  Once I looked them up I realized that their direction for educating the public about our historic past was aligned with what I am trying to accomplish with Walking With History.  Increased knowledge leads to increased awareness which leads to increased preservation.

More on this exciting opportunity in the future!

Cynthiana Battlefields - First Meeting

Details for the first Cynthiana Battlefields meeting!

Saturday, June 18th - 2:00 pm

Biancke's Restaurant

102 South Main Street

Cynthiana, KY

If you can attend, please indicate by clicking this link and voting yes.  That way we will know how many folks are coming and can let the restaurant know.

Lot's of topics to discuss, and an agenda will be posted soon.  

Anyone who wants to view some of the tour stops to talk about potential improvements can join after the meeting.

Battles of Cynthiana Preservation Group?

Yes, you did read that correctly, I wrote battles not battle as there were two battles that occurred in this Kentucky town nestled in Harrison County, about sixty miles south of Cincinnati. Most Civil War battlefield trampers have never heard of Cynthiana, yet it played a significant role in two of John H. Morgan's raids (1862 and 1864). It was the 1862 raid that led Morgan to wire to Edmund Kirby Smith "Lexington and Frankfurt...are garrisoned with Home Guard. The bridges between Cincinnati and Lexington have been destroyed. The whole country can be secured and 25,000 to 30,000 men with join you at once."  This leads to the 1862 Kentucky Campaign, in which the Kentuckians join the Confederate army, but in the hundreds, not the thousands Morgan (and others) claims will rise up and join the southern cause.  This is a possible point of contention that leads Braxton Bragg to seemingly hold Kentuckians in contempt for the remainder of the war (see Stones River).

While my primary passion will always be for Perryville, I live just over an hour from Cynthiana and the drive is along a scenic stretch of U.S. 27 (once one gets past the suburbia and strip plaza hell of northern Kentucky), while the drive to Perryville twice as far.  Of course, Perryville has 1100+ acres of interpreted battlefield to explore, saw the deaths and wounding of thousands of men, and is a state park.  Cynthiana has none of that.  There is a fourteen stop driving tour that covers both battles (very small affairs by Civil War standards), a couple of cemeteries, and an 1861 Federal camp that was occupied by the 35th Ohio.  To go along with the tour is a well done CD available from the chamber of commerce, but the chamber is only open Monday through Friday during business hours, and most battlefield visitors are weekend warriors.  That does make it difficult for weekend visitors to fully enjoy the tour experience.  

There is also a well-done book that covers Cynthiana and Harrison County during the Civil War, written by William Penn.  Published in 1995, copies are going for at least $150.00, but Mr. Penn has informed me that he is working on an expanded second edition that will be published by the University of Kentucky Press, hopefully later this year.  

The 1864 battle is included in the American Battlefield Protection Program's study.  There was also a specific battlefield study completed by a local (Cincinnati) firm some years ago that covers all the Civil War related sites and gives recommendations for further battlefield preservation and interpretation.  But what is missing is a "friends" or preservation group to act upon the recommendations made in those two studies.

For the last few months I have sent a slew of emails to various folks I thought might be interested in helping to form some sort of group that would help develop Cynthiana's Civil War history even further than what has been accomplished by the current driving tour.  Those emails went to the chamber of commerce, reenactment units, and others I thought might be interested in driving this project.  I also started reaching out to the various agencies that might assist with formation, preservation, and funding.  Alas, I received very little response from the folks I thought might be interested until recently when Bill Penn provided another name I might try.  Luckily, the email exchange with this latest individual has been fairly frequent, and they seem to have similar thoughts when it comes to forming some sort of group for the Cynthiana battles.  I believe we will meet sometime this summer and see what we can do to drive local interest in the Cynthiana story.  More to come on this subject in future posts!

Another Perryville Tour Completed!

Between the April tour for the Missouri round table and the annual spring tour for the general public, I think I have had enough of the rainy season!  Both tours saw some precipitation, which also makes for wet walking, but in both cases the groups trooped along all day.  For the spring tour, due to late planning on my part and a less than favorable weather forecast, we only had fourteen onboard, but it was a good crew and we were able to share the Perryville story fairly well.  Seven of us even spent more time together at Bluegrass Pizza for dinner, enjoying good conversation, the Preakness on the telly, and some tasty pizza and beers.

I have determined with the last two tours that telling the story starting with Jones Ridge (so that both Donelson and Jones/Brown can be covered) is the way to go for every tour going forward.  Moving towards the Bottom House we can cover not only the fighting there, but also Peters Hill.  Going to Cheatham's attack for the afternoon session allows participants to already have a solid base of Donelson and the fighting along Loomis' Heights back to Dxiville Crossroads, so that when we end with Cheatham near the crossroads, everything has tied together nicely.

My blog friend Richard McCormick took plenty of pictures and wrote a nice entry over at My Civil War Obsession, so I will let you head there for some more information.

A Non-Civil War Post, Sort Of

I came across this site from a Facebook post by the Braddock Road Preservation Association, which I joined last fall during their excellent annual weekend held at Jumonville (yes, THAT Jumonville, you know, George Washington and Half King).  I enjoy many other military history interests (don't bring up Arthur St. Clair, Josiah Harmar, or that Anthony Wayne guy in my presence unless you have a couple of hours to listen to me ramble on), from the French and Indian War up through modern conflicts.  So when I attended the BRPA seminar last fall, I was hopeful that it would be enjoyable experience, much like the Chickamauga study group I am fortunate to spend time with every March. (led by Jim Ogden and Dave Powell)  I was happy with my trip to western Pennsylvania, spending Friday on a bus tour from Cumberland, Maryland back to Fort Necessity, and on Saturday listening to some excellent speakers covering a wide variety of topics related to the French and Indian War period.  This year has an interesting lineup as well, so I hope to save up my pennies and attend again.

Okay, so I am way off topic already...the Facebook post was from this site which pimps a fictional book set along the Forbes Road.  Other than reading Allen Eckert's great historical fiction series, I have a tendency to stick to non-fiction, but the website has a page that sets the historical context about the Forbes Road and the historical sites one can still visit rather well.  

What does any of this have to do with the Civil War, or Perryville?  Nothing, and everything.  This is one of those posts where I wish folks could and would and should do more at Perryville to present the Civil War battlefield tramper as well as the casual Civil War tourist, a deeper experience at Perryville.  No, this is not a rant against the Friends group...they are a dedicated, passionate, and hard-working bunch of folks who do a lot already, but perhaps....

Last year we expanded the walking tour to include an extra day of walking from Mackville to Perryville, following Alexander McCook's I Corps on its approach to the battlefield, and added an evening session that saw Kurt Holman and Stuart Sanders give great presentations.  Alas, these extra offerings did not result in a great turnout as Mother Nature rained on us all day and kept the sunshine visitor home, but still this is something I would like to see added to the Perryville event calendar, a study group/round table/seminar, that could give both the casual and dedicated Perryville visitor an annual event to look forward to every year.

The battlefield tramper can choose from specific walks each year that would cover ground not normally visited and discussed.  The casual visitor could attend a basic tour that covers the core aspects of the battle.  All could attend talks held in the evenings or on Sunday.  Bus tour on Friday, various tours catered to different levels of visitors during the day on Saturday, talks on Friday and Saturday evenings, and perhaps a half day program on Sunday morning.  Get the living history folks to come out to perform not only musket and artillery firing demonstrations, but also 

There are facilities already in place that could be used.  The Civil War Hall can hold folks for talks, the picnic shelter can be used for more talks and demonstrations, and why not have a bus tour that covers some of the approaches and sites related to the battle?  In town there are also some meeting spaces if needed.  There are also local businesses that could cater boxed lunches.  There are enough experts that can host tours and/or give talks or presentations.  A bus can be rented and covered by a bus tour fee for attendees.

What holds this back?  The amount of time volunteers have to put into such an effort, because it would be an effort.  And to ask the short-handed and under-funded staff at the park, or the Friends group who is tearing down post war buildings, installing yards of fences, and organizing an annual reenactment to do more is too much.  Yet this sort of effort would have to have some sort of local involvement.  

A Perryville Weekend

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be asked to lead a tour at Perryville by my Civil War buddy Andy for his Missouri Civil War round table.  Because his group is relatively small, we opened it up for a few more folks, and in all had thirteen battlefield trampers from Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Kentucky.  Friday afternoon I met most of the group in Danville at the Hampton Inn and we headed to the Peters Hill area, starting near the G. Bottom house and discussing the bivouac area of the Federal III Corps, in particular Phil Sheridan's division and Dan McCook's brigade along with Speed Fry and his 10th Indiana.  Setting up the scene of the early morning fighting of October 8th, we drove our cars slowly along old Springfield Pike, and saw the Turpin House (Sheridan's headquarters), and parked along Bull Lane where we discussed the retreat of the 7th Arkansas to the Bottom Hill mass, the counterattack of the 5th and 7th Arkansas against the deployed III Corps, as well as Gay's cavalry attack against the Confederates.  We also covered Powel(l)'s brigade movements on the afternoon of the 8th, Robert Mitchell's counterattack against Powel(l) and , and the closeness of the Peters Hill mass to the I Corps' positions.  We moved into town, stopping by Carlin's Federal brigade location and visited historic Merchant's Row as I thought it was important to show the group the town as well as the battlefield,  As it was getting fairly late we headed into Danville and had a great time at Bluegrass Pizza before heading back to the hotel to go over the Kentucky Campaign, setting up the next day's tour.

Saturday morning the group, joined by three others, including Chickamauga blogger and author Dave Powell, spent the first hour or so touring the museum and seeing the excellent film about the battle, then we gathered up into cars and drove out to Loomis Heights to start our talk about the deployment of Harris's and Lytle's Federal brigades, the attack of Jones's Confederate brigade, followed by Brown's brigade, then wandered down to Doctor's Creek to see the bluffs and the area where the 42nd Indiana were located.  Moving around to the Squire Bottom farm, we were able to see the excellent work completed by the Friends group with the addition of more rail and post fencing, along with the beginning of a stone wall added near the Bottom house.  Moving to the 3rd Ohio's position, we were able to see with clarity the closeness of Gilbert's III Corps to McCook's Corps, the plight of the outflanked 15th Kentucky and 3rd Ohio, the attacks of Johnson's, Adams's, Cleburne's, and Wood's rebel brigades, and then headed towards the Russell House site to finish this portion of the core Perryville battlefield.

After an excellent lunch provided by the Missouri group, we covered Cheatham's attack against the green troops of Jackson's Federal Division and the mostly seasoned troops of John Starkweather's brigade.  We pushed towards the last position held by Starkweather (and site of the latest Civil War Trust's recent campaign to save this core piece of property), then ended the day with a chat about the aftermath of Perryville.  We headed back to our cars and headed to Danville to enjoy bar-b-que from Brother's.  A few of us gathered in the hotel's lobby area to enjoy more discussion.

It was a whirlwind weekend, covering much more of the campaign and battle than I normally get to talk about, and it led to some great comments I was able to add to my business website.  It was also enjoyable to receive very nice feedback from Morgan's Raid expert David Mowery, who has himself led numerous Civil War tours.  I am hopeful that the group was able to enjoy Perryville and a couple of folks have already mentioned return visits to the battlefield.

Next Annual Tour Date Set

Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
1825 Battlefield Road, Perryville, Kentucky 40468
Saturday May 21st - 9:00 a.m.

Come spend a day at the most pristine battlefield in the United States! Hosts Chuck Lott and Darryl Smith will guide you on the battlefield of Perryville, fought in October, 1862, that concluded Braxton Bragg's Kentucky Campaign. Two sessions will cover most of the battle.

Starting at 9:00 a.m. we will cover Frank Cheatham's divisional attack against the mostly green Federals on the Union left flank, then break for lunch around noon. (bring your own as the area does not have any restaurants close by) Spend the afternoon walking the ground of Simon Buckner's and Patton Anderson's attacks against the heights held by such heroes as Leonard Harris and William Lytle. 

There will be an evening gathering at a restaurant in Danville for those wanting to talk about the battle and Kentucky Campaign further.

For additional information, contact Darryl Smith at ohioatperryville@yahoo.com

This tour is hosted by the Friends of Perryville Battlefield and the Cincinnati Civil War Round Table.

Civil War Trust - Goat Farm!

The "goat farm" is the latest property that the Civil War Trust has announced at Perryville. This farm is the site of the "high tide" and ties two extremely important pieces of park property together. Donate now by clicking on the picture above!