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BATTLE // October 8, 1862

Battle of Perryville

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Source · Wikipedia

Significance

The Battle of Perryville, fought in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, served as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive. Although Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi achieved a tactical victory against primarily a single Union corps, the engagement is classified as a strategic Union victory. Bragg's subsequent withdrawal to Tennessee ended Confederate ambitions to secure Kentucky for the Confederacy. The Union retained control of the critical border state for the remainder of the war, denying the Confederacy its manpower, resources, and the political legitimacy that bringing Kentucky into the Confederate fold might have provided. The battle is sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky precisely because its strategic outcome settled the contest for the state's allegiance.

Tactics

Confederate forces under Bragg engaged primarily a single corps of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, achieving an initial tactical success against that portion of the Union force. The overview does not detail specific maneuvers, formations, or terrain use beyond the hill terrain of the engagement.

Forces & casualties

Troop strength

  • United States55,000
    medium
  • Confederate States16,000
    medium

United States fielded a 3.4 : 1 numerical advantage

Casualties

  • United States4,241
    medium8% loss rate
  • Confederate States3,396
    medium21% loss rate
Order of battle →Casualties in detail →

Commanders (3)

Confederate States

United States

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6 sibling battles · 2 factions

Last verified June 2026
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