Battle of Perryville

Overview

The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi initially won a tactical victory against primarily a single corps of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Union Army of the Ohio. The battle is considered a strategic Union victory, sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky, since Bragg withdrew to Tennessee soon thereafter. The Union retained control of the critical border state of Kentucky for the remainder of the war.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)