Battery Hooper Days, 2012

Well, my summer lull in posting continues, but now that Battery Hooper Days at the  James A Ramage Civil War Museum and all the effort it entails is complete, perhaps I can now spend more time thinking of more topics and doing some more research for interesting subjects and stories.

This year's event was a huge success, with about 1,200 visitors over the 2 days and brisk sales and donations, which will be a big help to the museum. The weather was as good as it can ever be in August in this area - mid 80s for the temperatures, just a few white clouds dotting the blue sky, no rain. Sunday was a bit more humid, but not bad. We have often had temperatures in the 90s with a lot of mugginess, and the way July went this year, with record heat, that is kind of what we expected. Instead, we got the most beautiful August days we could ever dream of.

As usual, the re-enactors, living historians and speakers made the event fun and entertaining. We had 2 new musical groups this year, Chamber Music with Flutes on Saturday and Raison D'etre on Sunday. Both were phenomenal.

We also had a Jefferson Davis impression for the first time and his interaction with Abraham Lincoln was fascinating. They had worked together before and their chemistry was great.

The re-enactors set up a very neat encampment, with several great displays. The cannon fire and musket fire both grabbed people's attention and had visitors smiling and enjoying themselves. These guys also did a great job in the ceremonies we had to remember Bob, showing their appreciation for a departed colleague and fellow re-enactor. I really appreciate the work these guys do in setting up their camp and interacting with the visitors.

Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe impersonators told their fascinating stories again, and generals Lew Wallace and Horatio Wright were kind enough to adjust their speaking times to help fit in the memorial ceremonies for their pal Bob Clements, before delivering their enjoyable talks.

Stuart Sanders from the Kentucky Historical Society was kind enough to drive from Danville to discuss how the battle of Perryville affected the local region. This is also the subject of his fine book, Perryville Under Fire

The Ladies' Living History Society of Greater Cincinnati continued to impress visitors with their dresses and the spinning wheel demonstration. They are always a popular group.

We did feature  Honey Hill Petting Zoo again this year, and people -kids and adults alike - flocked to it to see the various animals they brought. I admit it's not the most "Civil War" aspect possible, but people like it and they come to see it, and that certainly benefits the museum.

Of course, Dr. Ramage delivered a great talk on Saturday and a descendant of one of the members of the Black Brigade of Cincinnati attended and gave a brief talk after Dr. Ramage's remarks. I wish I had gotten more time to meet and talk to him, but someone had to run our used book sale at that time. :)

Last of all, the ceremonies for Bob were very moving. We named the backyard of the museum, where we always have the encampment set up for this event, "Camp Clements" and had a wood signed created by the husband of one of the museum board members. For now, we nailed it to a tree, but will have a more permanent cedar stand set up to display it on a permanent basis.

I've added a couple of my photos below, but you can check out my personal facebook page to see more. If I get them uploaded to photobucket, I will add the link here

Book Review: Perryville Under Fire

Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky's Largest Civil War Battle

by Stuart W.Sanders

copyright 2012

The History Press

The Battle  of Perryville on October 8, 1862 was one of the fiercest fights of the Civil War, particularly in the Western Theater, according to reports from many of its participants. Thousands of men, Confederate and Federal, were killed, captured and/or wounded during the fight among the hills in west-central Kentucky.

In this book, Stuart Sanders, professional services administrator at the Kentucky Historical Society, briefly describes some of the basics of the fighting but chooses to focus on how the battle affected the town of Perryville and other towns in the region. It is richly illustrated with photographs, though I wish it included a map of the state to show the locations of these other towns in a more visual sense.  Sanders does describe where these towns are, but seeing it on a map may have been beneficial to those not familiar with Kentucky geography.

The author clearly consulted many different sources and that thorough research is evident throughout the book, with the detailed information it provides. This book describes how the fighting caused physical harm to to the town, but when the battle was over, Perryville and other local areas witnessed their churches, schools, homes and civic buildings used for hospitals. Some of these were occupied for several months after the battle ended.

Dead bodies littered the ground and had to be buried; this task fell on the hands of many local citizens. Union troops buried most of their own men, but refused to bury most of the Confederate corpses, leaving this task to civilians.

People not only had their homes and other local buildings used and damaged by the armies, but lost much of their winter food supplies, their clothing and even their furniture. Split-rail fences became firewood for troops on both sides, and livestock became meals for the armies.

Much of the discussion in this book is familiar to discussions of what happened after other battles, as the citizens of the area experienced what many others throughout the continent also suffered during the war years, but this was the first in-depth discussion I had seen of the specific aftermath of the battle of Perryville and I really enjoyed this look. It was really informative to see how this battle's effects were felt throughout Kentucky, into Southern Indiana and even as far away as Wisconsin when residents there learned of this fighting. No other major battle in the west was so close to the "Old Northwest" states such as Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois, and no other battle allowed residents of those states to visit the battlefield so soon after the fighting ended to try to find their wounded (or killed) relatives.

This battle even spread its effects south as some Confederate soldiers died as their army retreated from Kentucky into Tennessee and were buried along the route.

This book is not long, only 156 pages including the index, but is very informative and well-written. The narrative has a good flow to it and the many illustrations contribute significantly. It does not include a bibliography, but does have a very detailed notes section that shows the many sources consulted by Mr. Sanders.

I am happy to recommend this book to students of Perryville, of Kentucky history, or of the Civil War in general. It is a good book that provides an important and new perspective about how this fierce fighting in a small Kentucky town had long-lasting effects, even on non-combatants.

Disclaimer: I have met the author on a few occasions and have corresponded with him in his professional role on several times. Despite this, I have attempted not to allow this pre-existing relationship to affect my review, but do feel it is important for readers to know of it.

New Book on the Aftermath of Perryville Out Very Soon

photo courtesy Amazon.com

 
I know I have been "Perryville-centric" this week, but I feel that battle and battlefield certainly are worth some attention.

Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky's Largest Civil War Battle by Stuart Sanders of the Kentucky Historical Society  will be available after February 24th. The link goes to Amazon.com, where it is available for pre-order.

I've met Mr. Sanders and corresponded with him frequently. If memory serves, he wrote many (or maybe all?) of the interpretive signs at the Perryville State Historic Site. I look forward to reading this book and getting a perspective of how the battle affected local residents and communities.