Thoughts from my Perryville Weekend

 

Well, that was fun.

What perfect weather and atmosphere in the region this weekend. I am not sure if I could design a better set of days in mid or late October. Fortune smiled brightly on those who attended the symposium.

Obviously, I enjoyed it, but it started before the battlefield, when I finally visited Camp Nelson National Monument. One of the buildings there was under repair and off limits, but the main building was available and holds a terrific museum. The introductory movie, like do many sites feature, was very well-done and enjoyable also.

I enjoyed the museum’s displays on the history of the site, including its usage before its contributions to the enlistments of African American soldiers, for which I have known it best. I read quite a bit of information that I did not know beforehand.

The museum has several rooms, with exhibits on individual soldiers as well as more general life of soldiers and refugees. It includes an archaeological section of items uncovered at the camp, and also discusses refuges, usually family members of soldiers who enlisted there. 

This was an important Civil War-era location in Kentucky and anybody reading this has not been there, I encourage you to visit it. It’s definitely worth the trip. I’ll be back there again someday.

One positive about it is its proximity to Perryville, and, actually, the entire region which features history at Perryville, Danville, Harrodsburg, Shaker Village, and more. For those who like history, this area of the state offers quite a few fascinating attractions. Even places like Bardstown, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace, and more are reasonably close. 

On to Perryville. I have probably stated many times here how much I enjoy the place. It is beautiful (especially with virtually perfect weather like this weekend featured), peaceful, fascinating, and just terrific. Knowing the violence that took place on those hills yet feeling such calmness and serenity while trodding on the once bloodstained land is such a weird contrast that I experience there. Maybe that’s just me, though. 

I did not take part in the walking tours this weekend. The distance and especially the topography are not so kind to my legs and my lungs and I just felt it best not to challenge myself too much. Shame on me, as I know I missed some great presentations and scenery. Maybe I’ll do more next year.

The Friday night driving tour of some of the lesser-discussed actions of October 6 and 7, sort of a prelude to the madness, was fascinating. Darryl Smith did his usual through job of researching these skirmishes, finding the appropriate sites, such as small country lanes or hilltop cemeteries, to visit to discuss them, and then telling these stories to the folks in attendance. These were not major fights and did not receive major after action reports or coverage, so details on just how many men and/or which exact units were involved are scarce, but Darryl pieced a lot of information together to tell these stories, notably emphasizing how Joseph Wheeler and his Confederates delayed Charles Gilbert’s larger Union force on these hills, valleys, and creeksides around Springfield, Ky., yet also how he failed to forward accurate scouting reports to his superiors. Darryl’s use of first-person accounts and statements from participants is always a welcome part of presentations like this.

Another fun part is the people in attendance. Obviously, everybody going on such a tour shares similar interest, but it was still fun listening to others share their information, opinions, stories, and even questions, not only on the events being covered but also on related topics like how the state historic site could be better. 

It’s always nice to meet such friendly people, and helps me realize how much knowledge and Civil War interest exists. Every time I think I have good knowledge of the war, I see how much more there is to learn and how many people already know so much more than I do, especially on the military aspects of the war such as troop movements, tactics, and the performances of various commanders.

I also appreciated the opportunity to visit the Bottom House and the land immediately surrounding it. The Saturday evening reception was especially pleasant, sort of a relaxed and enjoyable social hour. My Campbell County project has interested me in the 15th Kentucky Infantry regiment, and it was in the hills around and behind this house where the 15th fought and suffered so much. At least 4 men from my home county died here, others were wounded, and even more, who lived elsewhere but who enlisted in Campbell County, also perished on these acres Being there was a special opportunity and memory for me.

Many thanks also to the Friends of Perryville group for co-hosting this weekend along with Derek Lindow and Darryl Smith of The Western Theater in the Civil War website and Facebook page, who did the work of organizing and arranging the symposium. I encourage others to check out and support both of those groups. I did rejoin the friends group and hope others follow suit.

I know I made a previous post with some pictures of scenes from this adventure, but here are just a couple more of the park, Friday evening’s drive, and the Bottom House.

East vs. West

courtesy AmericanCivilWar.com

 Many students of the Civil War proclaim that the "war was won in the west" while everybody was paying attention to Washington/Richmond/Virginia, or make comments about the western and trans-Mississippi theaters beings overlooked. Lee's refusal to leave Virginia is a common example cited to support this position, an argument that perhaps has even become a bit of a cliche by now.

Even if it is a cliche, however, I must ask how much of this is still occurring? Over the last few weeks, much has been written/spoken and/or blogged about the Maryland Campaign, South Mountain, Lost Orders and the Emancipation Proclamation that appeared in the immediate aftermath of Antietam. Before that, 2nd Bull Run and the defense of Washington D.C. were common topics.

Even the recent PBS program about death in the Civil War referred to Gettysburg as "the Confederacy's second invasion of the North." (If those are  not the exact words, they are close and have the same meaning.) Presumably (and if I'm wrong, let me know), they meant Antietam as the first invasion. Well, if an invasion of a border state, where slavery was legal and many people expressed southern sentiments is considered an "invasion of the north," what about the Confederate invasion of Kentucky? Was Maryland "northern" and Kentucky "southern" despite their similarities? Why not count Braxton Bragg and Kirby Smith's trek into President Lincoln's native state? What about the fighting in Missouri? Did the writers of the program just focus only on the east? I have read that critique of the program from others, so is this one, seemingly innocuous remark just another example of that focus?

And I realize that griping about that one line out of the two-hour program may not be fair and my taking notice of it says as much or more about me than the program, but I do still feel this is a  point worth making. Was Maryland that much more north geographically to make that distinction between it and Kentucky (or Missouri)? Or was it just close enough to Washington D.C. to garner more attention, even 150 years later?

Even recently, a well-respected blog just announced some upcoming plans for several battles and campaigns, such as Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. They then threw out a bone for those interested in the western theater by promising a look at Stone's River too. Not a single word about Perryville, though participants described it as perhaps the toughest fighting they experienced.

Granted, maybe I am being a bit oversensitive about this. The Seven Score and Ten blog I mentioned a week or two ago has continued to bring attention to some of the happenings in the campaign that led to Perryville and my personal appreciation of the Perryville battlefield probably causes me to look for items about that one particular fight. Maybe the blogs and articles about the other battles are being written and created because that's what people truly want to study. Or maybe I'm missing out on others that focus more on the west.

Hopefully most of the blogs and sites I follow (including Facebook and twitter) will start focusing more on the west as the  anniversary of events in the region get closer. Many post "on this date" type of stories and though the Kentucky campaign was in full force by this time in 1862, no major fighting had taken place yet, other than perhaps Munfordville. Hopefully as we arrive at October 8, 2012, more attention and writing will focus on the events of October 8, 1862.

I really did not intend for this to turn into a rant, but that one line from the PBS program really did light a fire that had been smoldering and I thought it was time I threw some gas on it and express these thoughts and observations.

Black Brigade Ceremony

The good news is that I did get to represent the Ramage Museum at last night's ceremony to dedicate a new monument to the Black Brigade of Cincinnati.

The bad news is that since I had to man the museum's table, and since the historical groups were not very close to the monument or ceremony, I did not actually get to hear the speakers or even see the monument. I did hear some positive remarks from others who attended and did get to see a group of men doing a presentation of some members of the unit, marching around with shovels, picks, etc. and chanting some tune I did not recognize. I wish I had been able to get a picture of them as they were impressive.

I was able to see the seating area and it appeared to be standing room only. They had said they were expecting a crowd of 250 or so and I think they got that, and perhaps a bit more. There were also quite a few African-Americans present; that makes sense with this type of monument, but I have seen stories and other blogs wondering about the lack of interest in the Civil War by African-Americans. I talked with a few dozen people at my table, including some African-Americans, and was pleased with the level of interest in local history and the Civil War. I had several good conversations and met quite a few knowledgeable people. That was a  pleasant part of the evening and hopefully at least a few of them will take time to visit the Ramage Museum or find other ways to study the war, locally or in general.

One cool thing was a local group of re-enactors who fired their cannon to start and end the event. The echo from the buildings in Covington, across the Ohio River, was impressive, and after the first shot, a local water patrol drove up to the Ohio shore to see what was going on. I don't think anything came of that, since the group did fire the ending shot about an hour later.

I also learned of some upcoming Civil War events at other local institutions and will post an entry or two about them in the next few days. It sounds like there will be some very good presentations and talks in the area in the next few weeks, many of them about events in the Cincinnati area. Some may not realize it, but Antietam and the Maryland campaign were not the only events taking place in September 1862. Hopefully at least some of the citizens of this area will understand that the war extended even into Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, even if no major battle occurred.

I do wish I had been able to see the monument (but will find time to go visit and photograph it soon enough) and witness the actual ceremony, but I still had a good evening, being happy with the crowed that turned out for the event and the folks who stopped to visit my table. From what I saw, it was a successful event and a positive step for the study of local history.