Perryville

— The Battle for Kentucky October 8, 1862 —

In these fields, a Union brigade commanded by Colonel George Penny Webster supported the main Union battle line. Webster's troops, numbering more than 3,000 men from Ohio and Indiana, were new soldiers who would soon experience the horrors of battle for the first time. Many of the men carried antiquated Prussian muskets that were old and unreliable. During combat, many of the guns would not fire at the oncoming enemy.

Posted on high ground in support of Captain Samuel Harris' artillery battery, Webster's infantry formed a second line against the brunt of the Confederate attack. When the Federal brigade in front of them finally retreated, the advancing Southern troops hit Webster's men squarely for the first time. As the enemy swarmed near them, Colonel Webster was shot in the hip, and he fell from his horse. Taken to a field hospital, Webster eventually died from his wound. Inexperienced and hindered by their outdated weaponry, his troops quickly retreated to the west.

The Battle of Perryville was a vicious baptism of fire for these raw troops. The brigade suffered 90 killed, 345 wounded, and 144 missing. Their experience was indicative of many Union soldiers who fought at Perryville. Untested in battle, many of these men were forced to retreat when threatened by veteran Confederate soldiers.

(Webster) told me he thought he was mortally wounded, and prayed for God to have mercy on his soul. He also said, "Tell my dear wife and children they were last in my thoughts."
Union Sergeant Major Duncan C. Milner
98th Ohio Infantry

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Show me all markers in:  Perryville, KY  |  Boyle County  |  40468  |  Kentucky  |  United States of America

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General Polk Behind Enemy Lines
Harris' Battery
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