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Posted on 09/02/2022 4:06:07 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
ALEXANDRIA, Sunday, Aug. 31.
According to all accounts Stonewall JACKSON, yesterday, succeeded in forcing his way through the National troops surrounding him, and effected a junction with the remainder of the Confederate forces. This result was not attained without fearful loss on both sides, as the most desperate fighting took place.
From all that can be learned, in the absence of any regular report, the corps of Gens. MCDOWELL, HEINTLELMAN, PORTER and SIGEL were engaged, the former having the left, the latter the right, and the others operating about the centre.
The principal part of the fighting seems to have been on the left and centre.
The left was thrown up from Manassas Junction toward Thoroughfare Gap, the right at about Centreville, and the centre on the old Bull Run battle-field out from Manassas.
The action was commenced by the enemy opening his batteries upon our left, between 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
Their guns were strongly and advantageously posted upon a ridge, while our batteries had to fire from the open plain. Gen. MORELL's Division supported our batteries at this point.
After some severe cannonading, Gen. BUFORD's Brigade of Cavalry, comprising the First Michigan, the First Virginia, and the First Vermont Cavalry were ordered to our extreme left to reconnoitre, and guard against any attempt to turn our left flank, which movement was threatened by the enemy.
Riding beyond our left, where our infantry were formed close behind our batteries -- which were playing with great precision upon the enemy, while our troops were cheering vociferously -- our cavalry reached a slight eminence, and were about to send out a detachment to explore, when the enemy were seen coming up in force along the line of the adjacent woods.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
First session: November 21, 2015. Last date to add: May 2025.
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The War News: No Fighting Yesterday – 2-4
The Killed and Wounded – 4-5
The Plans of the Rebel Generals – 5
The War in the West (1): Union Victory at Bolivar, Tenn. – 6
City Point Demolished: The Rebels Open Fire Upon Our Flotilla – 6
The War in the West (2): Details of the Expedition UP the Yazoo – 6-7
News from Washington: The Government and the Newspapers – 7
Rebellion at the Last Gasp – 7
Editorial: The Situation – 7-8
The Pending Battles – 8
Editorial: The Patriotism of the Country – 8
The New Bounty and the Draft – 8-9
The President’s Emancipation Policy – 9
False and Disheartening Rumors – 9
Gen. McClellan – 9
Closing the Stable After the Horse is Stolen – 9
Horrible Murder: A Wife’s Throat Cut by Her Husband – 9
Haven’t seen anything about Kentucky in the New York Times from that period. This may be why:
Aug.29-30, marks the battle of Richmond, Kentucky in 1862. Per Wikipedia, “it was one of the most complete Confederate victories in the war by Major General Edmund Kirby Smith against Union major general William “Bull” Nelson’s forces, which were defending the town. It was the first major battle in the Kentucky Campaign.”
“Nelson and some of his men escaped, but ... the way north towards Lexington, Frankfort, and Cincinnati was open.[6]”
If the Confederates had won the war, it would’ve been considered one of the major victories because, as “Civil War historian Shelby Foote remarked that Smith “accomplished in Kentucky the nearest thing to a Cannae ever scored by any general, North or South, in the course of the whole war.”[8]”.
The battle IS mentioned on a monument to Confederate Civil War victories in the square outside the state capital of Texas in Austin (if it’s still there). I discovered it on a business trip there in the 1980s. Here, in Richmond, KY there’s only a plaque noting the battle happened here. And oh, a golf course named Battlefield Golf Club. There is a re-enactment every year, but I’ve never been.
To my (libertylover’s) knowledge, it’s the only time in history that an entire U.S. Army group was routed with over 5,000 killed or captured.
But for some reason, the Confederates did not exploit their victory, and Nelson escaped and lead another battle, about 50 miles to the west at Perryville, which was victorious. After that the Confederates left Kentucky never to return.
I guess it would take a few days in 1862 for news to travel from Central Kentucky to New York. Also, they’d be hesitant to report one of their armies being routed.
I went back and checked today's NYT to see if I left out any Kentucky stories. There's a little news from Tennessee, but not KY. They are focused close to home, coming to terms with recent events in Virginia. On the day after tomorrow there is an article about alarm in Cincinnati about a possible Confederate attack on that city, but it doesn't say how the situation developed. That could come later.
August 30, 1862 was a remarkable day for Confederates.
They may also cause President Lincoln to delay announcing his new Emancipation Proclamation until the Union's military situation appears more favorable.
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