This Henry rifle was carried by Union General John Buford at Gettysburg. Following his death that winter, it was sent to his family here in Kentucky, where it has remained in their private possession ever since. General Buford's great-great-grandson, State Senator Tom Buford, has temporarily loaned the rifle to the Perryville museum for an exhibit that will only be there through the end of October.
I went to the reenactment at Perryville over the weekend, and these are just a handful of the photos that I took. The reenactment was of just a small portion of the battle; a fight between two Arkansas regiments and a brigade of Union infantry, reinforced by a weak brigade of Union cavalry. The Union forces were able to capture the hill and the creek bed from the Confederate troops (the entire region was in the midst of the worst drought in recorded history and the two sides encountered each other while searching for water) which was one of the few Union victories of this battle. The main Confederate force later conceded the field after realizing that they were outnumbered almost three-to-one.
