Important Civil War battlefield awaits visitors

``I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky''
Abraham Lincoln

By Ann R. Harney
Staff Writer

PERRYVILLE - Visitors to the Great American Brass Band Festival interested in 19th century America and the Civil War are only a few miles from the most important battlefield in Kentucky.

The Battle for Kentucky was fought just outside this historic town which is about 10 miles from Danville.

The lands on which the Battle of Perryville was fought on Oct. 8, 1862, have been determined to be one of the most important battlefields in critical need of preserving by the American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service and the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission.

The battlefield and the town have been the focus of a project supported by $3.25 million in public and private funds to preserve one of the nation's premiere battlefields and 19th century villages, said Mary Breeding, executive director of the Perryville Enhancement Project.

``I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game,'' said President Lincoln.

While the Confederate Army was the tactical victor in the Battle of Perryville, the Confederates abandoned the battlefield in the middle of the night after the battle.

``The Confederates retreated, leaving the battlefield and the state to the Union,'' Breeding said. Breeding explained that the Confederates feared the incredible number of Union reinforcements on their way.

``Gen. Bragg knew that if he stayed, he would have been defeated the following day,'' she said. A major focus of the project has been the acquisition of properties that were part of the original battlefield, adding to the original 98 acres of the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.

Kurt Holman, manager of the park, said he tries to maintain an open gate policy for the battlefield. The museum and gift shop at the park are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The museum features a cannon recently donated to the museum.

A museum in the Perryville Community Center is open on weekends, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Breeding said. The museum in the center displays artifacts from private collections from Perryville-area residents, she said.

``The effects of the battle were felt and were evident (in the city) for many years,'' Breeding said. Most recently, the project acquired a mill and miller's house on U.S. 68. The mill will be used for a museum and welcoming center for the battlefield. Two other pieces of property in town at the corner of U.S. 150 and U.S. 68 will be used to interpret the town's participation in the battle.

The city of Perryville contains many structures that date back to the battle, including historic Merchants Row, a row of historic stores and homes on Buell Street. None of those buildings is open and many are being restored. However, Breeding said a walking tour explains the history of the buildings.

``The tour is written so you don't need to get into the buildings to know about them,'' she said. A notebook directing the self-guided walking tour can be obtained at the community center. It must be returned at the end of the tour.

Two weekends ago, Perryville was the scene of a Civil War seminar featuring national experts on the war. The seminar focused on the impact of the war on the town and the battlefield.