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The Worst Confederate General Invades Kentucky — and Fails in Spectacular Fashion
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In 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg invaded Kentucky, hoping to join forces with General Kirby Smith to defeat General Don Carlos Buell and the Army of the Ohio. Bragg intended to deliver Kentucky to the Confederacy but failed miserably and the state remained part of the Union for the rest of the war. This helped Bragg earn the reputation of being the Worst Confederate General of the Civil War.
By the middle of 1862, Confederate fortunes were declining in the Western Theater of the Civil War.
Union forces controlled Western Tennessee, the upper reaches of the Mississippi River, and the southern port city of New Orleans.
Federal forces had driven the Confederate Army of the Mississippi from the important railroad hub at Corinth, Mississippi to Tupelo, and Union General Ulysses S. Grant was making plans to capture the fortress city of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River.
Hoping to end the string of Federal successes in the West, Bragg devised a plan to shift the focus of the war in the Western Theater by invading Kentucky.
Bragg and others had been led to believe that most residents in Border State supported the Confederacy and many of them would join the Southern Army if given the opportunity.
Leaving 32,000 soldiers in Mississippi to deal with Grant, Bragg moved his remaining 34,000 men to Chattanooga, Tennessee to launch his invasion of Kentucky.
Once in Kentucky, Bragg planned to combine forces with Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith and his 18,000 soldiers, stationed near Knoxville, Tennessee, and move against the Union Army of the Ohio, commanded by Major General Don Carlos Buell.
On October 4, events were so promising that Bragg took part in the inauguration of Richard Hawes as the Governor of Kentucky's Provisional Confederate Government.
Union Counterattack
Throughout September, the two-headed Confederate onslaught forced Buell back toward Louisville. There, soldiers from Indiana crossed the Ohio River and reinforced the Army of the Ohio.
In early October, with up to 60,000 men under his command, Buell left Louisville and became the pursuer.
The Confederates were unprepared for Buell’s advance.
Smith and Bragg had still not combined their armies and Bragg’s army was spread between Bardstown and Frankfort.
Battle of Perryville
Buell sent a small force to Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky, to convince Bragg that it was the focus of his counterattack.
Meanwhile, the bulk of Buell’s army departed southeast from Louisville in three columns in search of Bragg’s army.
On October 7, 1862, the three columns approached the small crossroads town of Perryville, Kentucky.
The first Union column to arrive, commanded by Major General Alexander M. McCook, engaged 16,000 of Bragg’s men, commanded by Major General Leonidas Polk.
Realizing that Buell’s feint toward Frankfort was a ruse, Bragg rushed to Perryville and took command of Confederate forces by 10 a.m.
At first, the Battle of Perryville went well for the Confederates. Although the Federals tried to hold their ground, the Confederates gradually pushed them back.
However, as the day progressed, more of Buell’s army arrived on the scene. Running short of supplies and ammunition, and faced with the prospect of squaring off with the bulk of Buell’s army the next day, Bragg withdrew overnight, despite suffering fewer casualties and achieving a tactical victory.
Bragg Retreats from Kentucky
After the Battle of Perryville, Bragg retreated to Harrodsburg, Kentucky where he finally joined forces with Kirby Smith.
The combined Confederate army was now comparable in size to Buell’s army. Nevertheless, Bragg lost his enthusiasm for the campaign. The Kentucky recruits he expected never materialized and he believed that his supply lines were too thin to remain in the state.
Over the objections of Smith, Polk, and other subordinates, Bragg ended the campaign and evacuated Kentucky, leaving the state in Union control for the remainder of the war.
Aftermath of Bragg's Failed Invasion
Neither of the principal commanders fared well at the conclusion of the campaign. President Jefferson Davis summoned Bragg to Richmond, Virginia to answer charges brought by his subordinates about how poorly he handled the campaign.
Satisfied with Bragg’s explanation, Davis ignored requests to relieve Bragg of his command. Understandably, Bragg’s relationships with his subordinate officers were strained when he rejoined his army.
Buell's Career Ends
Buell’s half-hearted pursuit of Bragg as the Confederates withdrew from Kentucky was the source of dissatisfaction on the Union side.
On October 24, 1862, Army officials created a new Department of the Cumberland in the Western Theater under the command of Major General William S. Rosecrans.
The War Department assigned the Army of the Ohio to the new department and re-designated it as the 16th Corps.
Union officials ordered Buell to appear before a commission investigating his leadership during the campaign. The commission met from November 24, 1862, to May 10, 1863, but never issued a final report.
From May 10, 1863, through June 1, 1864, Buell’s official status was “awaiting orders.”
With his military reputation irreparably damaged, Buell mustered out of volunteer service on May 23, 1864, and he resigned from the military on June 1.
This article is a summary of Bragg's Invasion of Kentucky. A more detailed version of Bragg's Invasion, which includes the Defense of Cincinnati, the Battle of Augusta, and the cavalry campaigns of Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Hunt Morgan, is available on American History Central.
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