Yesterday was the anniversary of the Battle of Mill Springs during the Civil War in 1862. It was the first significant battle won by the Union troops. The battle was also known by different names depending on which side you were on. The Union side it was known as the Battle of Logan’s Cross-Roads and on the Confederate side it was known as the Battle of Fishing Creek.
Kentucky declared neutrality
Here is a little history. At the beginning of the war Kentucky declared that they were to be neutral. They were not joining either side. Yet the Confederacy had a long defensive line that spanned from the Cumberland Gap, across southern Kentucky to the Mississippi River. Then the Confederacy decided to try and take control of the state. That failed and the state's neutral stance went out the window and they joined the Union.
Well, Confederate Brigadier General Zollicoffer wanted to move the defensive line north so the Union army could not move into middle Tennessee and he made his base camp by Mills Springs. Almost at the same time Union Brigadier General Thomas was advancing to Somerset, Kentucky just eight miles from Mills Springs in hopes of driving the Confederate army out of Kentucky. The Union side had 4,400 soldiers and was planning to rendezvous with more troops. But General Crittenden the commander of the Confederate army found out and ordered Brig. General Zollicoffer with about 5,900 soldiers to attack before reinforcements could come for the Union side.
On January 19, 1862 around 6:00am, in nasty weather, the Confederates attacked.
On January 19, 1862 around 6:00am in heavy, driving rain, deep mud, dense fog, limited visibility and cold temperatures the Confederate troops attacked. In the beginning they did well but the Union troops were equipped with far better weapons and drove them back. Unfortunately for Brigadier General Zollicoffer he went into a group of soldiers assuming they were his men and ordered them to stop firing. However, they were not his men and were Union soldiers and recognizing him he was shot and killed.
With the General's death came chaos
With the General's death there was chaos and the troops were disorganized and scattered and the Union troops were able to push the Confederates to the other side of the Cumberland River. 55 Union soldiers died and 148 Confederate soldiers died. With this victory the Union side was able to over time get their operations into Tennessee and Mississippi.
Now, besides a nice little history lesson the reason for this blog is to show you the interesting things you can learn by using Fold3. If you would like to learn about wars or just individual battles during wars, it would be worth your time to join Fold3.
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Sources
https://blog.fold3.com/january-19-1862-battle-of-mill-springs/
