Battle of Mill Springs

From Dixiepedia: The PC-Free Encyclopedia

The Battle of Mill Springs, recorded in Confederate sources as the Battle of Fishing Creek, and in Federal sources as the Battle of Logan's Cross-Roads was a small, very early battle of the Civil War fought on a "sombre sabbath morn" on Sunday, January, 1862, in Wayne and Pulaski Counties, Kentucky. The town of Mill Springs is actually some distance away from the battlefield, across Lake Cumberland. The current town closest to the battlefield is Nancy Kentucky.

It concluded an early Confederate offensive campaign in eastern Kentucky. While considered a small battle in comparison to many in the Civil War, the battle at Mill Springs was the second largest in Kentucky (only Perryville had more bloodshed). It was also the first significant Union victory, much celebrated in the popular press, but was soon eclipsed by Ulysses S. Grant's victories at Forts Henry and Donelson.

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Battle

Although Confederate Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer's main responsibility was to guard the Cumberland Gap, in November 1861 he advanced west into Kentucky to strengthen control in the area around Somerset, Kentucky. He found a strong defensive position at Mill Springs and decided to make it his winter quarters. He fortified the area, especially both sides of the Cumberland River. Union Brigadier General George H. Thomas received orders to drive the Confederates across the Cumberland River and break up Major General George B. Crittenden's army. Thomas left Lebanon, Kentucky and slowly marched through rain-soaked country, arriving at Logan's Crossroads on January 17, where he waited for Brigadier General Albin Schoepf's troops from Somerset to join him.

General Crittenden, Zollicoffer’s superior, had arrived at Mill Springs and taken command of the Confederate troops. He knew that Thomas was in the vicinity and decided that his best defense was to attack him, which he did at Logan's Crossroads at dawn on January 19. Unbeknownst to the Confederates, some of Schoepf's troops had arrived and reinforced the Union force. Initially, the Confederate attack forced the first unit it hit to retire, but stiff resistance followed and Zollicoffer was killed, allegedly by Colonel Speed S. FryFry is generally credited with firing the fatal shot that killed General Zollicoffer, although this has been disputed since there was also a group of Union soldier around Colonel Fry who fired at the same time.. The Confederates made another attack, but were repulsed. Union counterattacks on the Confederate right and left were successful, forcing them from the field in a retreat that ended in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The Battle of Mill Springs, along with the Battle of Middle Creek, broke the Confederate strength in eastern Kentucky. Confederate fortunes did not rise again until summer when General Braxton Bragg returned to the state by launching the Confederate Heartland Offensive. Mill Springs was the larger of the two Union Kentucky victories in January 1862. With these victories, the Federals carried the war into Middle Tennessee in February.

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The battlefield today

The Mill Springs battlefield is located in Pulaski County, not far from Nancy, Kentucky. Portions of the battlefield are preserved as a county park (named Zollicoffer Park in honor of the slain general). The Mill Springs Battlefield Association has protected portions of the battlefield by the acquisition of development rights to what is still a largely rural landscape, or by outright purchase. Zollicoffer Park contains the Confederate Cemetery, which consists of a mass grave. There is the corresponding Mill Springs National Cemetery in Nancy, where the Union dead were interred.

The battlefield, which covers about 105 acres, was named by the Secretary of the Interior]] as one of the top twenty-five priority battlefields and is considered a historic landmark. The 'Zollie Tree was the tree attributed as the place Felix Zollicoffer fell; it no longer exists, the victim of a lightning strike, but the stump is marked, with the wood being recycled into souvenir pieces for the Battlefield Association.

On November 4, 2006, the Mill Springs Battlefield Visitors Center and Museum was officially dedicated. Several commemorative ceremonies are held at the battlefield each year, including candlelight tours, living history presentations, and occasional battle re-enactments. The next re-enactment of the battle is planned for September 29 and 30, 2007.

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