Kentucky Historical Marker #0546
Fort Mitchel. Near here stood old Ft. Mitchel, erected Oct. 1861. Scene of several skirmishes between CSA forces under Gen. Henry Heth and USA troops under Gen. Lew Wallace September, 1862. Major anchor in a line of seven forts defending Cincinnati. They ran along hills around Covington about 10 miles, from Bromley, on river to west, east to river near Ft. Thomas. Dedicated October 15, 1964.
Dixie Highway, Ft. Mitchell, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0547
Louisa in Civil War. River traffic caused Union forces under Gen. James A. Garfield, 20th U.S. President, to occupy Louisa Dec. 1861. CSA troops attempted capture March 12 and 25-26, 1863. Southern partisans raided area Nov. 5, 1864, burning houses and 2 steamers, and looting stores. Fort Bishop, USA, completed here just as war ended in 1865. Also called Fort Gallup and Fort Hill. Erected October 4, 1962.
Louisa, Courthouse lawn, US 23, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0548
Perryville Prelude. Two largest skirmishes of Civil War in Jefferson County occurred here Sept. 27 and 30, 1862. CSA forces, already in control of the State Capital, were threatening Louisville. In first clash the Confederates were driven back to Floyds Fork. Three days later CSA again halted at Union line. Both were preliminary to Battle of Perryville on Oct. 8, 1862. Erected in 1962.
US 60, W. of Middletown, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0549
Civil War Actions. On Sept. 21, 1862 cavalry men under Maj. George M. Jessee, a native here, attacked provost marshal Robert Morris' home guard. Guards surrendered men, horses, and 300 stand of arms. Dec. 13, 1864, Maj. Jessee and Confederate forces were defeated here after a spirited skirmish with state troops and home guards led by Capt. Jas. H. Bridgewater. Cast in 1962, erected in 1963.
1 mi. N. of New Castle, US 421, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0550
Skirmish at Florence. Union troops had built forts around Covington to repel expected attack from CSA troops under General Heth. Detachment of 101 CSA troops camped at Snow's Pond, attacked here by scouting party of 53 USA cavalrymen Sept. 17, 1862. In the skirmish 1 Union, 5 Confederates killed and 1 Union, 7 Confederates were wounded. Larkin Vaughn, a civilian, killed by a stray shot. Erected in 1962. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: Skirmish at Florence
Florence, US 25, 127, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0551
Harrodsburg Springs. An exclusive spa was located here from 1820-1853, then sold to U.S. Government as Western Military Asylum for aged veterans. After main building burned, veterans were moved in 1859 to Washington, D.C. Ballroom and cottages were opened Oct. 8, 1862 to care for thousands of CSA and USA wounded from Battle of Perryville. Last of buildings had burned by 1885. Erected in 1962.
Moreland Ave., E. of US 127, Harrodsburg, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0552
Joseph Holt. Six miles north are birthplace and grave of Joseph Holt, 1807-1896. He was Commissioner of Patents, Postmaster General and Secretary of War in President Buchanan's Administration, 1857-1861. Lincoln named him Judge Advocate General of the Union army in 1862. Holt prosecuted conspirators in the assassination of Lincoln, 1865. He retired as Judge Advocate in 1875. Erected December 21, 1962. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: Joseph Holt
4 mi. E. of Cloverport, US 60 & KY 144, Cloverport, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #0553
Battle of Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. The battle was brought on by Confederate Lieut. Gen. Braxton Bragg as a delaying action to insure safe withdrawal of a huge wagon train of supplies and to enable him to effect a junction with the army of Maj. Gen. E. Kirby Smith in the vicinity of Versailles. In overall command of the Union Army (Army of the Ohio) was Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, with Maj. General George H. Thomas second in command. Buell had three corps. First: Maj. Gen. Alexander McDowell McCook. Second: Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden. Third: Maj. Gen. Charles C. Gilbert. In overall command of the Confederate Army (Army of the Mississippi) was Gen. Bragg, with Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk commander of the Right Wing and Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee of the Left Wing. Bragg had three divisions: Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham’s; Brig. Gen. J. Patton Anderson’s; and Maj. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner’s. The main action began at 2:00 p.m. with a fierce charge by Brig. Gen. John A. Wharton’s cavalry, on the extreme Confederate right, followed immediately by a rapid advance of Cheatham’s entire line. Simultaneously, Buckner’s and Anderson’s moved forward, amid heavy cannonading from numerous batteries on both sides. Cheatham’s charge caught a large number of McCook’s men (many fresh enlistees) unaware and off guard, far in advance of their lines, seeking water in the vicinity of Doctor’s Creek. Both Cheatham’s and Buckner’s divisions drove McCook’s men back to their former ill-formed positions and, after heavy, often desperate, hand-to-hand fighting, dislodged his entire corps, pushing him back a distance of approximately a mile west of the Creek. On the Con-federate left, however, Anderson was unable to dislodge the division of Brig. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, timely enforced by Brig. Gen. Albin Schoepf’s division. Late afternoon, Anderson’s advancing left was struck by a determined charge of Col. William P. Carlin’s brigade (R. B. Mitchell’s division, Gilbert’s Corps) between the Springfield and Lebanon roads, the charge carrying through Perryville and out on the Danville and Harrodsburg roads. Toward dusk, desperate staying actions by brigades of Col. John C. Stark-weather (Rousseau’s division) and Col. Michael Gooding (Mitchell’s division) enabled McCook to stabilize his battered corps along a line immediately beyond the Russell house and Benton road. In his favor too were the coming of darkness and near exhaustion of the Confederates. General Buell, headquarters at the Dorsey house on Springfield road, was not aware that the battle was in progress until 4:00 p.m., too late to have Crittenden’s corps, along Lebanon road, pivot around in an attempt to envelop the enemy forces. After nightfall, Bragg finally realized that his small force faced practically Buell’s entire army. This knowledge caused him to order withdrawal at midnight toward Harrodsburg. On the whole, the Con-federate troops were better handled and used than these of the Union. The battle ended as a tactical victory for Bragg; a strategic victory for Buell, who held the field. The Confederate commander employed only 16,000 men and sustained 3,396 casualties; 510 killed, 2,635 wound-ed, and 251 missing. Buell used between 22,000 and 28,000; sustained 4,421 casualties; 845 killed, 2,851 wounded and 515 captured or missing. The battle was one of the fiercest and bloodiest of modern times. Had Buell and Bragg been better informed and more aggressive, the battle of Perryville might have been the decisive engagement of the Civil War in the West. After this battle, the Confederates never returned to Kentucky in great force; the state remained firmly in the Union. Dedicated October 6, 1962.
US 68, Perryville, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0554
Lexington Named. In early June of 1775, a party of frontiersmen, led by William McConnell, camped near here on a branch of Elkhorn Creek. Upon hearing of the colonists' victory at Lexington, Mass., on April 19, 1775, they named their campsite Lexington to commemorate the first battle of the American Revolution. Impressed with the area, they hoped to see a town here some day. (Reverse)Lexington Settled - Due to danger of Indian attacks, permanent settlement was delayed for four years. In 1779 Colonel Robert Patterson and 25 companions came from Fort Harrod and erected a blockhouse at present Main and Mill streets. Cabins and stockade were soon built, making fort a place of importance. The town of Lexington was established on May 6, 1782, by act of Va. Gen. Assembly. Originally dedicated November 22, 1962. Text revised, marker recast in 1978.
Entrance to McConnell Springs Dr. & Old Frankfort Pk., Lexington, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #0555
Estill Springs. Mineral springs visited by Boone, Boyle, McAfee and other pioneers. Early camp of Shawnee Indians. First school of early settlers located here. Operated as resort, 1814 until hotel burned 1924. In 1861, owner Col. Sidney M. Barnes organized 8th Ky. Inf. Vol., USA. Used as recruiting station and camp. Morgan's men held several reunions here, including the last. Dedicated May 16, 1963.
1/2 mi. N. of Irvine, KY 89, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0556
Mission Accomplished. On mission to clear area of CSA forces, Colonel G. W. Gallup with USA troops was attacked here April 13, 1864 by CSA force under Lt. Colonel E. F. Clay. Union troops repulsed Confederates. Next day USA attacked CSA at Half Mountain, south of Salyersville. 60 CSA killed or wounded; 60 men, 200 horses, 400 saddles, 300 small arms captured. USA losses were slight. Erected April 5, 1963. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: Mission Accomplished
Paintsville, US 23, 460, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0557
First Coal Oil. Coal oil first produced here 1851. Plant built 1857, reputed first of kind in world. Mine known for extensive veins of cannel coal. Coal loaded here, exported to England via New Orleans for gas manufacture. English-owned with Prince of Wales (King Edward VII) an investor. Disastrous fire, the discovery of petroleum, and Civil War caused cessation of operation. Erected January 31, 1963.
3 mi. E. of Cloverport, US 60, Cloverport, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #0558
Frontier Nursing. Mary Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service, 1925. Midwives from England helped to bring medical service that saved hundreds of mothers and babies of "remote hollows and hills of Clay, Leslie and Perry counties." 1928, a 28-bed hospital opened in Hyden and in 1939 Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery founded, one of three such schools in U.S. Erected September 27, 1963. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: Frontier Nursing Service
Hyden, Courthouse lawn, US 421, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0559
Swift's Silver Camp. John Swift's fabulous journals report silver operations in East Kentucky. References to ships on the Spanish Seas and to coinage of silver in this area with six trips from Atlantic Coast to this region, 1761 to 1769, is an unsolved mystery. Intrepid searchers have found no trace of cache or mine. One Swift camp reputed to have been on site of this Court House. Installed April 23, 1963.
Campton, Courthouse lawn, KY 15, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0560
Battle of London. 500 CSA cavalry led by Colonel J. S. Scott attacked 200 USA troops and 98 convalescents under Colonel L. C. Houk here Aug. 17, 1862; killed 13, wounded 17, captured 111 men and 40 wagons. CSA lost 2 killed, 4 wounded. Houk forced back to Gen. George W. Morgan's main USA force at Cumberland Gap. Cut off from supplies, Morgan began his retreat to Ohio thirty days later. Dedicated August 3, 1963.
Courthouse lawn, Main St., US 25, London, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #0561
Civil War Actions (Booneville). Retreating to Ohio from Cumberland Gap, part of USA Brig. Gen. George W. Morgan's command passed by here obtaining supplies, Sept. 21, 1862. Force of 40 local citizens drove off 75 Southern partisan guerrillas, April 14, 1864. Col. C. H. Hanson and 300 USA troops pursuing Morgan's Raiders stopped here to obtain guides and information, June 17, 1864. Installed April 17, 1963.
Booneville, Courthouse lawn, KY 11, 30, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0562
"Sue Mundy's" Grave. Marcellus Jerome Clarke enlisted in the Confederate Army, 1861, at age 17. Attached to Morgan's Cavalry in 1863. Captured on March 12, 1865, taken to Louisville, hanged three days later, court-martialed as guerrilla "Sue Mundy." His last words: "I believe in and die for the Confederate cause." In 1865 body brought here, reburied 1914 two blocks east by CSA veterans. Dedicated February 8, 1963. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: Marcellus Jerome Clark and ExploreKYHistory: Sue Mundy's Grave
Franklin, North Main & Finn Sts., ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0563
Demonstration-1862. Jan. 1862, Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sent 5,000 USA troops from Cairo as demonstration against Columbus, a Confederate stronghold on the Miss. River. Combined forces led by Brig. Gen. J. S. McClernand from Ft. Jefferson at Wickliffe through here to Milburn and back to Cairo. It acquainted U.S. Army with the area. It "inspired hope" among many loyal Federal citizens. Erected in 1963.
Bardwell, US 51, 62, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0564
Civil War Recruiting. Two Confederate recruiting camps were located in Owen Co. in the Civil War. Camp Marshall, at Lusby's Mill 7 miles east of here, was organized in 1861 by Gen. Humphrey Marshall of Kentucky. The other was in Vallandingham's Barn near here. Hundreds enlisted from this county to protect their homes, but were sent to various parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. Erected October 1, 1963.
Owenton, KY 227, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #0565
Almahurst Farm. Part of original land granted to James Knight, 1750-1831, for his services in the Revolutionary War. A portion owned by heirs, 1962. Among the famous horses bred, foaled, and raised on this farm were: Greyhound, world's champion trotter of all times; Peter Volo, founder of one of the great trotting families; Exterminator, known wherever thoroughbreds are raced. Originally erected in 1963. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: Almahurst Farm
Old Coach Stop, Jct. of US 68 & KY 169, Nicholasville, ,