Battle of Barbourville

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Barbourville
partof=the American Civil War


caption=
date=September 19, 1861
place=Barbourville, Knox County, Kentucky
casus=
territory=
result=Confederate victory
combatant2=Confederate States of America
combatant1=United States of America
commander2=Felix Zollicoffer, Joel A. Battle, commanding engaged detachment
commander1=Isaac J. Black
strength2=800 men engaged, 5,400 men overall
strength1=300 Home Guardsmen
casualties2= 7 dead
casualties1= 1 dead 1 wounded 13 captured
notes=The Battle of Barbourville was one of the early engagements of the American Civil War. It occurred September 19, 1861, in Knox County, Kentucky during the campaign known as the Kentucky Confederate Offensive. The battle is considered the first Confederate victory in the commonwealth, and threw a scare into Federal commanders, who rushed troops to central Kentucky in an effort to repel the invasion, which was finally thwarted at the Battle of Camp Wildcat in October.

Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer’s Confederates had moved from Tennessee in an effort to push from the Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky and gain control of the important border state. Ten days after his 5,400-man force left their base, Zollicoffer occupied the Cumberland Gap and took position at the Cumberland Ford (near present day Pineville) to counter the Unionist activity in the area. For much of the summer, Federal sympathizers had been organizing and training recruits at Camp Andrew Johnson near Barbourville. Zollicoffer was determined to seize the camp and eliminate the threat. He also wanted to relieve pressure on the army of Albert S. Johnston and divert troops away from Johnston's sector.

In a heavy morning fog, Zollicoffer sent forward a detachment of some 800 men under Col. Joel A. Battle. The camp had been essentially vacated as the recruits had been shepherded off to nearby Camp Dick Robinson, where there were several thousand Federal troops. As Battle approached the empty camp, he encountered a small force of 300 Home Guardsmen under Capt. Isaac J. Black, who hastily removed planking from the bridge to prevent passage by the Confederates. However, the weight of numbers soon prevailed and Zollicoffer had his victory. He seized the camp, destroyed the buildings, and collected arms and equipment left behind by the retreating recruits.

Black lost 1 man killed, 1 wounded, and 13 captured. They managed to kill 7 Confederates before withdrawing.

References

* U.S. War Department, [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html "The War of the Rebellion"] : "a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies", U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
* [http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/610919.htm Mycivilwar.com description of the battle]
* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ky001.htm National Park Service battle description]

External links

* [http://www.battleofbarbourville.com/ Battle of Barbourville reeenactment webpage]