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E-mail Dated 6/18/02:
Update on the New Interpretive Sign for the 42nd Indiana
Note: I provided a photograph of Capt. Olmstead which will be used on the
new 42nd Indiana interpretive sign.
Our interpretive consultants just sent me the drafts for the four new interpretive signs. These look great, and I'm very pleased with them. Once a few minor changes are made, they should be installed on the Perryville battlefield and at the Crawford House sometime within the next couple of months. They will be in place by the October reenactment.
Many thanks to all of you who helped review the sign text. A major thanks goes to Kurt Holman, who helped with the review process and helped design the maps. Also, thanks to John Walsh for providing a copy of the SAM Wood Perryville map, and thanks to Tim Beckman for providing a photograph for our 42nd Indiana sign.
Three of the signs will be paid for thanks to a grant by the Hudson-Ellis Foundation, which is a local community foundation.
These signs include the following:
Baptism of Fire (42nd Indiana at Perryville)
Sleettown
Crawford House
Crawford Spring
Thanks again for all of your help with these signs! This will now give us 31 signs---29 at the Park, and two at the Crawford House and Spring! I will let you know when they are installed.
Stuart W. Sanders
Director of Interpretation and Education
Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association
P.O. Box 65
Perryville, KY 40468
phone: (859) 332-1862
website: www.perryville.net
E-mail Dated 3/5/02:
Update on Perryville Battlefield Preservation and the 42nd Indiana
Tim,
I just wanted to let you know that I recently secured a grant for three more battlefield interpretive signs. One of these signs (currently in production), which will be placed across from the H. P. Bottom House, is about the 42nd Indiana. It mainly focuses on how they were trapped at Doctor's Creek while searching for water and filling their canteens. It's a compelling tale that we wanted to add to our existing interpretation.
These signs will be part of our existing battlefield walking trail (implemented last summer) that includes about 26 fiberglass-embedded signs, five miles of mown paths, and a new brochure.
Sincerely,
Stuart
Stuart W. Sanders
Director of Interpretation and Education
Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association
P.O. Box 65
Perryville, KY 40468
phone: (859) 332-1862
website: www.perryville.net
E-mail Dated 2/6/2001:
Dear Mr. Beckman,
Just thought you might be interested to learn that last July, the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association (PBPA) purchased seven acres of the battlefield (across from the historic H. P. Bottom House) where the 42nd Indiana became trapped in Doctor's Creek when the battle began. We are very pleased about this acquisition, because it preserves a crucial corner of the battlefield.
There is currently a 1940s house on the property that will eventually be razed, and the land will be cleaned up before it is accessible to the public. However, we are very pleased that we had the opportunity to preserve this site. We will likely clean the area and turn it over to the Kentucky Dept. of Parks (who manages the battlefield) sometime within the next six months.
Once the site is cleaned, we will likely place some interpretive signs that discuss the role of the 42nd Indiana (as long as we have the funding to do it--our signs cost $2,500 each). There is a compelling tale to tell at this site.
For more information, please see our website at www.perryville.net.
Have a great week.
Sincerely,
Stuart W. Sanders, Director
Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association
(859) 332-1862
website: www.perryville.net
In early June, the Association secured 7.5 acres of the battlefield from Mrs. Zella Devine. Located on the Hayes Mayes Road across from the historic H. P. Bottom House and west of Doctor's Creek, this property is a crucial tract for the preservation and interpretation of the Perryville battlefield.
When the battle was fought on October 8, 1862, the 42nd Indiana Infantry crossed this property and halted at the creek, where they stacked arms and cooked rations. One soldier wrote, "We finally reached a creek near the widow Bottom's farm house, but found that the creek was dry except for a few puddles of water with green scum over it. But in our desperate need, we skimmed the water, and put it into a pot and boiled it, making ourselves some coffee."
Believing that the Confederate army was retreating toward Harrodsburg, members of the 42nd Indiana were caught off guard when Rebel troops in General Simon Bolivar Buckner's division attacked. The regimental historian noted, "The command passed the main line, into a ravine where there was water, and it was there while all were engaged cooking and eating dinner that the enemy broke upon us. The first intimation we had of the immediate presence of the rebels was a shot from their cannon, which passed directly over the heads of the field and staff officers, cutting limbs and branches away, which fell with a crash upon 'headquarters mess.' The next was one aimed lower, which knocked away a stack of guns." Trapped against the bluffs on the west side of the creek, many members of this regiment, forced to retreat in disorder, were cut apart while trapped at the creek bank.
Later in the day, troops led by Confederate Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne attacked across this property. At the end of the battle, the 42nd Indiana, who went into the fight with 490 men, suffered 20 killed, 133 wounded, and 21 missing, for a total of 174 casualties, or 35.5 % of their force.
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