Early in the war, the Lincoln administration recognized the importance of keeping the Border
State of Kentucky in the Union. On September 3rd, 1861, the Confederates broke the Commonwealth’s
self-declared neutrality when Brigadier General Gideon J. Pillow, acting on the orders of
Major General Leonidas Polk, occupied the city of Columbus. With Kentucky now unwillingly
dragged into the conflict, the state would find itself at the epicenter of a new Western
Theater. With the Commonwealth now invaded, the Confederates
form the Army of Central Kentucky, commanded by General Albert Sidney Johnston, considered
by many to be the South’s premiere general at the time. General Johnston soon consolidates
his invasion force. Holding western Kentucky, with his headquarters at Columbus, is Major
General Polk’s command. In the center, Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner’s command
is headquartered at Bowling Green. Meanwhile, Brigadier General Felix K. Zollicoffer’s
brigade guards the Confederate right flank at the Cumberland Gap - a pass through the
Appalachian Mountains where the states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee all converge.
As the doorway leading to the Frontiers of the West, the Cumberland Gap is one of the
most significant pieces of land in American history, and its strategic importance is not
lost on either side. The Cumberland Gap can be used as an avenue of invasion - offering
Union armies the opportunity to strike south into Eastern Tennessee, or allowing a Confederate
army to strike north into Kentucky. When General Zollicoffer seizes the Cumberland
Gap following the collapse of Kentucky’s neutrality, the general is not contempt to
remain on the defensive. He quickly advances his command from Eastern Tennessee into the
Bluegrass State to skirmish with Union forces there. The Federal troops being engaged by
Zollicoffer’s brigade are under the command of Brigadier General George Henry Thomas.
A career Army officer, Thomas is also a Southerner - a Virginian who had chosen to remain loyal
to the Union. Zollicoffer moves into Kentucky on November
27th, 1861, advancing to Mill Springs on the south bank of the Cumberland River. During
this time spent at Mill Springs, Zollicoffer has about 3,500 men at his disposal, although
many of them are unarmed, while others have only old flintlock muskets or civilian shotguns.
After skirmishing with some of the Federals near Somerset, Zollicoffer reports to headquarters
that his men have crossed the Cumberland with little difficulty, on flatboats that they
had constructed. Several days later, on December 5th, without permission from higher command,
Zollicoffer shifts his entire brigade over the river to Beech Grove, just north of Mill
Springs. There, the Confederates set about building cabins and establishing winter camp.
Even though he has the river to his back, Zollicoffer believes that Beech Grove is a
defensible position, and since it places his troops closer to the Federals as Somerset,
he can better respond to enemy movements. By this time, Zollicoffer has a little over
1,600 men under his command in seven infantry regiments, two seven-gun artillery batteries,
and three battalions and four companies of cavalry. While Zollicoffer is crossing the
Cumberland and starting work to establish winter camps at Beech Grove, his superior,
Major General George B. Crittenden, commander of the District of East Tennessee headquartered
at Knoxville, discovers that Zollicoffer has relocated to the far side of the Cumberland,
and is dismayed. He immediately orders Zollicoffer to withdraw back across the south side of
the river. Crittenden realizes that if the Federals consolidate
their forces and move against Zollicoffer, the Tennessean would be in trouble with his
back against the river. Meanwhile, on December 29th, Major General Don Carlos Buell, commanding
general of the Union Army of the Ohio, orders his army’s First Division under Brigadier
General Thomas to drive Zollicoffer out of Kentucky. And so, on New Year’s Eve, Thomas
moves out against the Confederates. He takes with him his Second Brigade, consisting
of the 4th Kentucky, 10th Kentucky, 10th Indiana, and 14th Ohio, as well as two regiments from
another brigade - the 2nd Minnesota and 9th Ohio. Joining those infantry units are the
1st Kentucky Cavalry and Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery. Although Thomas’ force
starts off moving in high spirits, bad weather and terrible roads soon make the march miserable.
It starts to rain, then sleet, before the dirt roads turn to mud. Over the almost-impassible
muddy roads, it takes 18 exhausting days for Thomas’ force to make a march that most
men had expected would only last three. Finally, on January 17th, the exhausted Union
force’s advance guard reaches Logan’s Cross Roads, about 10 miles north of Zollicoffer’s
position at Beech Grove, and eight miles west of Somerset. While Thomas waits for the rest
of his force to converge on Logan’s Cross Roads, he sends word to Brigadier General
Albin F. Schoepf to send him three regiments and an artillery battery from Somerset. Meanwhile,
Crittenden, worried about the situation on Zollicoffer’s front, left Knoxville and
reaches Mill Springs on January 3rd. Upon his arrival, Crittenden is shocked to
find Zollicoffer still at Beech Grove on the north side of the Cumberland River. Crittenden’s
immediate impulse is to move Zollicoffer’s men back across the south side of the river,
but the same rain storms that have bogged down the Federal march has also swollen the
Cumberland, making its currents fast and rough. So, Crittenden decides to have Zollicoffer
stay put on the north side of the river, making the choice to launch a preemptive strike on
Thomas’ Federals at Logan’s Cross Roads before they can unite with Schoepf’s force
at Somerset. Crittenden knows that Fishing Creek around
Logan’s Cross Roads is running at high levels due to the recent rains, and he hopes that
the stream will prove an obstacle to separate the Union lines for a few days. On January
19th, 1862, the first significant battle of the Western Theater is ready to unfold at
Mill Springs and Logan’s Cross Roads. After marching for six hours through a cold
rain that turns the road into a sea of mud, the vanguard of the Confederate force arrives
near Logan’s Cross Roads at 6:30 AM on January 19th. At the foot of a ridge a mile and a
half from the crossroads, the advance Confederate cavalry meets a strong picket force from Thomas’
10th Indiana Infantry and 1st Kentucky Cavalry regiments. Far from being surprised in their
camps, the Federals were on the watch, and this picket force stubbornly resists the Confederate
advance up the hill. When they reach the high ground, the Union pickets are reinforced by
the rest of the 10th Indiana, and this force stands its ground against the advancing Rebels.
Crittenden advances with Zollicoffer’s own brigade in the lead. General Zollicoffer places
the 15th Mississippi in line of battle moving up the road, with his other regiments following
close behind. This force is sufficient to push the Federals off the hill and into the
woods below. However, the dawn is dark and misty, and the Confederates are spread out
for miles along the narrow muddy road, slowing their advance.
After fighting for nearly an hour on their own, the 10th Indiana Infantry and 1st Kentucky
Cavalry are almost out of ammunition and in danger of being overrun. They fall back to
a rail fence bordering a cornfield, on a low ridge running perpendicular to the road. Here,
they are finally reinforced by the 4th Kentucky, and this split rail fence and ridge form the
basis for the main Federal battle line. The 10th Indiana falls back a short distance to
regroup, and the troopers of the 1st Kentucky Cavalry dismount, send their horses to the
rear, and fall in beside their infantry comrades in the 4th Kentucky.
Unable to push this force further back, the 15th Mississippi begins to move to their right
under cover of a deep wooded ravine. From here, they can approach the Federal lines
before engaging their enemy at close range. This infuriates the commander of the 4th Kentucky,
Colonel Speed S. Fry, who climbs up on the split rail fence and brandishes his sword
at the enemy, demanding they stand and “fight like men.” The Mississippians are eager
to oblige him. After advancing nearly to the ridgeline on
the west of the road, almost flanking the Union troops on their right, the Confederate
advance stalls. Most of the Rebel soldiers had never been in battle before, and the dark
rainy morning, coupled with the smoke and din of battle and the lack of visibility in
the dense woods, produces quite a bit of confusion. Brigadier General Zollicoffer, leading his
brigade from the front with the 19th Tennessee, is sure that his men are firing on another
Confederate regiment, and he rides forward onto the road in order to reconnoiter. There,
he meets Colonel Fry of the 4th Kentucky, who had rode up to his right for the exact
same purpose. Neither recognizes the other, with Zollicoffer said to have been nearsighted,
and his own uniform is hidden from Colonel Fry’s view by a raincoat; Zollicoffer orders
Fry to cease firing on his fellow friendly troops.
Colonel Fry, assuming that Brigadier General Zollicoffer is a Federal officer whom he does
not know, and also unsure of who the troops to his right are, answers that he would never
intentionally fire on a friendly unit. As Fry moves back toward his own regiment, Captain
Henry M. R. Fogg of Zollicoffer’s staff suddenly rides out of the woods to warn the
general, firing his pistol at Fry. Colonel Fry and the Union soldiers near him immediately
return the fire, and Brigadier General Zollicoffer falls dead on the road, along with Captain
Fogg. Felix K. Zollicoffer has just become the first general officer killed in the Civil
War’s Western Theater. General Zollicoffer’s death throws his troops
on that part of the field into confusion, and with no brigade commander to lead them,
they make no further significant advances on the west side of the road. However, the
15th Mississippi and 20th Tennessee regiments launch a series of furious attacks on Colonel
Fry’s position, with some assaults even managing to reach the split rail fence, where
they fight the Federals hand-to-hand. Bayonets are poked through the fence rails, and the
Mississippians attack swinging their long “cane” knives.
The Confederates begin to move ever toward their right, threatening to turn the Federal
left flank. However, a section of Union guns from Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery,
appear at that crucial moment and start throwing shells at the Confederates. At the same time,
the 2nd Minnesota and 9th Ohio regiments arrive to bolster the Federal defenses. The Union
forces now have over four regiments at the point of action, opposing three Confederate
regiments in direct combat with their enemy - less than ideal odds for the Southerners.
For over an hour, the 15th Mississippi and 20th Tennessee battle the Federals almost
completely alone. Captain Arthur M. Rutledge’s Tennessee Battery fires a few rounds, and
the 25th and 28th Tennessee regiments move up to reinforce the Southern troops fighting
on the front line. But Crittenden is never able to bring up the rest of his infantry
and bring all of his forces to bear upon the Union. Nor does he make use of his cavalry
for any flanking movements. The Confederates are further demoralized by
the failure of many of their weapons to fire in the intermittent rain. Most of the Confederate
force, particularly the Tennessee regiments, are armed with obsolete flintlock muskets.
Only the 15th Mississippi, 16th Alabama, and 29th Tennessee are partially armed with percussion
cap muskets and rifles. One participant estimated that only a fifth of the Confederates’ muskets
would fire. In their frustration, many of the Tennesseans are seen smashing their useless
flintlocks against trees. In contrast to the Rebels, the Federals are
finally able to concentrate their forces. The Union 1st and 2nd Tennessee and 12th Kentucky
arrive to outflank and outnumber the hard-fighting 15th Mississippi and 20th Tennessee. General
Thomas, seeing the imminent collapse of the Confederate line, orders a general advance
of the Union force. The 9th Ohio, a German volunteer regiment from Cincinnati, charges
the Confederates with fixed bayonets. The Southerners’ left flank crumbles under the
weight of the 9th Ohio’s bayonet charge, and the 15th Mississippi and 20th Tennessee
are forced to retreat to keep from being surrounded. The courageous Lieutenant Bailie Peyton, Jr.,
commanding a company in the 20th Tennessee, is killed when he refuses to retreat or surrender,
but had stood firing his pistol at the advancing enemy.
The entire Union line soon advances, forcing what is left of the Confederate army back
to the top of the hill from which they had attacked. Here, the 16th Alabama and 17th
and 29th Tennessee regiments open up a heavy volley fire on the Federals, momentarily halting
the Union pursuit and allowing the frontline Confederate units to safely retreat. But for
most of the Southern soldiers, their retreat quickly turns into a panicked rout.
Many of the men simply turn and run, throwing away their muskets and other implements of
war in their haste to escape capture by the Union. Their courage and determination are
simply not enough to overcome their fatigue from marching all night over muddy roads and
fighting since dawn, their despair when their outmoded flintlocks refuse to fire in the
rain, and the confusion and lack of decisive leadership at their command level. After some
three or four hours of hard fighting on a dark, rainy morning, the Battle of Mill Springs,
or Battle of Logan’s Cross Roads, is finally over.
The outmatched Southerners withdraw back down the road toward their camps. They proceed
to rally at their Beech Grove entrenchments, but Brigadier General Thomas arrives with
his forces in the afternoon and promptly opens up a bombardment on the Confederate camp,
including a steamboat at the ferry on the river below. This fire comes from the rifled
guns of Battery B, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, which the Southerners’ artillery cannot
match in range or accuracy. With their backs to the Cumberland River, this steamboat becomes
the Confederates’ only lifeline for any withdrawal. Recognizing that his position
is untenable, Major General Crittenden orders a withdraw across the river that night.
The Confederates proceed to leave behind all their artillery pieces and supply wagons,
as well as most of their horses and camp equipment. When dawn on January 20th arrives and the
Federals move against the Confederate earthworks, they find the camp is abandoned and General
Crittenden’s force is safely across the river. The Union forces report 246 casualties
for the battle, including 39 killed in action. The Confederates suffer 533 casualties, including
more than 120 killed. The bodies of Brigadier General Zollicoffer and Lieutenant Peyton
are treated with respect and are returned to their families, who have them buried with
honor in Nashville. The remaining Southern dead are left on the field to be buried in
mass graves, many near the site of General Zollicoffer’s death.
The Union victory at the Battle of Mill Springs proves a joyful occasion in Northern newspapers.
It was the first good news of a major victory for the North in the war. The victory at Mill
Springs cracks the Southern defensive line in Kentucky and opens up Tennessee to Federal
invasion. However, the good news from Mill Springs is soon overshadowed by an even more
decisive victory a few weeks later on the Cumberland River, at Fort Donelson, Tennessee.