A Brief History of the Battle
A great Confederate victory

The Battle of Richmond, fought Aug. 29-30, 1862,  has two distinct highlights:

• it was the second largest Civil War battle in Kentucky, and
• it was one of the most decisive and complete Confederate victories of the entire war with the Union army retreating in disarray and chaos.

Of the 6,500 Union troops who went into battle, some 4,300 were taken prisoner and more than 1,000 were either killed or wounded.  The Confederates, who were some 6,600 strong, lost only  128 men -- 118 who were killed and 10 listed as missing in action.

The battle was fought in three phases -- at Kingston, Duncannon Lane and in the Richmond Cemetery -- during a time when Madison County was in the throes of a severe drought.  The temperature was some 96-100 degrees in the shade as crops withered in the fields and livestock were short on water all along Old State Road from the southern border of Madison County at Big Hill to the county seat in Richmond.  

The Union Cavalry charges the Confederate line in this reenactment activity.  (Frank Becker Photo)

Movements of troops and artillery involved in the two-day August battle had begun some six weeks prior to the Battle of Richmond.  In midsummer 1862, the Confederates undertook an offensive aimed at central Tennessee and Kentucky.  Gen. Braxton Bragg moved with about 30,000 men from Chattanooga and Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith with 19,000 from Knoxville toward Cumberland Gap.

Smith bypassed a Federal garrison at Cumberland Gap, and, with two of his four divisions, quickly marched toward the Bluegrass. His cavalry, under Col. John S. Scott, routed a small Federal force near Big Hill on Aug. 23.  

At Richmond, 6,500 untrained Federal troops in two brigades, under Brig. Gens. Mahlon D. Manson and Charles Cruft, received orders in Lexington from their commander, Maj. Gen. William (Bull) Nelson, to move toward Lancaster.  But Manson, in temporary command, did not receive the message and advanced his brigade south toward Rogersville (now present Terrill, just south of Richmond) on Aug. 29 as Smith's lead division, under Brig. Gen. Patrick Cleburne, drew near.   After limited fighting in the afternoon, Cleburne fell back to wait for the arrival of Smith's other division under Brig. Gen. James Churchill.

At dawn on Aug. 30, the main battle began near Mt. Zion Christian Church, with Cleburne east of the Old State Road, facing Manson's brigade, which was heavily concentrated on the Federal left flank.  Smith ordered Cleburne to hold his attack until Churchill, still on the way, could form against the weaker Federal right flank.  

Ralph Marcum, a coordinator of the 2004 Battle of Richmond
reenactment, portrays Confederate Gen. Kirby Smith.    (Frank Becker Photo)

After two hours of skirmishing and counter-battery artillery fire east of the road, Manson's overextended left flank was overwhelmed. At that time, Cruft's troops arrived, marched toward the sound of the guns, and began to reinforce the Federal right flank. Cleburne, guessing that Manson was now weakest at the center, was moving one of his brigades there when he was wounded and a subordinate took over his command. The entire Confederate army then advanced, with Scott's cavalry on either flank.

The Federal troops were routed and reformed at White's farm, some four miles from Richmond.  As Nelson arrived on the field, Federal troops fell back in disorder to the edge of Richmond. Nelson rallied 2,200 men just south of the town, but three volleys from a wide Confederate advance broke this defense.  Scott's cavalry rode west to cut off their retreat, and virtually all of Nelson's army was captured.

The official records show Nelson's loss as 206 killed, 844 wounded, and 4,303 missing, for a total of 5,353.  Smith's loss was 98 killed, 492 wounded, and at least 10 missing, for a total of 600. Tactically, the Confederates' victory was one of the most complete of the entire war, but it was negated by failure to coordinate their forces in the campaign that ended at Perryville.

Most of the Federal infantry was from Indiana, one unit was from Ohio and another was from Kentucky.  The Union artillery was from Michigan and the cavalry was of Kentucky origin.

For the Confederates, the infantry largely was from Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky with the cavalry and artillery from Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Madison County was bitterly divided as to its loyalties where the battle was concerned and the outcome resulted in a temporary ascendancy of the southern sympathizers.  Various homes in the county were damaged during the battle, or later, when used as hospitals.  This also was the case with the Court House, Mt. Zion Church, the Madison Female Institute, among other places.