April-June 2010
Vol. 4, No. 2
Richmond, Ky.

Sept. 19, 1861
Historic Barbourville site of state’s first armed skirmish in Civil War

Name the first and last armed skirmishes of the Civil War in Kentucky?

If you said Barbourville and Eddyville, go to the head of the class.

In the opening months of the Civil War, Barbourville was the site of the first armed skirmish between Confederate and Union forces in the Commonwealth and recorded the state's first deaths in battle on either side. The date was Sept. 19, 1861 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. The effort finally was thwarted at the Battle of Camp Wildcat in October.

Cross-over
The Battle of Barbourville involved this bridge that the Union home guard
tried to dismantle in an effort to stop the Confederate forces of
Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer. The first skirmish of the Civil War
in Kentucky will be re-enacted Sept. 15-16.
At different points in the war, Barbourville was occupied by both military forces, becoming temporary headquarters for Confederate Gen. Kirby Smith in 1862 and hosting Union Gen. U.S. Grant when he was evaluating the Wilderness Road as an invasion route in 1864.

Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer’s Confederates had moved from Tennessee in an effort to push from Cumberland Gap into Central Kentucky and gain control of the state.

Ten days after his 5,400-man force left their base, Zollicoffer occupied Cumberland Gap and took position at the Cumberland Ford (near present day Pineville) to counter Union 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 Union 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 essentially had been vacated as the recruits had been moved to nearby Camp Dick Robinson, where there were several thousand Federal troops.

As activity approached the empty camp, Zollicoffer 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 had one man killed, one wounded and 13 captured. Union forces managed to kill seven Confederates before withdrawing.

Barbourville (population 3,589) was established in 1799 and is the oldest town in the mountains of Southeast Kentucky.

Five miles west of today's Barbourville is the Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic Site, named for the physician and surveyor who led the first documented expedition through the Cumberland Gap in 1750. Walker named the Cumberland River and preceded fabled pioneer Daniel Boone into what is now Kentucky by 17 years.

Dr. Walker was a sent to evaluate a land grant from Virginia to the Loyal Land Company.   Members of his expedition built the first log house in Kentucky, a reproduction of which is now on the site.

On Sept. 15-16, the 2010 annual re-enactment is expected to draw some 400 re-enactors.

Incidentally, the last Kentucky armed skirmish in the Civil Was was April 29, 1865 in Eddyville. Union forces commanded by Capt. S.M. Overby were driven back after attacking some 140 Confederates from the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Col. L.A. Sypert.  Unfortunately, the site is now under water in the Land Between the Lakes area.

Articles and photos appearing on www.thekentuckycivilwarbugle.com may be used with permission. For permission, contact Bugle editor Ed Ford at fordpr@mis.net.

Back to top