54 Perryville acres transferred to state of Kentucky by CWPT

The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) has donated 54 acres associated with the Battle of Perryville to the Commonwealth of Kentucky for integration into the Perryville state historic site.

The transfer occurred June 1 as CWPT President James Lighthizer made the presentation to Tourism, Arts and Heritage Secretary Marchetta Sparrow. The CWPT purchased the property in 2006 at a cost of $156,679, which was partly offset by a federal matching grant for historic landscape protection.

Located on the southeastern side of the battlefield, the site marks where Confederate Gen. William J. Hardee launched an assault against the Union center. From the high ground at the eastern end of the property, Capt. T. J. Stanford’s Mississippi’s battery engaged in a lengthy artillery barrage with Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Federal army.

The park plans to add walking trails and other educational and commemorative markers to the acreage.

Park Manager Kurt Holman pointed out the battlefield ground has remained largely unchanged for nearly 150 years. He said if a Civil War soldier were to walk the battlefield today, he would say "he knows this place – this is Perryville."

At the conclusion of remarks, Lighthizer and CWPT Chairman John L. Nau III signed a deed transferring control of the land to the Commonwealth, represented by Sparrow and Holman.

The transfer ceremony was the first event in CWPT’s six-day sojourn in the Bluegrass State. The organization’s Annual Conference kicked into high gear on June 3. Hundreds of Civil War enthusiasts participated in lectures, receptions, discussion groups and in-depth battlefield tours exploring numerous aspects of the war in Kentucky.

Topics included the Battle of Perryville, and the battles of Mill Springs, Munfordville and Richmond, as well as the raids of John Hunt Morgan.

The CWPT has preserved more than 29,000 acres of battlefield land across the nation, including more than 1,500 in Kentucky.

The Battle of Perryville, fought Oct. 8, 1862, was the largest battle fought in Kentucky and the culmination of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg’s invasion of the Bluegrass State. Although a tactical Confederate victory, Bragg retreated into Tennessee shortly thereafter, leaving Kentucky in Union hands for the remainder of the war.