The Battle of Mill Springs Part II: Manson vs. Zollicoffer

 Order of Battle

Union

Brigadier-General George Thomas

            Second Brigade: Colonel Mahlon D. Manson

                        10^th Indiana: Lieutenant-Colonel William C. Kise

                        4^th Kentucky: Colonel Speed Smith Fry

                        Company C of the 14^th Ohio: Captain J.W. Brown

            Third Brigade: Colonel Robert L. McCook

                        2^nd Minnesota: Colonel Horatio Phillips Van Cleve

                        9^th Ohio: Major Gustave Kammerling

            Twelfth Brigade: Colonel Samuel P. Carter

                        12^th Kentucky: Colonel William A. Hoskins

                        1^st Tennessee: Colonel Robert K. Byrd

                        2^nd Tennessee: Colonel James P.T. Carter

                        1^st Kentucky Cavalry: Colonel Frank L. Wolford

            Battery B, 1^st Ohio Artillery: Captain William E. Standart

            Battery C, 1^st Ohio Artillery: Captain Dennis Kenny, Jr.

            9^th Ohio Battery: Captain Henry S. Wetmore

 

Confederate

Major-General George B. Crittenden

            First Brigade: Brigadier-General Felix K. Zollicoffer

                        15^th Mississippi Rifles: Colonel W.S. Statham

                        19^th Tennessee: Colonel David H. Cummings

                        20^th Tennessee: Colonel Joel A. Battle

                        25^th Tennessee: Colonel Sidney S. Stanton

                        Tennessee Cavalry Company: Captain William S. Bledsoe

                        Tennessee Cavalry Company: Captain Q.C. “Ned” Sanders

                        Kentucky Cavalry Company: Captain B.E. Roberts

                        Tennessee Battery: Captain Arthur M. Rutledge

            Second Brigade: Brigadier-General William H. Carroll

                        16^th Alabama: Colonel William B. Wood

                        17^th Tennessee: Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas C.H. Miller

                        28^th Tennessee: Colonel John P. Murray

                        29^th Tennessee Infantry: Colonel Samuel Powell

                        Caswell Artillery: Captain Hugh L.W. McClunk

                        4^th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion: Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin M. Branner

                        5^th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion: Lieutenant-Colonel George R. McClellan[1]

 

Overall, the coming battle would see 4,400 men under General George H. Thomas take on 5,900 under General George B. Crittenden. Unlike many other major battles the Confederates held a considerable numerical advantage, and the Union forces were not fully consolidated yet. Thomas commanded a somewhat disparate force which had yet to really operate together on campaign. One note of interest is that this battle for Kentucky saw more of that state’s men on the Federal side. These would see themselves as fighting off an invasion and thus have strong motivations. The Confederate army was almost entirely Tennessean.

The Battle of Mill Springs Part I: The Contested Border

 

Early in the Civil War the Union and Confederate armies tried to win over the more indecisive border areas separating North and South. A key early victory could convince tens of thousands of fence-sitters to firmly pledge allegiance to one side. In Kentucky’s case, the battle that cemented Kentucky’s stay in the Union was a battle north of Mill Springs. The Battle of Mill Springs is the widely accepted name of the battle, used at both the battlefield site and its official website. However the battle sported a record number of names based on the various locations around the battlefield: The Battle of Beech Grove, the Battle of Cliff Creek, the Battle of the Cumberland, of Fishing Creek, Logan’s Crossroads, Logan’s Fields, Somerset, Webb’s Crossroads, and more. In fact, Mill Springs was south of the Cumberland River, while the fighting occurred on the north side.[1] This was also the first major battle for General George H. Thomas, one of the Union’s most revered generals.

 

Kentucky Shifts Union

It initially looked like Kentucky, birthplace of both the Union and Confederate presidents, would join the Confederate cause. John C. Breckinridge, former vice-president and failed pro-Southern Democrat presidential candidate, held considerable influence over the state and Governor Beriah Magoffin was sympathetic to secession. The Kentucky State Guard under General Simon B. Buckner was also mostly composed of secessionists while the Unionists had no comparable military force. However, enough Unionists existed in the state legislature to force a compromise stance of neutrality. Political observers pointed out that by taking a different course from the Northern states, Kentucky still affirmed the South’s goal of state sovereignty. President Lincoln agreed that the state held considerable Confederate sympathies, but pointed out that at least its residents were not actively fighting the Union. On the other hand Kentucky still traded horses, mules, salt and even ammunition to the Confederacy.

Ten American Civil War Era Films to Watch

In contrast to some more recent wars, the American Civil War, despite its prominence in historical literature and television documentaries, has not prompted a slew of high profile films. The war was a popular film subject in the silent era, understandable since it was in literal living memory at the dawn of the 20^th Century. Afterwards, however, full-fledged Civil War films grew quite rare. The reason is that an accurate portrayal of events like the Battle of Antietam would require a lot of money and effort put into costuming, battle scenes, etc. This would not be an issue if there was a guaranteed audience. Many moviegoers have strong views on the war or little interest in historical dramas to start with, so spending tens of millions of dollars on a battle epic is a risky venture.

I make this a list of Civil War “Era” rather than Civil War films as my pool of selections is somewhat shallow. Numerous films tie into the war. Many, however, are home front dramas (adaptations of Little Women provide many examples). Still more are westerns, and these are either based on or inspired by Quantrill’s Raiders or use the war as a background for more typical genre staples like fighting Apaches or tales of personal vengeance. As with my list of ten World War II films to watch, I made my selections to cover various aspects of the Civil War Era rather than the actual top ten best movies. I will not include the two mini-series The Blue and the Gray and North and South. My super-quick summary is that the former has some cheesy production values but more relatable characters while the latter has much higher quality in costumes and battle scenes but much more over-the-top drama. I also will not list “relevant recommendations” but instead have a brief list of other films to check out with a quick summary/opinion.