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.

 

Manson’s Stand

The battleground was full of dense brush, uneven terrain, ravines, and at the moment thick morning fog. What followed was one of the more chaotic battles of the American Civil War and it has been difficult for historians to piece together parts of the battle (most histories only refer to the battle in a brief summary so this hasn’t been much of an actual recurring problem). I will base most of my chronology of events on Stuart Sanders’ sesquicentennial history, as many of the official battle reports and regimental histories don’t quite gel together. At 6:30 AM, pickets from the 1^st Kentucky Cavalry and 10^th Indiana encountered Zollicoffer’s advance. Having already skirmished with the Confederates the previous morning, they were “not aware that the enemy was advancing in force” and “offered a determined opposition.” As the fight quickly escalated, Wolford ordered a Lieutenant Miller to mount up his company and reinforce the pickets. Miller’s men rode into an ambush. Mississippians fired on them from behind a fence and sent the reinforcements back 200 yards.[2]

The Kentuckians reported the enemy presence to Colonel Mahlon Manson (left). Manson put the 10^th Indiana on the road to slow down the enemy while he got Colonel Speed Fry’s 4^th Kentucky. The Confederates, hoping to surprise their targets, instead found a fully ready 10^th Indiana. Due to poor roads and difficult terrain, the 15^th Mississippi had marched far ahead of its supporting units. It first ran into the Indianans’ picket line. Zollicoffer could not determine how many men he was up against and did not realize that the Mississippians were only up against a couple companies. He assembled his men accordingly and bought time for the Hoosiers to fully come together. While the battle truly got under way, Manson personally woke up Fry and ordered him to support the 10^th Indiana. After this he went to Thomas.[3]

Thomas did not receive Manson’s news well, or rather how Manson acted in bringing them. Manson looked disheveled, his hat missing, and Thomas might have assumed that he had panicked in coming to him. Thomas cut off the colonel and growled, “Damn you, sir, go back to your command and fight it.” Manson obeyed and Thomas sent orders to his other available units. He pushed forward whoever he could save the 38^th Ohio and his contingent of the Michigan Engineers. They would guard his base.[4]

Kise hurried his seven other companies to the three companies of pickets. A veteran of the battle praised the pickets who “Fought [the Confederates] Nobly until we Filled their Places.” The Hoosiers’ position was on a hill in front of where the Mill Springs Road and a fenced farm road intersected. Kise formed his regiment so that five companies branched out from each side of the Mill Springs road. Company C of the 1^st Kentucky Cavalry remained to help out, positioning on the left of the Indianans. Quartermaster Oliver S. Rankin led his wagons close to the front, a risky move. By doing so he was able to quickly supply the Indianans with ammunition. The divisional quartermaster and commissary did the same, providing not just more ammunition for all the men, but also rations so that they could better keep their energy up.[5]

Many of the Indianan bullets went over the heads of their Mississippian foes and ended up in a cornfield where the 20^th Tennessee was currently located. One bullet pierced and killed a major’s horse, though the officer was more upset that the projectile also shredded a pair of socks a lady had knitted for him.[6] While the 15^th Mississippi attacked Kise’s left, the 19^th Tennessee advanced up the west side of the road. They were slowed by a permission thicket that forced them to move in a file rather than broad battle line. Once free of the thicket, they fanned out by a log cabin. The 19^th Tennessee made an eerie picture, advancing through the morning fog. Kise told his right flank to hold their fire. They continued to do so as the assailants unleashed several volleys. Then, when he thought the Tennesseans were close enough, he gave the command. One soldier wrote, “We gave them a hearty welcome as they came up in sight and we gave them some of the Enfield slugs which made them weak in the knees.”[7]

“The battle was at its hottest, and our ranks were gradually becoming thinned and mutilated,” read Kise’s report.  One history reported, “Owing to the dark foggy morning, and the thinness of the atmosphere, the smoke of the conflict hovered down over the contestants like a pall, as if to shroud the bloody carnage.” The Federals held the advantage in this slugfest, as their Enfield rifles were much better equipped for the rainy conditions than the enemy’s flintlocks. But Zollicoffer had around three times as many men, enough to overextend Kise’s lines. Kise found hostile cavalry and the 19^th Tennessee getting around his right. He attempted to turn his rightmost company to stop them. At the same time their left, along with the Kentucky Cavalry, was also in danger of being flanked and the Indianans turned this flank in a right angle. It was evident that without timely reinforcements he would be compelled to retreat.[8]

The necessary movements to meet these threats caused confusion, and some men went into full retreat, though they continued to stop and fire as they did so. As the Federals readjusted their line, a bullet struck the 1^st Kentucky Cavalry’s Lieutenant Miller in the thigh. Miller “crawled on his hands and knees” to Sergeant J. E. Chilton and asked to be taken off the field. Chilton and another man took him to a ravine where he would be protected from bullets. Soon the cavalrymen were forced to fall back and left Chilton in the ravine. His wound proved mortal and he was found dead later that day.[9]

The 10^th Indiana kept their fire up as they withdrew. Once back at their camp they could replenish their ammunition. Though the men did not panic, they did leave Company F, on their furthest right, behind by mistake. Company F found enemy cavalry threatening to cut them off. Thanks to the terrible terrain, the Rebels were unable to bag them in time, and they fought them off for 20 minutes before escaping to the rest of the regiment.[10]

Like many other colonels on both sides of the battle, Speed Fry was a businessman and
politician who had some Mexican War experience. The 4^th Kentucky elected him as its colonel.

Behind the battle line, Manson found Fry leading his 4^th Kentucky south and guided him into the woods on the 10^th Indiana’s left. On the morning of January 19 he had only half of his men, around 400, because sickness had disabled the rest. Among his ranks was Captain Wellington Harlan. Harlan was currently demoted and under arrest (infraction unknown) and entered the battle wielding a rifle like the enlisted men. For his brave performance in this battle he regained his captain’s sword.[11]

The 1^st Kentucky Cavalry took a dismounted position in a hollow and helped stem the tide of Confederates. Wolford claimed that he repulsed four attacks before he was forced back. The strength of these attacks is not described, but considering the unit’s low casualties they may have only been a small part of the Confederate host. The Kentuckians rushed for their horses, but found them in danger of capture by the advancing Rebels. Wolford quickly cut the horses loose so that his men could run after them and remount them without the enemy in the way.[12]

Fry came just in time to take the cavalrymen’s place. He found an agreeable rise in the ground and formed his line parallel to the road. He came in on the 10^th Indiana’s left. The presence of fresh Federal troops stalled the Confederate advance and rescued the other regiment from retreat. At this point about two-thirds of the 10^th Indiana was near the rear getting ammunition, so the fight was mostly the 4^th Kentucky’s. Confederate momentum again floundered thanks to the rough, uneven terrain and morning fog. They used any distinctive landmark they could see to line themselves up for the next push. They found themselves pressed against a ravine. Covered by underbrush, timber, and the ravine, they crawled close to Fry’s men. Once they were much closer, the Federals rose and blasted them with a “galling” fire. To better protect his men, Fry ordered them to withdraw to the other side of a fence. At this time Captain Kenny of the 1^st Ohio Artillery had been trying to shell the Confederates, but his vision was obscured by the dense woods. Unable to see what he was shooting, moved some of his guns to the edge of the corn field, with only light protection from the 4^th Kentucky. The Ohio gunner now more directly assailed the Mississippians as they launched their next assault.[13]

The 15^th Mississippi struggled into the ravine separating them from their foes. The 20^th Tennessee was able to skirt its eastern rim and advance into the 4^th Kentucky’s fire. Its commander, Colonel Joel Battle, shouted, “Don’t doge, men, don’t dodge!” Just then an artillery shell screamed by and Battle dodged, prompting laughter from his men. Battle played along with the humor, now saying, “Boys, dodge the big ones, but don’t dodge the little ones!”[14]

There was one very notable moment of confusion. Because of the morning fog and inconsistent uniforms among his units, Crittenden had directed that men would use the password “Kentucky” to identify themselves as allies and avoid friendly fire. This proved to be an unwise choice, as the Federal force included several Kentucky regiments. This came into play when the 15^th Mississippi stumbled close to the 4^th Kentucky. Colonel Walthall, not knowing who he was up against, advanced with a lieutenant bearing the furled flag and shouted, “What troops are those?” He heard “Kentucky” and to make sure repeated his question. When he heard “Kentucky” again he ordered the colors unfurled. The Kentuckians responded with a hail of bullets that smashed up the flag and killed its bearer. Walthall ran back to his line.[15]

Fry perceived that he was about to be flanked on the right. Unable to find any immediate support, he moved two companies from his left to his right and stopped the flanking attempt. The Confederates continued to struggle with the terrain and were beset by delays and piecemeal attacks. Fry grew so impatient with his foe’s slow, disorganized movements that he jumped onto a fence, shook his fist, and “in stentorian tones denounced them as dastards and defied them to stand up on their feet and come forward like men.” That seemed to do the trick, and a wave of Confederates charged up the hill with brandished bayonets and knives. The 4^th Kentucky repulsed them with considerable casualties.[16]

Such casualties mounted in the 20^th Tennessee. Colonel Battle was wounded three times. One private kept firing his weapon even after a bullet had punctured him near the shoulder. One remembered, “This was our first regular battle and our company and regiment had suffered dreadfully.” They lost “forty percent of the number engaged.” The Rebel attack had no firm leadership. This was good for the 4^th Kentucky, which was so low on ammunition on this point that it was fixing bayonets to continue the fight hand-to-hand.[17]

Manson sought to save his right with Robert Byrd’s 1^st Tennessee from Colonel Carter’s incoming brigade. Carter counter-ordered Byrd, however, to protect his own flank, and Manson hastened to Thomas for some other source of reinforcements. The Confederates also needed more men ASAP. Throughout the battle Carroll’s brigade stayed in battle line at a hill behind Zollicoffer. Carroll explained that thanks to the morning darkness, made worse by fog and battle smoke, he could not determine the exact location of the Union line and thus was unable to make a plan of action. Zollicoffer too struggled with the battlefield’s environment and was about to make a fatal mistake.[18]

Zollicoffer’s Death

Zollicoffer finally deployed his artillery, the only two guns he had on hand, with Captain Rutledge in charge. He placed them on the road and they opened fire. They did not keep it up for long, as with the fog, smoke, and dense forestry their shells endangered friends as much as foe. Also, a Federal cannonball cut down Rutledge’s horse as he sat on it. At this time the 20^th Tennessee shifted to the right, leaving a gap between them and the artillery.[19]

This occurred around one of the battle’s many brief lulls. Colonel Fry rode out to get a better view of the enemy. As it happened Zollicoffer, wearing a white raincoat that obscured his uniform, had ridden through the gap between the road and the 20^th Tennessee. The two officers rode towards each other, oblivious to their situation. Fry often changed the story slightly when recounting his perspective. In one he said, “I saw an officer riding slowly down the road on a white horse, and within twenty paces of my regiment.” With reinforcements coming from the north and Zollicoffer’s “calm manner,” he assumed that the raincoat-clad officer was from McCook or Carter’s brigade. Somehow Fry’s uniform did not tip off Zollicoffer. It’s possible that with the diverse assembly of uniforms amongst the Confederates Zollicoffer assumed it was a Confederate in a cast-off Union outfit.[20]

Zollicoffer had seen Fry’s men firing on his Tennesseans and now begged, “We must not fire on our own men.” With a nod towards some soldiers he said, “These are our men.” Fry, perhaps confused, responded, “Of course not. I wound not do so intentionally.” Suddenly one of Zollicoffer’s staff officers rode in, alerting, “It’s the enemy, general!” Source differ as to who fired first. Some say the staff officer fired at the Federals right after he burst in, while in one of his accounts Fry claims he realized what was happening and shot Zollicoffer. Another observer said that Fry first said, believing that there was intentional deception, “That is your game, is it?” Fry also commanded “Shoot him!” and a volley hit Zollicoffer and his staff officer.[21]

Since there were three wounds in the general’s body, it was concluded that he was hit both by Fry and soldiers from his regiment. The common consensus is that Fry hit Zollicoffer once and then his men got him with two further rounds from their Enfields. James Swan of the 10^th Indiana received credit for shooting Zollicoffer, but this was claimed in his regiment’s history. The 1^st Kentucky Cavalry’s chaplain, Reverend W. H. Honnell, dismounted and helped move Zollicoffer’s body towards a fence line to the east where it would not be further damaged by the storm of combatants. Honnell cut out a piece of white oak, stained with Zollicoffer’s blood, as a souvenir. Other forms of souvenirs later caused outrage among the Confederates. Lower-ranking soldiers crowded around Zollicoffer’s body. He was among the first Confederate generals to be killed and it was also the first major battle for many of them. They wanted something to remember the moment by and began to tear off pieces of clothing and even hair.[22]

Zollicoffer’s death caused some disorientation among the nearby 19^th Tennessee. Their Colonel Cummings did not know that his superior officer was dead and, not hearing from him, stuck to orders to hold his regiment’s fire. Like Zollicoffer, he was under the impression that friendly fire was pelting him. Fry’s 4^th Kentucky thus pounded them without any return fire and soon the Tennesseans retreated out of the woods. The confusion and loss of momentum spread to the 20^th Tennessee, which likewise fell back.[23] Zollicoffer’s death occurred at a critical moment, when the final reinforcements from both sides were arriving.

Next: General Thomas arrives on the scene and takes charge while the Confederates struggle to regain the initiative.

Bibliography 

Primary Sources

 

Berry, Mary Clay. Voices from the Century Before: The Odyssey of a Nineteenth-Century Kentucky Family. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1997.

Gibson, F.T. “Reminiscences of the Seventeenth Tennessee Regiment.” Confederate Veteran 2 (January, 1894): 21.

Hancock, Richard R. Hancock’s Diary: or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry. Nashville: Brandon Printing Co., 1887.

Kelly, R.M. “Holding Kentucky for the Union” in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Vol. I. Century Company, 1887.

McMurray, William Josiah. History of the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville: The Publication Committee, 1904.

Shaw, James Birney. History of the Tenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry: Three Months and Three Years Organizations. Lafayette: Burt-Haywood Co., 1912.

Sherman, William Tecumseh. Memoirs. Penguin Books. 2000.

Tarrant, Sergeant E. The Wild Riders of the First Kentucky Cavalry: A History of the Regiment, in the Great War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. Committee of the Regiment, 1894.

United States. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Vol. VII. Washington D.C. 1882.

Worsham, Dr. W.J. The Old Nineteenth Tennessee Regiment C.S.A. Knoxville: Press of Paragon Printing Company, 1902.

 

Secondary Sources

 

Cist, Henry Martyn. The Army of the Cumberland. New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1882.

Harrison, Lowell Hayes. The Civil War in Kentucky. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1975.

Hess, Earl J. The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.

McPherson, James. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press, 1988.

Sanders, Stuart W. The Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. Charleston: The History Press, 2013, hoopla edition.

Townsend, William H. Lincoln and the Bluegrass: Slavery and Civil War in Kentucky. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1989.

Warner, Ezra. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1959.

Wills, Brian Steel. George Henry Thomas: As True as Steel. University of Kansas Press, 2012.

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[1] “Order of Battle,” https://www.millsprings.net/index.php/2013-10-01-18-24-22/order-of-battle, accessed November 5, 2021.

[2] OR VII, 79; Tarrant, 57-58.

[3] OR VII, 79, 82; McMurray, 200; Sanders, 29.

[4] Willis, 136; OR VII, 79.

[5] OR VII, 86, 90, 106; Sanders, 31-32; Tarrant, 58

[6] McMurray, 123-124.

[7] Sanders, 33: Worsham, 21.

[8] OR VII, 90-91; Tarrant; 59; Sanders, 33-34.

[9] Sanders, 34; Tarrant, 58.

[10] Shaw, 139; Sanders, 35.

[11] OR VIII, 82, 88; Sanders, 37-38.

[12] OR VII, 100.

[13] OR VII, 87, 91, 100-101; Sanders, 39; Kelly, “Holding Kentucky for the Union” in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Vol. I, 388.

[14] Sanders, 39.

[15] Sanders, 39-40.

[16] OR VII, 87; Sanders, 40-41; Kelly, 388.

[17] Sanders, 41; McMurray, 123.

[18] OR VII, 82, 112.

[19] McMurray, 101; Worsham, 22.

[20] Kelly, 388; Sanders, 44-45.

[21] Kelly, 388; Sanders, 45.

[22] Tarrant, 60, 63-65; Sanders, 45; Shaw, 139.

[23] OR VII, 107; Worsham, 23.