Civil War in Bardstown
Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Civil War in Bardstown. On October 4, 1862, Terry’s Texas Rangers, CSA, under the command of Col. John Wharton, were posted north of Bardstown at Fairgrounds crossroads on the Louisville Pike, to intercept units of Buell’s Union Army of the Ohio, moving south. Bragg’s CSA Army of Mississippi was withdrawing from Bardstown, moving east toward Harrodsburg. (Reverse) The Ranger’s rear-guard action found itself confronted with far superior numbers. Wharton ordered the Rangers into columns and gave the bugle command to charge. The bold action broke the Union lines, scattering the cavalry troopers and infantry into disarray. This was a victory for the Texas Rangers who fought next at Battle of Perryville.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
In October 1862, as Braxton Bragg's Confederate army withdrew eastward from Bardstown toward Harrodsburg, Terry's Texas Rangers under Col. John Wharton held the crossroads north of town to slow the pursuing Union Army of the Ohio. Vastly outnumbered, the Rangers formed into columns and charged, breaking the Federal lines and scattering the cavalry and infantry into confusion. The rear-guard victory bought Bragg's men time before the Rangers moved on to the great clash at Perryville.
Why it matters
The action shows how Kentucky became a contested borderland in 1862, its roads and crossroads fought over during Bragg's ambitious invasion of the Union's most divided state.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John Wharton
- · Braxton Bragg
Related events
- · Battle of Perryville
- · Confederate Kentucky Campaign of 1862
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Confederates at Bardstown
Bardstown, KY
In the autumn of 1862, the Confederate invasion of Kentucky swept through Bardstown, where General Braxton Bragg's army of some 28,000 men camped for nearly two weeks before marching toward the pivotal Battle of Perryville. The town saw the Confederacy again that winter and the next summer, as cavalry raider John Hunt Morgan camped and skirmished nearby. A night-long stand by a handful of Union cavalrymen in July 1863 briefly delayed one of his raids.
The Blockhouse
Shelby County, KY
During the Civil War, the border state of Kentucky was plagued by guerrilla bands and marauders who preyed on divided communities. In 1858 the townspeople built a small log blockhouse in the middle of the intersection, pierced with loopholes and manned whenever an alarm sounded. In August 1864 the guerrilla captain David "Black Dave" Martin tried to raid the courthouse for its stored guns, but townsmen drove him off, killing three raiders.
Confederate Cemetery, Pewee Valley
Pewee Valley, KY
A mile south, beneath a granite obelisk, lie 313 men who died as residents of the Kentucky Confederate Home. Established on nearby high ground, the home sheltered aging and infirm Confederate veterans from 1902 until 1934. Their graves gather in one place the last chapter of a generation that had fought for the South a half-century before.
Campbellsville Baptist Church
Campbellsville, KY
Taylor County's oldest congregation grew from the Pitman Creek (1791) and Robinson Creek (by 1793) churches, which merged and took the Campbellsville name in 1852. During the Civil War the frame meetinghouse served as a courtroom after Confederates burned the county courthouse. A series of later buildings—one lost to fire in 1962—led to the present Greek Revival edifice of 1963.