BATTLE OF RICHMOND, KY.
August 30, 1862.
Richmond, Kentucky, is a small village south of the Kentucky river, southeast of Frankfort, and about twenty-five miles from Lexington. Richmond is the capital of Madison county, situated about fifty miles south-southeast of Frankfort, the capital of the State. The Federal force there consisted of one Ohio regiment, five Indiana regiments and part of a sixth, two Kentucky regiments, all raw troops, and a squadron of Kentucky cavalry, under the command of Brigadier-Generals Mahlon D. Manson and Crufts, with nine field-pieces, making in all six thousand five hundred men. The number of the enemy’s forces, known to be in front, could not be ascertained. Information was brought to General Manson, Friday, August 29th, that the enemy were approaching in large force. General Manson at once sent a dispatch to Colonel Munday, commanding a small detachment of cavalry in the neighborhood of Kingston, directing him to hold the enemy in check; and, if possible to ascertain his strength and position. The first brigade was then ordered to stand to arms, and hold themselves in readiness to act at a moment’s notice.
Four additional companies were sent forward, to strengthen the pickets at the fort of Big Hill, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Wolfe, of the Sixteenth Indiana.
At two o’clock, General Manson received intelligence that the infantry picket, the cavalry of Lieutenant-Colonel Munday, and a similar force under command of Colonel Metcalf, were retreating with all speed toward the camps, hard pressed by a rebel force numbering four or five thousand men. Without loss of time, General Manson ordered out the First brigade, consisting of the Fifteenth, Fifty-fifth, Sixty-ninth and Seventy-first Indiana regiments; and the artillery under command of Lieutenant Lamphere. After an advance of three-quarters of a mile, General Manson descried a heavy column of rebel cavalry, hardly a mile east of the road, and ordered a section of the artillery into position, to fire upon the enemy. The firing was commenced with such excellent effect, as to scatter the enemy in every direction. General Manson then continued his advance, bivouacking for the night at Rogersville.
On the morning of the 30th he met the enemy. By this movement he had placed a distance of four miles between himself and General Cruft’s brigade. The din of battle at once began, Kirby Smith attacking the National troops, with the whole rebel force. General Cruft, hearing the cannonading, moved to General Manson’s support, without waiting for orders; and found the battle already raging with fierceness and fury. The new troops were hastily formed in line, under heavy fire, and they fought bravely, against a foe of almost double their own numbers. But the slight confusion of forming them into line had already been taken advantage of by the enemy, who pressed forward in heavy force, and outflanked the Union troops, by gaining the cover of a large corn-field and the woods; and making a dash upon the left wing, it gave way, and fell back in the utmost confusion. General Manson had maintained his position for upward of three hours; and the artillery had kept up an almost unceasing fire. The Sixteenth, Fifty-fifth, Sixty-ninth, and Seventy-first Indiana regiments, under command of, respectively, Colonel Lucas, Colonel Mahan, Lieutenant-Colonel Korff, and Lieutenant-Colonel Topping, occupied prominent positions during the engagement, and were constantly exposed to the enemy’s fire. As the rout of the Union forces became general, three regiments of General Cruft’s brigade, with the Eighteenth Kentucky, Colonel Warner, in advance, came up, and made a determined and desperate effort to check the advancing enemy. For twenty minutes they contended manfully with an overpowering rebel force, but were at last obliged to fall back before overwhelming numbers. But the Union forces were not yet defeated; they retreated about three-quarters of a mile, and once more formed into line of battle. General Cruft’s brigade was ordered to the right, to take position on an elevated part of the ground; two regiments were placed on the extreme right, within cover of a piece of wood; and two behind a fence, fronting a field of corn. The First brigade was placed on the left of the road, and formed in line behind fences. The rebels, secure in numbers, and triumphant from recent victory, came dashing forward exultantly and with loud cheers, and threw themselves upon the left flank of General Manson’s little army. This movement occasioned an immediate change of front; in the attempt to effect it the Union troops were again thrown into confusion, and completely routed. General Manson and General Cruft rode forward, and made a last effort to rally the scattered remnants of their twice defeated troops; and General Nelson at this moment coming up, a third time the line was formed, under the combined efforts of these officers: but the day was against the Union soldiers. After a short, sharp contest, lasting but a few minutes, the patriot line was repulsed, defeated, and scattered in confusion. The archives of the State and about one million of treasure from the banks of Richmond, Lexington, and Frankfort were transferred during the night to Louisville.
The increase of guerrilla operations in Kentucky about the 1st of September, with the manifestations of the existence of a Confederate force, indicated some hostile movements. It was soon known that the Confederate General E. Kirby Smith was approaching from Knoxville in Tennessee. On the 22d of August he left Jacksborough with a train of one hundred and fifty wagons, and passed through Big Creek Gap. So difficult were some parts of the route in Tennessee that for two or three days the rear of the trains was only able to reach at night the point from which the advance started in the morning. Rations failed, and the men were obliged for several days to subsist on green corn. Hungry, thirsty, footsore, and choking with dust, his men marched steadily on to a land of plenty. The ordnance stores were brought safely through without the loss of a wagon.
There was now no obstacle in the way of the rebel advance. On the 2nd of September, General Kirby Smith led his victorious followers into Lexington, and on the 6th he took possession of Frankfort. His successes, of course, occasioned great consternation, but they did not paralyze the preparations of the Unionists, to resist his advance and drive him back. General Nelson had withdrawn to Louisville. General Wallace was once more called into active service and put in command at Cincinnati. Both these points were liable to attack, and both accordingly were as strongly fortified as time and circumstances would permit. The prompt and effective action of General Wallace, at this time, was mainly instrumental in stemming the tide of invasion. Troops flocked to his standard, from all directions. Confidence was restored. The rebels under Kirby Smith reconnoitred Cincinnati, but found it too strong for attack, and after a brief time, slowly and sullenly withdrew.