Some 5,000 Civil War re-enactors will gather at Kentucky's largest battlefield next weekend to mark the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Perryville. There will be battles, field hospitals, camps and a Merchant's Row re-creating the 19th-century mercantile district in Perryville.
Participating in the living history weekend will be infantry, cavalry and full-scale artillery, as well as camp followers and supporters -- and an expected 20,000 visitors. The North/South Alliance event is sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Parks.
Battle re-enactments will take place at 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Indianapolis time) Saturday and at 1 p.m. Oct. 6. But there'll be something happening all the time -- artillery demonstrations, musical performances, cavalry competitions, book signings, ghost walks and presentations on the Civil War era.
Most Civil War battlefield sites do not allow re-enactments, but the Perryville events will be staged on the ground where more than 7,500 soldiers were killed or wounded.
Kentucky, as a border state, was considered a pivotal prize by both the North and the South. Whoever controlled Kentucky could win the war.
The Battle of Perryville, fought Oct. 8, 1862, was -- at first -- a tactical victory for the Confederate troops under the leadership of Gen. Braxton Bragg. But when he withdrew his troops from the field and headed toward Tennessee, the retreat set the stage for the eventual defeat of the South.
This year, men wearing the uniforms of the Union and the Confederacy will once again clash on the rolling hills outside the small central Kentucky town.
In the actual battle, the 22nd Indiana Infantry Regiment lost nearly 70 percent of its men. The fighting took place north of Perryville, but the dead and wounded from both sides were scattered across hundreds of acres.
Kentucky fall events
The Great Outhouse Blowout: Historic Penn's Store, Gravel Switch, Saturday. Outhouse races, "Parade of Privies" and the Outhouse 300 race, music, arts and crafts booths.
Kentucky Wool Festival: Falmouth, Friday-Oct. 6. Demonstrations of the sheep industry.
St. James Court Art Show: Louisville, Friday-Oct. 6.
Heritage Festival: Fork-land, Oct. 11 and 12. Entire town is on the National Register for Historic Preservation.
