MILLSPRINGS BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM

NANCY, KY

Rebel: 'We were doing pretty good fighting till old man Thomas rose up in his stirrups…' This is a Confederate re-enactor at the Mill Springs Battlefield Visitor Center, Kentucky. The Civil War learning activity was brought inside because of poor winter weather conditions outside.

<b>Background</b>: Mill Springs was the United States' first major battle victory of the Civil War. It was led by Union Brigadier General <a href="https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/george-thomas" rel="noreferrer nofollow">George Henry Thomas</a>. Besides Indianans, Ohioans, Minnesotans and even Tennesseeans, his U.S. troops included myriads of newly recruited Kentuckians from his camp in Lebanon, Kentucky. Outnumbered, Thomas laid a trap specifically for Major General George Crittenden to lure his Confederate troops out in the open from the protection of their earthworks by the river. Fighting a superior force in the protection of their trenches, in the ground of their choosing, and against their preparations would have been a hard slog, even for Brigadier General Thomas.;-) Crittenden and his men took the bait. As the Rebs extended themselves further and further north, away from their southern earthworks, there probably were Confederates who read the battlefield and felt they were doing pretty good fighting–until it was too late. Directing the field army, General Thomas later joined the commanders under him in the battlefield with fresh troops.

Shortly afterward, the rebs went running.

In fairness to the other side, Confederates said that they lost the battle because many of their wet Confederate muskets were not firing in the rain, unlike the more reliable weapons of their U.S. enemy. They also lost one of their generals.

<b>Full quote</b>:

&quot;A wounded Rebel prisoner, being teased by Union troops about the panicky retreat of his compatriots, replied to his accusers: 'Well, we were doing pretty good fighting till old man Thomas [U.S. Army General George Henry Thomas] rose up in his stirrups, and we heard him holler out: 'Attention, Creation! By kingdoms right wheel!' and then we knew you had us, and it was no time to carry weight.'&quot; [Source–American Battlefield Trust article, <a href="https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/battle-mill-springs" rel="noreferrer nofollow">The Battle of Mill Springs,
The First Significant Battlefield Victory for the Union Army</a>] — Rebel: 'We were doing pretty good fighting till old man Thomas rose up in his stirrups…' Credit: sniggie

The Mill Springs Battlefield Museum is a historical museum located in Nancy, Kentucky. It is situated on the site of the Battle of Mill Springs, which was fought on January 19, 1862, during the American Civil War. The museum is dedicated to preserving the history of this significant battle and educating visitors about its importance.

The museum features exhibits that showcase the artifacts and equipment used during the battle, as well as the personal stories of soldiers who fought and died there. Visitors can see authentic uniforms, weapons, and other items that were used by both Union and Confederate forces. The museum also has a collection of Civil War era photographs, maps, and documents that provide a deeper understanding of the events that occurred during the battle.

One of the highlights of the museum is a diorama that depicts the battle scene in accurate detail. This diorama is an excellent visual representation of the battle and helps visitors understand the tactics and strategies used by both sides.

In addition to the exhibits, the museum offers guided tours of the battlefield and the surrounding area. Visitors can walk along the trails and visit the historic landmarks that played a role in the battle. The museum also hosts special events throughout the year, including reenactments and living history demonstrations.

Overall, the Mill Springs Battlefield Museum is an excellent destination for history buffs and anyone interested in learning more about the American Civil War. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the past and helps visitors appreciate the sacrifices made by those who fought in this historic battle.

MILLSPRINGS BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM is a Uncategorized or General Museum in NANCY KY. US MID #8402100040

The museum is classed as GMU (Uncategorized or General Museums). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Southeastern (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia).

KY 80 Fishing Creek Bridge (Pulaski County, Kentucky) Historic bridge over Fishing Creek near Somerset in Pulaski County, Kentucky. The Warren deck truss was constructed in 1951 when Fishing Creek was impounded to create Lake Cumberland.

Kentucky's Mill Springs Battlefield, 2024

Congrats to Gen. Thomas on the splendid victory A reenactor dresses up as a United States soldier 162 years after the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. Union participant Colonel Mahlon D. Manson wrote a report about the U.S. victory at the Battle of Mill Springs. Manson was leader of the Second Brigade, which in turn was under the field army of U.S. Brigadier General George Henry Thomas, commander of the First Division, Army of the Department of Ohio. Here are two excerpts:

&quot;In justice to the enemy [Confederate soldiers], I must say they exhibited a courage and determination worthy of a better cause [<a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp" rel="noreferrer nofollow">slavery</a>].&quot;

&quot;...I cannot close this report without congratulating the commanding general [Brigadier General <a href="https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/george-thomas" rel="noreferrer nofollow">George Henry Thomas</a>] of this division [the First Division field army] on the splendid victory achieved over the rebel forces by the troops under his command&quot;

Sources: <a href="https://ironbrigader.com/2016/01/18/colonel-mahlon-d-mansons-report-battle-mill-springs-logans-crossroads-january-1862/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Iron Brigadier: Colonel Mahlon D. Manson's report on the Battle of Mill Springs, Jan 1862</a>; Holding Kentucky for the Union by R. M. Kelly

Johnny Reb re-enactors at Mill Springs Confederate soldier reenactors participate in an educational lecture on the Battle of Mill Springs in the Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument Visitors Center at Nancy, Kentucky. The winter weather outside was uncertain so the event was brought inside.

<b>HISTORY</b>: At the Battle of Mill Springs, the United States routed reb troops under the command of Confederate General George Crittenden. Kentucky as a whole contributed many more of its sons to fight for the United States rather than the Confederacy. The Battle of Mill Springs had an especially large number of U.S. troops from their native Estill, Marion, and Pulaski counties in Kentucky. These Kentuckians were under the command of U.S. General, West Point instructor, and native Virginian, George Thomas.

General Thomas' clever strategy was to outsmart the Confederate commanders by arranging his tired and hungry Union men to entice and trick the Confederate commanders into moving their troops off their landing and protective earthworks at Beech Grove on the Cumberland River to fight in the open, whether north towards them or even south. &quot;Thomas apparently hoped to provide a target inviting enough to lure the Confederates out of the Beech Grove trenches,&quot; writes Jack Hurst in his American Heritage article, &quot;The Importance of Mill Springs.&quot; It was known among keen strategists that Confederate General George Crittenden, a fellow West Point graduate and Army career officer like Thomas, had a bad experience with his troops bunched together with their backs against a river in the Mexican-American war, a war that Thomas had also participated in. So Crittenden obliged Thomas. The Confederates took the bait and under the sub-command of General Felix Zollicoffer, they extended themselves north into the open, rather than southern open ground back to Tennessee.

Despite the Union's disadvantages, U.S. troops were able to defeat the Confederates after a few well-orchestrated tactical maneuvers from Thomas and the officers under him. Thomas would arrive with additional forces to also outflank the Confederates.

Confederates would argue that a significant reason why they lost at Mill Springs was not because they were outsmarted by Union command but because southern muskets were less advanced than their enemy's and did not perform well in the rain.

Mill Springs became the first U.S. battle victory in the Civil War.

<a href="https://www.americanheritage.com/importance-mill-springs" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Historian Jack Hurst writes</a> of a brief discussion between General Thomas and fellow Army veteran Colonel Speed Fry, a native of Kentucky from the Danville area, on the chaotic retreat of Confederate troops and in after-thought why a surrender wasn't demanded of the enemy: “'General, why didn’t you send in a demand for surrender last night?' Col. Fry asked Thomas, noting all the evidence of Confederate panic. The Union commander looked up, hesitated, and then admitted a mental lapse.

'Hang it, Fry,' he said. 'I never once thought of it.'”

That wasn't a bad idea. It had merit. Thomas, a highly regarded career military man, a war veteran, an elite West Point military instructor, a close friend of the then school superintendent Robert E. Lee, and a military educational leader who helped form the military playbook that now both sides used, hadn't thought of it. It was his superior generalship that had helped turn the greater numbers of Confederate troops into a win for the Union. Yet, it wasn't just him that had not demanded the surrender of the opposing army. Confederates also would route Union forces through the Civil War, even marching U.S. soldiers en masse to Confederate prison camps.

Countries surrender. Places surrender. For example, Fort Sumter was surrendered. But huge roaming field armies?!? Armies are defeated. And now at this first win of the Union, a successful route of Confederate troops was had, although now there was a thought of the possibilities of something more than defeat. Surrender. Battling for total surrender would somewhat change the ending tactics of a battle, and quicken the pace so that the enemy could not slip away. Winning a battle and having your foe flee the battlefield in chaos would not be good enough. Not if the war was to be shortened.

Author Hurst observes the strategic implication of Mill Springs's loss was recognized by the Confederate's western high command. &quot;Johnston [Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston] wrote Richmond, 'If my right is thus broken as stated, East Tennessee is wide open to invasion—or, if the plan of the enemy be a combined movement upon Nashville, it is in jeopardy...'”

Prescient. Nashville was indeed about to fall.

The U.S. victory at Mill Springs would be followed three weeks later, further to the west, by the Confederate fall of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Nashville, Tennessee under an upstart, General Ulysses S. Grant. Nashville and Western Tennessee would be occupied by the United States for the remainder of the war. On a side note, Nashville's mayor first tried to surrender to one of Grant's generals who was inside the city, Kentuckian William &quot;Bull&quot; Nelson, but the mayor was directed by Nelson to seek out and surrender to the senior commanding general instead, Maj. General Buell, who was on the opposite side of the river from Nashville.

Having been born on the other side of the Ohio River from Kentucky, attended school in Kentucky, and had family in Kentucky, Ohioan Grant did not just believe in routing the enemy. Grant made entire field armies officially SURRENDER to him–e.g. The unconditional surrender of General Pillow's Confederate Army of Central Kentucky at Donelson to U.S. Grant's Army of Tennessee; Confederate General Pemberton's surrender of the Army of Mississippi to Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi; and finally Confederate General Robert Lee's official surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. To Grant and his new-fangled war ways, routing the enemy's army was not enough. There was a strategic benefit to be gained in an army's total surrender, not just a place's.

Confederacy loses at Mill Springs Battlefield, KY On January 19, 1862, Confederate generals (Maj General Crittendon and Brig General Zollicoffer) and their troops lost badly at the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky to the leadership of Union General George Henry Thomas (later known as the Rock of Chickamauga) and his outnumbered U.S. troops. Confederate troops were outmaneuvered and in the end fled the battle.

George Thomas, a native Virginian, had come to command at this battle straight from his U.S. training camp of Kentuckians at nearby Lebanon, about 60 miles to the northwest. Towards the end of the war, Thomas, the generals serving under him, and his troops would effectively destroy the Army of Tennessee as it tried to attack Nashville, a U.S.-occupied city since Ulysses S. Grant’s win at Fort Donelson. Donelson and Nashville would fall to the United States just three weeks after the Battle of Mill Springs.

The road on the left runs north and south. The cannon is facing north. During the battle, Confederate General Zollicoffer lost his life on the other side, north of the far fence at the extreme right of this image. Zollicoffer was surrounded by Kentuckian twang; unfortunately for him, those southern and Appalachian accents confusingly came from the mouths of U.S. troops. The surprised general found himself on the wrong side of the battle line.

Contact MILLSPRINGS BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM

telephone: 6066364045
website: http://www.millsprings.net

MILLSPRINGS BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM
9020 W HIGHWAY 80
NANCY
KY
42544

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MILLSPRINGS BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM Information

MID #	8402100040
Name	MILLSPRINGS BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM
Alternate Name
Classification	Uncategorized or General Museums, , Southeastern
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)
NTEECC
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM)
INCOME	0
REVENUE	0
LAT/LONG	37.132557, -84.852811
CODES	FIPS State Code: 21 FIPS County Code: 199 US Census Tract: 930300 US Census Block: 4008