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Welcome to our Media Center! Find out
what has happened with our project most recently by scanning
our press release section. In addition, we have archived some
of the most recent newspaper/magazine articles about Perryville
and our project.
Press Releases
PBPA to Dedicate Signs at Perryville Battlefield 5 April
New Interpretive Cannon Placed at Perryville Battlefield
Senator Mitch McConnell presents grant
to Perryville
Senator Mitch McConnell To Visit Perryville
Perryville to Host Historic
Homes Workshop
Perryville Enhancement
Project Receives $1000 Grant
Perryville Enhancement
Project Receives Awards for 2002 National Reenactment
Fourth-Generation
Buckners to Reenact in Perryville
Kentucky's Touchstone
Energy Cooperatives Support Unique Learning Opportunity in
Perryville
Perryville Web Site
to launch August 17th
PEP Purchases
Historic Merchants' Row Structure
PEP Purchases
Crucial Battlefield Land
Newspaper & Magazine Articles
Built on History: Perryville
strives to be a Civil War showplace
Sleettown tells a part of
the tale
Book tells story of oft-ignored
battle
Opportunity to save historic
Perryville must not be lost
Editorial, Danville Advocate-Messenger
May 30, 2000
Editorial,
Danville Advocate-Messenger September 27, 1998
Editorial, Danville Advocate-Messenger
March 19, 1998
Media Advisories
Perryville to Host
2002 National Reenactment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 31 March 2008
PBPA to Dedicate Signs at Perryville Battlefield 5 April
The Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association (PBPA), a non-profit organization charged with preserving and interpreting Kentucky’s largest Civil War battleground, announces that it will dedicate two new signs that honor Indiana soldiers on Saturday, April 5 at Perryville Battlefield.
The two signs honor the 38th and 80th Indiana Regiments, both of which played prominent roles in the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862. The signs were underwritten by the Indianapolis Civil War Roundtable, and the Kentucky Historical Society assisted with text preparation.
The 38th Indiana sign is located on Loomis Heights, while the 80th Indiana sign sits on part of the position known as the High Water Mark of the Confederacy in the West. With these additions, Perryville Battlefield now has 45 interpretive signs on its 10 miles of trails.
The dedication is free and open to the public. Also occurring at the park that day is Park Day, an annual volunteer event sponsored by the Civil War Preservation Trust; the dedication is not connected with Park Day.
"Without enthusiastic partners, preservation does not happen," said Chris Kolakowski, PBPA Executive Director. "We appreciate the help of the Indianapolis Civil War Roundtable and the Kentucky Historical Society. These markers are fitting memorials to the Indianans who fought here."
The Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association is a membership organization charged with preservation and interpretation of the Perryville Battlefield and town. It oversees the Perryville Enhancement Project in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Boyle County, and the City of Perryville. Since 1991 the Project has preserved and interpreted over 400 acres of critical battlefield land along with several original structures in the City of Perryville.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 31 March 2008
New Interpretive Cannon Placed at Perryville Battlefield
The Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association (PBPA), a non-profit organization charged with preserving and interpreting Kentucky’s largest Civil War battleground, announces that a new interpretive cannon has been placed at Perryville Battlefield.
The cannon is a reproduction made by Steen Cannon & Ordnance Works of Ashland, Kentucky. A grant from the Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels to the PBPA underwrote the cost.
The cannon, a 10-pounder Parrott Rifle, marks the location of Captain David Stone’s Battery A, 1st Kentucky Light Artillery during the Battle of Perryville, and sits atop Starkweather Hill. Stone’s battery, also known as the "Louisville Legion," was armed with Parrotts during the battle, and saw heavy fighting in this position. Several times Union and Confederate soldiers fought hand-to-hand for possession of Stone’s guns.
"Without enthusiastic partners, preservation does not happen," said Chris Kolakowski, PBPA Executive Director. "The Honorable Order has long been a friend to Perryville, and we are pleased they could support this project."
Kolakowski commented further, "Interpretive cannons are always a focal point on a battlefield, and are an unmistakable way to note that you are standing on hallowed ground. Stone’s men helped anchor the defense of that hill, and this is a fitting memorial to them. Getting this site marked on Starkweather Hill is something we’ve wanted to do for a while."
The Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association is a membership organization charged with preservation and interpretation of the Perryville Battlefield and town. It oversees the Perryville Enhancement Project in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Boyle County, and the City of Perryville. Since 1991 the Project has preserved and interpreted over 500 acres of critical battlefield land along with several original structures in the City of Perryville.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2003
Senator Mitch McConnell
presents grant to Perryville
Perryville, KY -On August 25, Senator
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky presented a $250,000 grant to
the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association (PBPA).
This funding, which will be used to restore an historic home,
was part of the Fiscal Year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill.
"We greatly appreciate Senator McConnell's
support and are honored that he made a personal visit to Perryville,"
said Stuart Sanders, director of the PBPA. "This funding will
help us begin the restoration of Perryville's 19th century
commercial district, which goes hand in hand with our battlefield
preservation efforts."
The grant funding will be used to restore
the Johnson-Brinton House, a 19th century frame structure
that was struck by artillery fire during the Battle of Perryville.
Once restored, this building will serve as a town orientation
center that will guide visitors to Merchants' Row, the community's
19th century mercantile district. The PBPA is working to preserve
nine Merchants' Row structures, including a doctor's home
and office, drug store, general store, and more.
Fought on October 8, 1862, the Battle of Perryville
was the largest engagement on Kentucky soil. More than7,500
soldiers were killed and wounded, and the battle kept Kentucky
in Union hands for the remainder of the war. Several prominent
historians, like the Pulizer Prize-winning author Dr. James
McPherson, regard the Battle of Perryville as one of the turning
points of the Civil War.
Since 1995, the PBPA has increased the amount
of protected battlefield land from 98 to nearly 600 acres.
In addition, the Association has also protected several field
hospital sites and headquarters buildings.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 14, 2003
Senator Mitch McConnell To Visit Perryville
Perryville, Ky – Senator
Mitch McConnell will visit Perryville, Kentucky Monday, August
25th at 10:30 a.m. to present a $248,000 grant to the Perryville
Battlefield Preservation Association. The presentation will
take place in Baril Park behind Merchants' Row and will be
followed by a reception in the Perryville Community Center.
Senator McConnell secured the grant earlier
this year through an Omnibus Appropriation. The grant monies
will help cover costs associated with the restoration of the
Johnson House building located at the corner of Buell Street
(US 68) and Second Street (US 150). Once restored, the Johnson
House will house office space and a town visitor's center
and museum.
The Johnson House sustained damage during
the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862 when a cannonball
crashed through the roof and lodged in an interior door. Evidence
of this damage is still visible. In addition, the Johnson
House served as a field hospital following the battle.
The Johnson House is one of nearly a dozen
buildings along Merchants' Row and other parts of Perryville
that the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association has
worked diligently to protect and restore. Restoration work
is set to begin on the Karrick-Parks House, another Merchants'
Row building, later this year.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2003
Perryville to Host
Historic Homes Workshop
Perryville, Ky – The Perryville
Main Street/Renaissance Program and the Perryville Enhancement
Project will be hosting "How to Care for Your Historic Home:
A Workshop with Joe Oppermann" on August 16th. The workshop,
which will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Perryville
Community Center, is open to all area residents interested.
There is a registration fee of $10 that covers the cost of
refreshments, a box lunch and historic home care reference
guide.
Nationally renowned historic preservation
architect, Joe Opperman, will be conducting the workshop,
which will include 2 morning sessions covering general maintenance
and repair concerns in the form of educational lectures. The
afternoon sessions will be comprised of hands-on demonstrations
in a few of Perryville's historic Merchants' Row buildings.
Participants will also receive a reference
guide consisting of pertinent care information, how-to's and
material resources specific to the maintenance of a historic
structure.
The workshop was made possible through
grant funding awarded by the Kentucky Heritage Council.
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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
May 6, 2003
Perryville Enhancement Project Receives $1000 Grant
Perryville, Ky – The Perryville
Enhancement Project was awarded a $1000 grant from the Louisville
Civil War Roundtable. Grant funds will be used to defray costs
associated with the Project's acquisition of the Dye House
Property.
The Dye House, located on Battlefield
Road less than a mile from the Perryville Battlefield State
Historic Site, served as Confederate General Simon Bolivar
Buckner's headquarters during the Battle of Perryville in
October 1862. Future plans for the site are still being finalized
but will likely include interpretative space and public recreation
facilities.
"We are honored by the Louisville Civil
War Roundtable's generous grant," said Stuart Sanders, director
of the Perryville Enhancement Project. "To be recognized in
this way by one of Kentucky's largest Civil War organizations
will help ensure that we can continue to protect this important
battleground."
Sanders added that the Dye House played
an integral role in the Battle of Perryville as a headquarters
and field hospital. "As Buckner was Kentucky's governor in
the 1880s, it is one of the Commonwealth's most important
battlefield landmarks," Sanders said. Bloodstains still remain
on the upstairs floor from the building's use as a field hospital.
The Perryville Enhancement Project purchased
the Dye House along with 50 acres of adjacent farmland as
part of continuing efforts to protect significant battlefield
lands. The Perryville Enhancement Project has increased the
number of protected acres from less than 100 to nearly 600
acres in the past few years. The Project also owns a number
of historic structures in the City of Perryville, including
most of historic Merchants' Row, one of the nation's only
remaining 19th century mercantile districts. Nationally renowned
preservation architect Joseph K. Oppermann has been hired
to restore these and other historic structures owned by the
Enhancement Project. Work is set to begin on the first of
these buildings this summer.
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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
May 6, 2003
Perryville Enhancement
Project Receives Awards for
2002 National Reenactment
Perryville, Ky – The Perryville
Enhancement Project was recognized with two awards from The
Historical Confederation of Kentucky for work associated with
the 2002 National Civil War Reenactment. In March, the PEP
received the Community History Award in recognition of the
National Reenactment's success. The PEP also received an Award
of Merit for production of the 2002 National Reenactment Commemorative
Program. In addition to recognizing the National Reenactment
and the PEP with the Community History Award, the Historical
Confederation of Kentucky nominated the event and the PEP
for national recognition from the American Association for
State and Local History.
The Community History Award is designed
to recognize an outstanding event highlighting Kentucky history.
The 2002 National Reenactment was Kentucky's premiere historical
tourism event last year drawing over 45,000 spectators and
5,000 reenactors from 37 states and 4 foreign countries.
The Historical Confederation of Kentucky's
Award of Merit recognizes an outstanding publication promoting
awareness of Kentucky history. The 2002 National Reenactment
Commemorative Program is an 80-page, 4-color program highlighting
the national reenactment and the unique story of Perryville,
Kentucky and the Battle of Perryville. The Battle of Perryville
was Kentucky's largest Civil War battle. The 2002 Commemorative
Program contains numerous full, color professional photographs
and skillfully written articles and was designed to serve
not only as an event program but as a timeless teaching tool.
A limited number of Commemorative Programs are for sale in
the PEP office for a reduced price of $5.
"Being chosen to host the 2002 National
Civil War Reenactment was an honor for the Project, the City
of Perryville and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Many organizations,
including ours, worked hard to use this event to garner support
for our efforts and draw attention to the rich historical
heritage of Perryville, Kentucky. We are thrilled to be recognized
for these efforts by the Historical Confederation of Kentucky.
The added honor of being nominated for national recognition
is equally exciting," said Krista Rinehart, Director of Development
and Public Relations for the Perryville Enhancement Project.
The PEP worked in partnership with the
Kentucky Department of Parks, Danville-Boyle County Convention
and Visitor's Bureau and the North-South Alliance to produce
the 2002 National Reenactment. The PEP would also like to
recognize Preston-Osborne for its help with the 2002 Commemorative
Program.
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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Sept. 17, 2002
Fourth-Generation
Buckners to Reenact in Perryville
Perryville, Ky – During
the first weekend of October, Simon Bolivar Buckner IV will
remake history in Perryville. Buckner, the great-grandson
of Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner, will be tracing
his ancestor’s footsteps at the 2002 National Reenactment,
hosted at the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.
In 1862, General Buckner led one-third
of the Confederate forces when he commanded a division of
6,500 men in the Battle of Perryville. This year, his great-grandson
will bring together individuals from the third, fourth and
fifth generations of the Buckner family at the Perryville
Battlefield.
The Battle of Perryville ranks as significant
as Gettysburg or Antietam in Civil War history, and this year
the battle marks its 140th anniversary. More than 5,000 reenactors
and 20,000 spectators will attend the event on Oct. 4-6. Reenactors
are coming from 37 states and three foreign countries.
Scholars now recognize Kentucky’s
bloodiest battle as a decisive turning point in the Civil
War, causing Confederate troops to retreat from their campaign
to take Kentucky. The Battle of Perryville, combined with
Lee’s failure to hold Maryland after the Battle of Antietam,
allowed President Lincoln to issue a preliminary version of
the Emancipation Proclamation.
General Buckner was born in Hart
County, Kentucky, in 1823. During his tenure as a Confederate
general, he was involved in the Fort Donelson and Chickamagua
campaigns. Buckner also joined General Braxton Bragg in his
1862 campaign for Kentucky, which brought Buckner to the Battle
of Perryville. After the Civil War, Buckner served as governor
of Kentucky from 1887-1891.
On Saturday, Oct. 5, Jim Jean will
portray General Buckner at the Perryville Battlefield State
Historic Site. Jean will reenact Buckner’s brief to brigade
commanders prior to the battle, and he will introduce the
Buckner descendants in attendance to the audience. The Buckner
reenactment will be on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 11:30 a.m. in
the educational tent.
The 2002 National Reenactment will
be held in Perryville on Oct. 4-6. Sponsors of the event include
the Kentucky Department of Parks, the Danville-Boyle County
Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Perryville Enhancement
Project. For more information, please visit www.perryville.net
or call (859) 332-1862.
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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
September 6, 2002
Kentucky's Touchstone
Energy Cooperatives
Support
Unique Learning Opportunity in Perryville
Perryville, KY – Kentucky's
Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, in partnership with the Perryville
Enhancement Project, are pleased to bring educators and students
across the country an online classroom, complete with 10 week-long
lessons that cover the Civil War, the Civil War presence in
Kentucky—a key border state, and the importance of the
Battle of Perryville.
This online classroom is being
launched in conjunction with the 2002 National Reenactment
in Perryville, KY, scheduled for October 4-6. This event honors
the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Perryville. The 2002
National Reenactment is anticipating 7,000 participants and
25,000 spectators for a weekend of commemoration and living
history.
The Touchstone classroom is accessible
by logging onto www.perryville.net and clicking on "Download
Lesson Plans." The lesson plans, developed for fourth-grade
curriculum, focus on different aspects of the Civil War and,
in particular, the Battle of Perryville in Perryville, Kentucky.
More and more, historians are realizing the significant historical
importance of the Battle of Perryville, asserting that the
battle was a decisive turning point in the War and a direct
reason President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Included in each week's plans are
essays on the history of the subject (for teachers), lesson
plans complete with discussion questions and suggested activities,
and resources for additional information. The hope is that
the lesson plans will help students learn about America's
exciting and dynamic history.
Perryville's online classroom is
made possible through the generous support of Kentucky's
Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, which
have committed their resources to education. Touchstone Energy
is a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives
providing high standards of service to customers, large and
small. As members in this network, Kentucky's Touchstone Energy
Cooperatives supply electricity to more than 456,000 Kentucky
homes, farms, businesses and industries across 89 counties.
These not-for-profit co-ops are governed by the people they
serve and are committed to integrity, accountability, innovation
and service to local communities. For information on Kentucky's
Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, please visit www.ekpc.com/members.
"The Perryville Enhancement
Project is thrilled to be partnering with Kentucky's
Touchstone Energy Cooperatives on this important educational
endeavor. From the beginning, our project has focused on education,
and we are grateful that Touchstone's support of our
work has made it possible to put these lesson plans online
for students across the state–and the country–to
enjoy," said Stuart Sanders, Director of Interpretation
and Education for the Perryville Enhancement Project.
For more information on Perryville's
online classroom, please contact the Perryville
Enhancement Project, P.O. Box 65, Perryville, KY 40468 or at
(888) 332-1865 or by email info@perryville.net.
Media Contact:
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Perryville Web Site
to launch August 17th
Perryville, KY– The
Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association (PBPA) will
launch their new Web site Saturday. The Web site, http://perryville.net,
depicts the history of Perryville and one of the bloody battles
of the Civil War. The Battle of Perryville, fought 140 years
ago, is recognized among historians as a turning point in
the war and an impetus for President Lincoln to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation. During the battle, 7,500 were killed
and wounded.
"The Perryville Web site promotes
the preservation of the battlefield and town that hosted one
of the bloodiest and most decisive Civil War battles. The
Web site is a great information source for the common Kentuckian,
American or educator. The lives and stories of Perryville
shared on this site are meant to intrigue visitors of all
ages," said Stuart Sanders, Director of Education &
Interpretation for the PBPA.
On October 4-6, the PBPA and the Kentucky
Department of Parks will host the 2002 National Reenactment
in Perryville, in honor of the Battle of Perryville's
140th Anniversary. People from across the country
will join spectators and actors to relive the Battle of Perryville
and enjoy the many festivities planned. The festivities include
encampments; the battle flag display; Civil War music; artillery,
infantry and cavalry drills; a cavalry saber competition;
medical displays; dozens of sutlers; living histories; and
many more. A schedule of events can be found on the Web site.
The Web site also includes information
on educational opportunities that exist in Perryville, as
well as lesson plans that can be downloaded and used in classrooms
throughout the country. The curriculum, geared toward 4th
graders, allows teachers to incorporate Kentucky history in
social studies. Other interesting dynamics of the Web site
include the story of Sleettown, a town of freed slaves learning
to live in their newfound independence; an overview of the
PBPA; and information on the community of Perryville and historic
Merchants' Row.
The Perryville Battlefield Preservation
Association (PBPA) is a non-profit organization charged with
preserving and interpreting Kentucky's largest Civil
War battlefield ground and the historic town of Perryville.
Founded in 1991, the PBPA has become one of the most active
battlefield preservation organizations in the nation.
For more information on the PBPA, contact
the office at (888) 332-1862. Information on the 2002 National
Reenactment is also available online at www.perryville2002.com.
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PEP Purchases Historic
Merchants' Row Structure
The Perryville Enhancement Project purchased 302 & 304 S. Buell Street in Perryville
on Thursday, March 14. The structure, commonly known as the
Opera House, in the tenth Merchants' Row structure purchased
by the PEP.
National renowned preservation architect
Joseph K. Oppermann is supervising restoration planning renovation
of the Merchants' Row buildings and several other structures
owned by the PEP. Restoration of the first three structures,
the Brinton House, Parks Store and Karrick-Parks House, is
scheduled to begin this summer. Restoration work on these
structures will be highlighted this October when the PEP
hosts the 2002 National Reenactment.
"We are very excited about the
opportunity to purchase the Opera House. It sits in a prominent
location at the head of the Merchants' Row buildings
and we are pleased to be able to begin plans to restore the
structure as a part of our master restoration project. It
would have been a shame to restore the rest of the buildings
and not the Opera House. Many thanks to Craig Knox and Ken
Hamilton for working with us," said Krista Rinehart, Director
of Development and Public Relations.
"The ability to access this building
for interpretive and educational purposes will prove valuable.
We are currently working on the narrative for a Candlelight
Tour of Merchants' Row that we have planned for Reenactment
weekend. The ability to add the Opera House to the tour, thus
including almost every building on the Row, is very exciting,"
added Rinehart.
The PEP will host the 2002 National
Reenactment October 4-6.
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PEP Purchases Crucial
Battlefield Land
The Perryville Enhancement Project (PEP) is pleased to announce the purchase of
50 acres of significant battlefield land. The property, located
just outside of Perryville on Battlefield Road, contains the
structure that served as Simon Bolivar Buckner's headquarters
during the Battle of Perryville. This purchase brings the
amount of protected battlefield land to more than 550 acres.
The PEP has facilitated the purchase of more than 400 acres
of battlefield land over the last several years.
This October 4,5 & 6, the PEP and
the Kentucky Department of Parks will be hosting the 2002
National Civil War Reenactment. The event is expected to draw
between 6-10,000 reenactors and more than 25,000 spectators.
For more information contact the PEP at 859.332.1862.
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Built on History: Perryville strives
to be a Civil War showplace
Lexington-Herald Leader — September
30, 2001
By Art Jester
Perryville — The
Battle of Perryville began, really, over a drink of water.
A drought gripped the hilly farmland
around this Boyle County town as Confederate and Union troops
converged here on a broiling day, Oct. 8, 1862. They knew
the rivers and creeks here offered refreshment for parched
soldiers in desperate shape.
What ensued was a furious and bloody
battle, the crucial Civil War battle in Kentucky and one that
ended the Confederacy's chances of winning Kentucky and
the war's Western Theater. The Confederates inflicted
greater casualties, but they were outnumbered and retreated
to Tennessee. Scholars now agree that if the Confederates
had won decisively at Perryville, they might have won the
Western Theater — between the Appalachian Mountains and
the Mississippi River — and the Civil War might have
had a different outcome.
Thus, in the unending volumes of Civil
War history, the Battle of Perryville keeps growing in significance.
As that happens, some energetic citizens and public officials
in Boyle County are hard at work to make the Perryville Battlefield
State Historic Site — and the quaint town of Perryville
itself — one of the nation's Civil War showplaces.
"Our goal is to make this the premier
Civil War site west of the Appalachians and to do this in
a way so that people will speak of Perryville the same as
they do of Gettysburg and Antietam — only we'll
do it better," says Clarence Wyatt, a Centre College
history professor and administrator who serves as president
of the Perryville Enhancement Project.
Wyatt and other want to enhance both
the battlefield and the town to give visitors a unique Civil
War experience. On Saturday and Sunday, Perryville Battlefield
will host its annual battle reenactment, for which 830 reenactors
have registered.
And there's a much bigger show
coming to town next year. Perryville will be host of the National
Civil War Reenactment Oct. 5-6, 2002. About 10,000 reenactors
are expected from around the country, and preliminary estimates
are that the crowd could be four times that large.
That's a lot of people descending
on this town of 775 people, but its leaders believe the town
has much to offer.
Perryville Mayor Bruce Richardson, co-owner
of the historic Elmwood Inn, says: "I envision something
like a Williamsburg (Va.) setting where you have a Civil War
village that is one of the few, if not the only one, that
still looks like it did in the 1860s. It's a rare opportunity
to save an unspoiled piece of history."
To reach its goals, Perryville has much
to do and will need a lot of money, both public and private.
Despite the obstacles, everyone involved seems to be marching
together in the same direction.
Boyle County Judge Executive Tony Wilder,
a Perryville resident and one of the county's most influential
officials, says there are obstacles but he shares in vision
and is optimistic.
"I think we're getting there,"
Wilder said.
Here is some of Perryville's progress
since 1991, using a combination of more than $4.1 million
in public and private funds:
- The battlefield acquired new land,
growing from 98 to 475 acres since 1995.
- A new 6-mile trial with improved
signs at 26 stops allows visitors to see every scene, close-up
and at a distance.
- There are plans to renovate Merchants'
Row, a series of 19th-century storefronts on
Buell Street in downtown Perryville to restore a Civil War
era atmosphere.
- The visitors center and museum now
sit where the main fighting occurred, but there are plans
to move the visitors center downtown and restore a 19th-century
mill on Bragg Street for use as the main museum.
As a result, the heart of the battlefield,
with the exception of a cemetery and a Confederate memorial,
will look pretty much the way it looked in 1862.
Restoring and renovating the buildings
in Perryville will require $10 million, in another and combination
of public and private money, Wyatt said.
"We've been encouraged from
a variety of sources" about obtaining the $10 million,
Wyatt said.
Kenneth W. Noe, an Auburn University
historian and author of the definitive new study, Perryville:
The Grand Havoc of Battle, said: "Perryville is really
providing a model for what people can do with local action
combining government and private funds. At Perryville, you
have the opportunity to walk the entire heart of the battlefield.
You can't do that at every other battlefield. It's
so important to see the ground and walk up over the hills.
You understand how the soldiers couldn't see what they
were walking into."
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Sleettown tells a part of the tale
Lexington Herald-Leader — Sunday,
September 30, 2001
By Art Jester
Perryville — It is one of
the richest recoveries in the effort to save all of the history
surrounding the Battle of Perryville.
It is the story of a place called Sleettown.
Today there is no Sleettown, but after
the Civil War ended in 1865, Sleettown developed as a community
of freed black slaves about a mile northwest of Perryville.
Sleettown ceased to exist in 1931 when
its residents moved into Perryville, but the history of this
settlement is flourishing.
Anne Sleet, a Perryville City Council
Member, served on a committee that pulled together some of
the old stories about Sleettown.
"It was a close neighborhood,"
she said. "There were several families, all kinpeople.
They stayed there after the Civil War because it was home
to them."
Mary Quinn Kerbaugh, a Danville native
and an account manager at Preston-Osborne a public relations
firm in Lexington, also contributed significantly to writing
the history of Sleettown.
"When I was a student at Centre
College, I did a thesis on the Battle of Perryville and the
social impact of the battle on the community," Kerbaugh
said. "When I talk to people about Perryville and tell
them about Sleettown, eyes just light up."
A grant in 1997 from the Kentucky African-American
Heritage Council provided for all of the various sources of
information to be compiled in a full report with a family
tree and other details.
Sleettown's origins go back to
Aug. 4, 1836, the date on the will of Reubin Sleet, a Mercer
County slaveholder. The will makes the first known reference
to Warner Sleet, head of the African-American Sleet family.
Reubin Sleet stipulated that upon his death Warner Sleet and
his wife, Octavia Sleet, an Apache Indian, were willed to
Reubin's daughter, Lucy Ann Peter.
Although records provide no date, Warner
and Octavia Sleet probably moved to Boyle County. The Sleets'
three sons were born in Boyle County — Henry (c. 1842),
Preston (c. 1844) and George (c. 1850). These three sons,
especially Henry and Preston, were leaders in Sleettown's
development.
To those who knew it, Sleettown had
a vibrant life.
The late Raymond Sleet, the husband
of Anne Sleet and a descendant of Preston Sleet, once recalled
that Sleettown had its own store and a "restaurant that
would be a honky-tonk nowadays."
Although Sleettown remained an all-black
community, it maintained open, friendly relationships with
its white neighbors.
For years, the Sleets have been highly
regarded for their leadership in Perryville. Several years
ago, the city named a street the "R.L. Sleet Street,"
in honor of Raymond Sleet.
In all likelihood, the family's
most famous member was Moneta Sleet, Jr. A photographer for
Ebony magazine who chronicled the civil rights movement, Sleet
won a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for his poignant photograph of
Coretta Scott King weeping at the funeral of her husband,
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Book tells story of oft-ignored battle
Lexington Herald-Leader — Sunday,
September 30, 2001
For an episode that is now considered
significant to the outcome of the Civil War, the Battle of
Perryville has been overlooked a lot.
Fortunately for Civil War buffs and
Kentuckians drawn to their state's history, there is
a new book that historians are calling the battle's definitive
account.
Auburn University's Kenneth W.
Noe spent six years writing Perryville: This Grand Havoc
of Battle (The University Press of Kentucky, 494 pp.,
$35).
Noe, a Virginia native who holds the
Draughon Chair in Southern History at Auburn, said he became
interested in Perryville because so little was known about
it.
"It was sort of the black hole
in the history of the Western Theater" in the Civil War,
he said. "I think Civil War historians and readers of
Civil War history are more interested in the Eastern Theater."
The Battle of Perryville was overlooked
from the start.
"I think in 1862 it escaped the
attention of people back east, and I think that carried on
past the war and into a new century," Noe said.
For the Confederacy, Perryville was
the high-water mark in its attempt to bring Kentucky to its
side and win the Western Theater.
Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg had hoped
Kentuckians would show their sympathies were with the South.
"The problem is Kentuckians greeted
the Confederate army with smiles and cheers but didn't
enlist in great numbers," Noe said. "I think Bragg
and a lot of his soldiers left Kentucky so disillusioned they
were happy to write it off."
Kentucky was a slave state, but it was
also a Union state, Noe said. Two reasons: the political legacy
of Lexington's Henry Clay, who fought to keep the nation
united, and Kentucky's greater dependency on trade with
the North by the time the war began.
Noe's Perryville belongs
to a new generation of Civil War histories that consider military
actions as part of a broad portrait of wartime conditions,
including social and economic factors that influenced the
result.
Noe drew upon two major collections
that had not been consulted in previous books about Perryville:
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, in Madison, Wis.;
and the U.S. Army Military Institute in Carlisle, Pa.
"I try to do something you normally
don't find in the usual narrative history," Noe
said. "I try to assess the long-term effect of the battle.
I really wanted to understand how Perryville had an impact
on people's lives 20 or 30 years or more after the war."
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Opportunity to save historic Perryville
must not be lost
The Advocate-Messenger — Opinion
— Sunday, August 26, 2001
It's been called a diamond in the
rough, a jewel in the crown of the 1862 Battle for Kentucky.
Kentucky was deemed neutral during the
Civil War, but not without efforts by the the Confederates
to elect their own governor and take over the capital before
they were ousted hours later after Union forces shelled Frankfort.
Perryville was the high water mark in
the western theater of the war. At no other time during the
conflict did the Confederates advance so far north as they
did in the months leading up to the battle in the hills surrounding
Perryville.
Over nine million dollars sounds like
quite a bit of taxpayer money to restore some moldy old buildings
on Merchants' Row and develop a museum and visitors center
in Perryville.
But the historic district is possibly
on of the only existing antebellum group of businesses near
a Civil War battlefield and deserves to be restored.
Unlike Gettysburg, which was a more
significant battle than Perryville's, the city and the
battlefield have not experienced rampant commercial growth
that obscures what was there during the war.
A state-of-the-art Civil War museum,
planned for the former mill on U.S. 68, is expected to cost
over $5 million to develop. Such a museum will attract tourists
seeking not only more information about the Oct. 8, 1862 Battle
of Perryville, but also can serve as the state's premiere
Civil War museum.
The Merchants' row buildings, neglected
and teetering on the brink of extinction for so long, can
help tell the story of the Civil War, the most important event
in U.S. history, in a way that may not be possible in any
other place in our country.
The Battle of Perryville was one of
lost opportunities. At Perryville, the Confederates failed
to hold their ground, rally their troops and take the state
of Kentucky away from the Union. Yet the Union failed to capitalize
on its win at Perryville by thoroughly routing the Rebels
from the state.
Now, 139 years later, it's important
that yet another Kentucky opportunity not be lost.
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Editorial, Danville Advocate-Messenger
— May 30, 2000
The western Boyle County city stands
to benefit greatly from the federal and state funds that have
been spent purchasing historic properties related to the Battle
of Perryville. The city is on the verge of becoming a major
tourism stop for Civil War enthusiasts as the battlefield
project gathers steam. Any state funds spent helping the citizens
of Perryville improve their downtown are bound to pay big
dividends in the form of increased tourist dollars for the
community. Preservation of this historic town should proceed
hand-in glove with the preservation of the historic battlefield.
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Editorial, Danville Advocate-Messenger
— September 27,
1998
The massive undertaking of making the
Perryville Battlefield and the city of Perryville a major
national tourist stop is entering a crucial new phase with
the hiring of a firm to plan how the battlefield and the community
will be presented to visitors. Since receiving a federal grant
to purchase historically significant properties around the
battlefield, the Perryville Enhancement Project,
essentially, has been laying the groundwork for this stage
of the project. It has been acquiring the properties that
eventually will become part of the overall experience of visiting
the site of the Oct. 8, 1862, Battle of Perryville, the state's
most important Civil War battle. The planners will give the
association and the Perryville community a blueprint for how
the obvious tourism potential can become a reality. The goal,
of course, is to make a visit to Perryville as pleasant, entertaining
and educational as possible. That's the kind of experience
that is going to attract tourists and tourist dollars to the
area.
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Editorial, Danville Advocate-Messenger
—March 19, 1998
The Perryville Battlefield is both a
state and national treasure. As the site of the largest Civil
War battle in Kentucky and crucial turning point in that war,
it is of immense interest to historians and Civil War buffs
throughout the country ... Through the purchase of historic
properties around the battlefield, this Civil War site has
been protected from commercial and residential encroachment
... What remains to be done is the development of programs
that will fully exploit the potential of the battleground
and the Perryville community as a significant tourist attraction
for the state of Kentucky.
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MEDIA ADVISORY
Sept. 9, 2002
Perryville to Host
2002 National Reenactment
WHO: Perryville Enhancement
Project, Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors
Bureau, and Kentucky Department of Parks
WHAT: 2002 National Reenactment,
honoring the 140th anniversary of the Battle
of Perryville, Kentucky's largest and bloodiest Civil
War battle
WHEN: Oct. 4-6
WHERE: Perryville, Ky., at the Perryville
Battlefield State Historic Site and along historic Merchants'
Row in downtown Perryville
"I wish to have
God on my side, but I must have Kentucky."
–President
Abraham Lincoln
The Battle of Perryville ranks as significant
as Gettysburg or Antietam in Civil War history. And Oct. 4-6,
the battle marks its 140th anniversary with the 2002 National
Reenactment in Perryville, Ky. Nearly 6,000 reenactors and
more than 15,000 spectators are expected at the event.
Scholars now recognize Kentucky's
bloodiest battle as a decisive turning point in the Civil
War, causing Confederate troops to retreat from their campaign
to take Kentucky. The Battle of Perryville, combined with
Lee's failure to hold Maryland after the Battle of Antietam,
allowed President Lincoln to issue a preliminary version of
the Emancipation Proclamation.
And the Perryville Battlefield remains
hollowed ground, preserved to its 1862 appearance. The Perryville
Enhancement Project, the National Reenactment co-host, has
preserved more than 600 acres of key battlefield land and
structures, including the town's Merchant's Row.
Historians and reenactors will see the battlefield as it truly
was on that hot, dry October afternoon in 1862.
There's more than battle history,
too. Visit www.perryville.net to discover Sleettown, a self-sufficient
African-American community founded in Perryville after the
war by freed slaves. Or discover the art of historic preservation
with renowned professionals Frank Welsh and Joseph Oppermann.
There's a story for everyone in Perryville.
2002 National Reenactment–Schedule of Events
Welcome to historic Perryville, Kentucky!
We are glad you are with us for the 2002 National Reenactment.
In addition to the reenactments, we have several authentic
events and festivities planned for your enjoyment including:
encampments; period demonstrations; the battle flag display;
Civil War music; artillery, infantry and cavalry drills; a
cavalry saber competition; medical displays; dozens of sutlers;
living histories; and much more! Below is a schedule of events
happening in downtown Perryville and at the Perryville Battlefield.
Enjoy your visit to Perryville, and come back soon!
Friday, October 4
All Day Crafters & Living History Exhibits
(Merchants' Row)
7:00 p.m. Parade (downtown
Perryville)
8:00 p.m. Candlelight Tour of Merchants' Row
Dark Fireworks
10:00 p.m. Street Dance (downtown Perryville)
Saturday, October 5
7:00 a.m Sunrise Reenactment (Perryville Battlefield)
All Day Crafters & Living History Exhibits
(Merchants' Row)
All Day Live Music
& Concerts (downtown Perryville)
All Day Reenactor
Encampments and Suttlers (Perryville Battlefield)
Mid-a.m. Raid on Merchants'
Row
3:00 p.m. Afternoon
Reenactment (Perryville Battlefield)
6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Ghost Walk at Perryville Battlefield
8:00 p.m. Candlelight Tour of Merchants' Row
Dark Fireworks
10:00 p.m. Street Dance
(downtown Perryville)
Sunday, October 6
All Day Live Music & Concerts (downtown
Perryville)
Until 4:00 p.m. Reenactor
Encampments and Suttlers (Perryville Battlefield)
All Day Crafters
& Living History Exhibits (Merchants' Row)
2:00 p.m. Afternoon
Reenactment (Perryville Battlefield)
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|
859.332.1862
info@perryville.net
