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Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle
Winner of the Seaborg Civil War “Impressively researched . . . will please many readers, especially those who enjoy exciting battle histories.” ―Journal of Military History On October 8, 1862, Union and Confederate forces clashed near Perryville in what would be the largest battle ever fought on Kentucky soil. The climax of a campaign that began two months before in northern Mississippi, Perryville came to be recognized as the high-water mark of the western Confederacy. This Grand Havoc of Battle is the definitive account of this important conflict. While providing all the parry and thrust one might expect from an excellent battle narrative, the book also reflects the new trends in Civil War history in its concern for ordinary soldiers and civilians caught in the slaughterhouse. The last chapter, unique among Civil War battle narratives, even discusses the battle’s veterans, their families, efforts to preserve the battlefield, and the many ways Americans have remembered and commemorated Perryville. “This superb book unravels the complexities of Perryville, but discloses these military details within their social and political contexts. These considerations greatly enrich our understanding of war, history, and human endeavor.” —Virginia Quarterly Review “It should remain the definitive work of the Perryville campaign for many years.” —Bowling Green Daily News
520 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 2, 2024
It’s a common lament, in books about the Western Theater of the Civil War, that the battles and the combatants in the Eastern Theater get all the attention and the glory. The 1862 Battle of Perryville in Kentucky suffers the double indignity of not only having taken place in the lesser-known theater of the war, but being perhaps the least-studied of the major battles that occurred there. Add to that the relative ineptitude and indecisiveness of the commanders on both sides, as compared to the fabled heroism and gallantry of their counterparts back East, and it’s a recipe for relative obscurity.
Noe tries to rectify that here, telling the full story of the battle and placing it in the context of its times, militarily and politically. Perryville was the Western version of the nearly-simultaneous Battle of Antietam, as Confederate forces in both theaters aimed to take the fight to the north for the first time. But the two battles differed significantly, as Antietam was a brief infiltration, while Perryville was the climax of a somewhat longer-lasting occupation.
Noe provides very good background on Kentucky’s tenuous neutrality, as it was caught between its commitment to the Union and its fealty to slavery. And he describes well, Confederate leaders’ misguided belief that the state could be easily persuaded to switch sides.
But the theme throughout the book is just how uncoordinated the effort to conquer, and the corresponding effort to defend, the state really was. Neither Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg nor Union Gen. Don Carlos Buell acquitted themselves particularly well. Noe acknowledges the criticism and the bad reputations both have earned, and goes so far as to attempt to psychoanalyze them in an effort to provide an explanation for their failings, but he’s also fair in not piling on, by considering their relative strengths as well.
The lead-up to the battle is largely a story of Bragg's erratic indecisiveness, as he seems to maneuver around Kentucky without a grand plan. He launched "an invasion without a firm raison d'etre," Noe observes, was frustrated at Kentuckians who did not join the Confederates’ fight, and is quoted at one point as saying “this campaign must be won by marching, not by fighting,” as though he could win over the state without firing a shot, by the Confederates’ mere presence alone.
Buell, on the other side, also seemed indecisive, reluctant to engage with Bragg as he watched him march around the state. He wore out his own troops by marching them hard as well, but for what purpose exactly, if all he was really doing was just waiting to see what Bragg would do? The terrible infighting among his subordinates also didn’t help matters.
Noe also considers the soldiers’ point of view, and the struggles they experienced during their constant movement during the hot and parched late summer season. Not only did they have to forage for food, but access to clean drinking water was a constant concern. The first engagement of the battle, as it turned out, was for control over a local water source.
As the battle at Perryville gets underway in earnest, Noe captures the confusion of the fighting while also making it very easy to follow, not getting bogged down in colorless descriptions of troop movements and tactics. Buell comes across as particularly clueless, as he didn’t even know the battle was underway until a couple of hours into it, he was never fully aware just how major a fight it was, and proceeded with making plans for an attack well after the Confederates were already retreating, having given up the fight.
After the war, Noe observes how Perryville faded from memory, as there was a “growing popular perception of the battle as an affair of relatively minor importance, an interlude between Shiloh and Stones River.” He concludes the book by considering the battle’s aftermath, its impact on survivors and local civilians, and efforts to preserve and interpret the battlefield from the immediate postwar period to the present day. What seems to be missing is a good big-picture analysis of what it all meant in the end, how this battle impacted the larger war, how pivotal it was that Kentucky ended up staying in the Union, and why the battle was not, in fact, “an affair of relatively minor importance.”
In the end, this is a very well-written book that brings the battle and its characters to life. It just lacked a satisfying conclusion for me. While it’s a good read on its own terms, it doesn’t fully make the case for why this battle is worth studying. Perryville will never live up to the historical reputation of Antietam or Gettysburg in modern memory. But as their Western equivalent, Perryville gets its due here as a battle that's just as worthy of being remembered.
Noe tries to rectify that here, telling the full story of the battle and placing it in the context of its times, militarily and politically. Perryville was the Western version of the nearly-simultaneous Battle of Antietam, as Confederate forces in both theaters aimed to take the fight to the north for the first time. But the two battles differed significantly, as Antietam was a brief infiltration, while Perryville was the climax of a somewhat longer-lasting occupation.
Noe provides very good background on Kentucky’s tenuous neutrality, as it was caught between its commitment to the Union and its fealty to slavery. And he describes well, Confederate leaders’ misguided belief that the state could be easily persuaded to switch sides.
But the theme throughout the book is just how uncoordinated the effort to conquer, and the corresponding effort to defend, the state really was. Neither Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg nor Union Gen. Don Carlos Buell acquitted themselves particularly well. Noe acknowledges the criticism and the bad reputations both have earned, and goes so far as to attempt to psychoanalyze them in an effort to provide an explanation for their failings, but he’s also fair in not piling on, by considering their relative strengths as well.
The lead-up to the battle is largely a story of Bragg's erratic indecisiveness, as he seems to maneuver around Kentucky without a grand plan. He launched "an invasion without a firm raison d'etre," Noe observes, was frustrated at Kentuckians who did not join the Confederates’ fight, and is quoted at one point as saying “this campaign must be won by marching, not by fighting,” as though he could win over the state without firing a shot, by the Confederates’ mere presence alone.
Buell, on the other side, also seemed indecisive, reluctant to engage with Bragg as he watched him march around the state. He wore out his own troops by marching them hard as well, but for what purpose exactly, if all he was really doing was just waiting to see what Bragg would do? The terrible infighting among his subordinates also didn’t help matters.
Noe also considers the soldiers’ point of view, and the struggles they experienced during their constant movement during the hot and parched late summer season. Not only did they have to forage for food, but access to clean drinking water was a constant concern. The first engagement of the battle, as it turned out, was for control over a local water source.
As the battle at Perryville gets underway in earnest, Noe captures the confusion of the fighting while also making it very easy to follow, not getting bogged down in colorless descriptions of troop movements and tactics. Buell comes across as particularly clueless, as he didn’t even know the battle was underway until a couple of hours into it, he was never fully aware just how major a fight it was, and proceeded with making plans for an attack well after the Confederates were already retreating, having given up the fight.
After the war, Noe observes how Perryville faded from memory, as there was a “growing popular perception of the battle as an affair of relatively minor importance, an interlude between Shiloh and Stones River.” He concludes the book by considering the battle’s aftermath, its impact on survivors and local civilians, and efforts to preserve and interpret the battlefield from the immediate postwar period to the present day. What seems to be missing is a good big-picture analysis of what it all meant in the end, how this battle impacted the larger war, how pivotal it was that Kentucky ended up staying in the Union, and why the battle was not, in fact, “an affair of relatively minor importance.”
In the end, this is a very well-written book that brings the battle and its characters to life. It just lacked a satisfying conclusion for me. While it’s a good read on its own terms, it doesn’t fully make the case for why this battle is worth studying. Perryville will never live up to the historical reputation of Antietam or Gettysburg in modern memory. But as their Western equivalent, Perryville gets its due here as a battle that's just as worthy of being remembered.
April 3, 2024
The research is top notch, although the level of detail on the battle can make it a bit of a slog at times. Fortunately Noe's prose is solid. He is fair to Buell and Bragg, noting good and bad points. The soldier accounts are good (and often missing from books like this) but can get redundant. In the end neither general was good, but Noe does not succumb to the whipping boy impulse. Kirby Smith is thoroughly pilloried however, as is Gilbert.
I took off a star for not having anything much to say about Smith's invasion. Indeed, the Battle of Richmond is covered in only one paragraph. Nothing of Smith's force composition is indicated. Where did his regiments hail from? Who were his division commanders? Also, maps were not great save for those covering the actual battle.
I found the average Kentuckian's reaction to the campaign hilarious. They cheered the Rebels but refused to join them. Then they cheered the Federals. Having lived in Kentucky from 2009-2012 it appears this tradition has never ended. Indeed, I used to say the great problem with its citizens could all be dated back to 1861 when they were asked to join a side and refused. No state offered as few troops as a proportion of the population to our great national crisis. Can't blame Bragg's men for calling them cowards.
I took off a star for not having anything much to say about Smith's invasion. Indeed, the Battle of Richmond is covered in only one paragraph. Nothing of Smith's force composition is indicated. Where did his regiments hail from? Who were his division commanders? Also, maps were not great save for those covering the actual battle.
I found the average Kentuckian's reaction to the campaign hilarious. They cheered the Rebels but refused to join them. Then they cheered the Federals. Having lived in Kentucky from 2009-2012 it appears this tradition has never ended. Indeed, I used to say the great problem with its citizens could all be dated back to 1861 when they were asked to join a side and refused. No state offered as few troops as a proportion of the population to our great national crisis. Can't blame Bragg's men for calling them cowards.
August 8, 2015
A WHOLE lot of detail in this book about an often-overlooked but extremely bloody Civil War battle. The maps were sparse and showed static positions without a quick and easy illustration of troop movements, so understanding on-site situations was a little difficult. There were also quite a number of typos to wade through; a fully-awake proof reader would have been an asset. But all in all, Kenneth Noe is to be admired for the massive amount of intricate research he had to have done to create this book. It must have taken years to compile the background information and, as one of my ancestors fought at Perryville, Noe's efforts are greatly appreciated.
March 31, 2013
Braxton Bragg's campaign into Kentucky in the late summer and early autumn of 1862 is an often neglected chapter in Civil War history. Noe's book explores the campaign based on use of primary and secondary sources. While solid, the author's digressions into retrospective psychoanalysis are a bit silly and lessen the credibility of the book as serious history. Nevertheless, it is worth reading. Like many university press histories, however, it is degraded by poor maps. It is a solid two star effort.
March 2, 2019
Although I have read on the Civil War for a while, I confess to not knowing much about the Battle of Perryville. I bought this book (widely acknowledged as one of the best on the battle) while visiting the battlefield. This is a fine account of the battle, the largest on Kentucky soil, and the events just before and after it. It especially focuses on the fighting on the Union left and center, where the fighting over those few afternoon hours of October 8, 1862 was as fierce as that seen at Shiloh or Antietam.
This battle is described by Noe as “The high water mark of the Confederacy” in the West. Although the battle was largely inconclusive, the retreat of Bragg guaranteed that Kentucky would stay in the Union, and combined with the Lee’s retreat from Antietam in September, helped to cement foreign neutrality.
Highly recommended for those wanting to learn more about this lesser known battle.
This battle is described by Noe as “The high water mark of the Confederacy” in the West. Although the battle was largely inconclusive, the retreat of Bragg guaranteed that Kentucky would stay in the Union, and combined with the Lee’s retreat from Antietam in September, helped to cement foreign neutrality.
Highly recommended for those wanting to learn more about this lesser known battle.
May 27, 2021
Better than average telling of a battle that should be much better known than it is. Perryville caused the Confederate commander to abandon his invasion of Kentucky, all but guaranteeing its remaining in the Union. Noe tells much of the story in great detail from the individual soldier's perspective, a style that is rarely employed. This gave me a much better understanding of what it must have been like to be a participant. The usual coverage of events leading up to the battle is also adequately detailed. Noe closes the book with a discussion of what happened to Perryville the town after the battle. This includes not only the immediate impact on its citizens, but also the history of the preservation of the battlefield into a state park, up through 1999. My only complaint is the small number and mediocre quality of maps. I recommend that you download the Munfordville and Perryville maps from the Battlefields.org website before you get too far into the book.
December 8, 2020
Well done, detailed battle narrative
Noe has provided a masterly, intimate and detailed treatment of the campaign and battle. His dense narrative of the action is in places hard to follow, though this battle, one of the hardest fought actions of the war, is inherently confusing. Noe addresses the failings of leaders on both sides. The quality of the Generals does not impress; the courage and endurance of the soldiers astonishes.
Noe has provided a masterly, intimate and detailed treatment of the campaign and battle. His dense narrative of the action is in places hard to follow, though this battle, one of the hardest fought actions of the war, is inherently confusing. Noe addresses the failings of leaders on both sides. The quality of the Generals does not impress; the courage and endurance of the soldiers astonishes.
April 30, 2023
Well written account of the battle of Perryville. The author discusses opposing points of view on the battle-s events and directly references other authors in the text which is much appreciated. The author seems to have a deep understanding of the events in question and skillfully discusses the wider significance as well as the impact the battle on soldiers, civilians, and the War itself. Highly reccomended.
August 28, 2025
Definitely a good review of the the campaign that led to the battle, and the machinations of the battle of Perryville itself.
Thought that it got a little too into the weeds trying to diagnose the mental state (and possibly mental illness?) of the commanders, particularly Bragg. All that pushed a little too far into modern psychiatry and felt out of place when applied to Civil War generals.
Thought that it got a little too into the weeds trying to diagnose the mental state (and possibly mental illness?) of the commanders, particularly Bragg. All that pushed a little too far into modern psychiatry and felt out of place when applied to Civil War generals.
November 1, 2022
Very detailed account of the civil war battle of Perryville, KY. Lots of primary sources give excellent details of the conflict. The author provides a thorough description of what lead to the battle as well as the devastation inflicted upon both the soldiers and civilians. Excellent read!
May 6, 2020
Fascinating. I visited the park years ago without understanding it. Worth reading before visiting the battlefield.
June 2, 2020
One of the best Civil War campaign books I have read. Covers not only the battle itself, but the land and people, including post-battle stories.
September 20, 2022
Incredibly well researched and thorough, but detailed to the point of tedium. Not enough maps and very hard to follow all of the very specific mentions of terrain.
January 21, 2023
Gone but not forgotten
This book fills in a lot of missing historic battles that really changed the tides of war. If this was a Confederate victory, they could ill afford another.
This book fills in a lot of missing historic battles that really changed the tides of war. If this was a Confederate victory, they could ill afford another.
June 29, 2024
Great battle narrative but needs more and better maps.
January 6, 2013
Perryville is one of the more forgotten major battles of the Civil War. It's not hard to see why: short in duration, comparatively low in casualties, and with commanding generals on both sides who have been seen mostly negatively then and now. But this battle was the high water mark of the Kentucky Campaign / Confederate Heartland Offense of 1862 that was a kind of western parallel to Lee's Antietam campaign. It could be argued it was the Confederate high water mark in the entire western theater; it certainly was in a geographic sense. The campaign essentially delayed the Union capture of Chattanooga and East Tennessee by a year, ended Buell's tenure as army commander, and set the stage for all the bitter infighting that plagued Bragg's time as commander of the Army of Mississippi/Tennessee.
Noe delivers an excellent book much in the style of Peter Cozzens, but with an added focus on the experiences and thoughts of the soldiers. The book concludes with information about the Perryville battlefield after the campaign concluded, a topic most battle books skip. There are good topographic maps with regiments and batteries and I never felt lost on the maps with the big picture. There are many photos - including some modern battlefield views - and they are helpfully placed throughout the book at appropriate places rather than all together in a single place. There is a good analysis of Buell and Bragg, and their successes and failures. Noe is not afraid to psychoanalyze Bragg's somewhat erratic behavior; he doesn't let it turn into an extended psychology study, but even broaching the subject might annoy some readers. Noe acknowledges he is treading on ground usually best left avoided.
While the battle maps are very good, I thought the larger campaign maps were weak. The Buell Commission (a post-campaign investigation of Buell) is referenced several times and cited as a source, but never properly discussed. I feel this was a mistake especially given the other post-battle events covered. Some topics also get glossed over despite the 367 pages (not counting appendixes, endnotes, etc) such as Munfordville and most of Edmund Kirby Smith's part in the campaign; I thought the book's scope was too narrow in that regard.
Noe delivers an excellent book much in the style of Peter Cozzens, but with an added focus on the experiences and thoughts of the soldiers. The book concludes with information about the Perryville battlefield after the campaign concluded, a topic most battle books skip. There are good topographic maps with regiments and batteries and I never felt lost on the maps with the big picture. There are many photos - including some modern battlefield views - and they are helpfully placed throughout the book at appropriate places rather than all together in a single place. There is a good analysis of Buell and Bragg, and their successes and failures. Noe is not afraid to psychoanalyze Bragg's somewhat erratic behavior; he doesn't let it turn into an extended psychology study, but even broaching the subject might annoy some readers. Noe acknowledges he is treading on ground usually best left avoided.
While the battle maps are very good, I thought the larger campaign maps were weak. The Buell Commission (a post-campaign investigation of Buell) is referenced several times and cited as a source, but never properly discussed. I feel this was a mistake especially given the other post-battle events covered. Some topics also get glossed over despite the 367 pages (not counting appendixes, endnotes, etc) such as Munfordville and most of Edmund Kirby Smith's part in the campaign; I thought the book's scope was too narrow in that regard.
August 8, 2010
Perryville is a forgotten battle but an important battle in that the Confederates lost Kentucky in this battle. The strategic, logistical political implications of the battle can't be understated however the Battle of Perryville is overlooked. Perhaps the location on a back road far from the interstate has something to do with the being overlooked but perhaps it was the fact that neither commanding general was well thought of. Noe does a very thorough job in his book to bring Perryville to the prominance that it deserves. However the book does get bogged down and at times hard to read. Many times it was confusing which side was doing. What Noe was describing. These issues made for a lower rating however the book is very informative and makes a srong argument for why the battle was critical. I have walked the battlefield and wish I had read Noe's work before so I could better understand what I was seeing. The next time I visit Perryville I will have Noe's bookkeeping in my backpack for a reference.
March 26, 2008
I think I've figured out that I prefer the type of civil war history that makes military historians cringe --- civilian and soldier accounts, letters, diaries, and the more humanistic or sociological aspects of battles and war. Military strategy, admittedly, is a bit difficult to follow without clear maps on each page and I had trouble keeping track of all the brigades, regiments, columns, and who led what. This book was a mix of both strategy and sociology, so as soon as I got bored with flank movements, I was revived by reading about what a member of the 21st Wisconsin said about charging up a certain hill. On the whole, a thorough account of Perryville, one that places it in astoundingly complete context --- what led up to the battle and what occurred afterward are discussed in great depth.
August 22, 2016
A book about an important but little known battle .. literally the high water mark of the confederacy where they got the furthest north and retook kentucky for a brief time
A battle in which neither Commander knew that the main battle was going on and the union commander denied it was more than a skirmish!
I had always wanted to know what actually happened during braggs dash to kentucky but now i know he was dragged forward by kirby smith , completely misread the union plans and finally realisied his danger and was only saved by the union commander... the leisurely don carlos buell
An stand up soldiers battle where most of the decisions were made by the brigade commanders and only one commander ,, cheatham really stands out as a tactical expert.
Must be the standard account of this bloody sanguine fight.
A battle in which neither Commander knew that the main battle was going on and the union commander denied it was more than a skirmish!
I had always wanted to know what actually happened during braggs dash to kentucky but now i know he was dragged forward by kirby smith , completely misread the union plans and finally realisied his danger and was only saved by the union commander... the leisurely don carlos buell
An stand up soldiers battle where most of the decisions were made by the brigade commanders and only one commander ,, cheatham really stands out as a tactical expert.
Must be the standard account of this bloody sanguine fight.
December 18, 2025
Another book I've read where I knew little to nothing about the subject. It was as good and interesting any other Civil War battle narrative, though I felt the actual sections on the battle itself were dry at times due to the minute and sometimes repetitive narrative. There's a lot of detail in this book, which is great, but doesn't make for the most exciting read at times.
Nevertheless, I am glad I read it. It's helped to expand my ever growing knowledge on the Civil War in an area where I have been negligent in (the major battles of the Western Theater namely).
Nevertheless, I am glad I read it. It's helped to expand my ever growing knowledge on the Civil War in an area where I have been negligent in (the major battles of the Western Theater namely).
December 6, 2012
Noe does an excellent job of covering the maneuverings of the opposing forces in the months preceding the battle and a similarly fantastic job of covering the battle in detail. My only major complaint is that at several times the author attempts to convey command decisions through the lens of post-post-post facto psychoanalysis. That's another subject for another book and an individual with many years of education in another field. Thankfully, these instances are short and few.
June 8, 2023
Details Bragg's Kentucky Campaign and the Battle of Perryville. Noe includes some human interest and covers the battle's aftereffects on the Civilians in the Perryville. The only minus is the constant use of the clunky phrases "Enslaved peoples" for "Slave" and "Enslaver of black people" for "Slave owner". Its quite annoying.
June 18, 2010
One of my new favorite CW authors. Well written account of this often forgotten battle. I'm really into the Kentucky/Trans-Miss action right now and this was a great introduction. Looking forward to touring Kentucky sites sometime.
November 26, 2021
Finished this yet again for the 3rd or 4th complete go around. Probably still my favorite ACW book, and I feel like I’ve gleaned a new perspective on some aspect of the campaign/battle with every subsequent visit. This is the definitive treatment. Highly recommend, an easy 5 out of 5.
April 22, 2017
An outstanding book on the battle of Perryville - where the Union turned back the Confederate invasion that threatened Louisville. Noe does a nice framing the campaign that led to the battle as well as helping us understand the 2 flawed commanders (Buell and Bragg) and the issues in command structure that shaped the battle. The final chapter is especially powerful because it helped show the impact of the battle (and the Civil War more broadly) on families and societies well past the end of the battle.
October 3, 2018
Not only is Perryville one of the best preserved battlefields in America, this book is one of the best histories a minor battle has ever received.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews