Below are the official accounts of the Civil War Battles during the Kentucky Confederate Offensive of 1861. They are listed in chronological order.

Battle of Barbourville

Location: Knox County Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861)

Date(s): September 19, 1861

Principal Commanders: Capt. Isaac J. Black [US]; Col. Joel A. Battle [CS]

Forces Engaged: Home Guard (approx. 300 men) [US]; detachment of approx. 800 men under command of Col. Joel A. Battle [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 20 total (US 15; CS 5)

Description: Kentucky Union sympathizers had trained recruits at Camp Andrew Johnson, in Barbourville, throughout the summer of 1861. Confederate Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer entered Kentucky in mid-September intending to relieve pressure on Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and his troops by conducting raids and generally constituting a threat to Union forces and sympathizers in the area. On September 18, 1861, he dispatched a force of about 800 men under command of Col. Joel A. Battle to disrupt the training activities at Camp Andrew Johnson. At daylight on the 19th, the force entered Barbourville and found the recruits gone; they had been sent to Camp Dick Robinson. A small home guard force commanded by Capt. Isaac J. Black met the Rebels, and a sharp skirmish ensued. After dispersing the home guard, the Confederates destroyed the training camp and seized arms found there. This was, for all practical purposes, the first encounter of the war in Kentucky. The Confederates were making their might known in the state, countering the early Union presence.

Result(s): Confederate victory 

Battle of Camp Wildcat

Other Names: Wildcat Mountain

Location: Laurel County

Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861)

Date(s): October 21, 1861

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. Albin F. Schoepf [US]; Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer [CS]

Forces Engaged: Camp Wildcat Garrison and Schoepf’s Brigade (approx. 7,000 men) [US]; Zollicoffer’s Brigade [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 78 total (US 25; CS 53)

Description: Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer’s men occupied Cumberland Gap and took position at Cumberland Ford to counter the Unionist activity in the area. Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas sent a detachment under Col. T.T. Garrard to secure the ford on the Rockcastle River, establish a camp at Wildcat Mountain, and obstruct the Wilderness road passing through the area. Col. Garrard informed Thomas that if he did not receive reinforcements, he would have to retreat because he was outnumbered seven to one. Thomas sent Brig. Gen. A. Schoepf with what amounted to a brigade of men to Col. Garrard, bringing the total force to about 7,000. On the morning of October 21, soon after Schoepf arrived, some of his men moved forward and ran into Rebel forces, commencing a fight. The Federals repelled the Confederate attacks, in part due to fortifications, both man-made and natural. The Confederates withdrew during the night and continued their retreat to Cumberland Ford, which they reached on the 26th. A Union victory was welcomed, countering the Confederate victory at Barbourville.

Result(s): Union victory

Battle of Ivy Mountain

Other Names: Ivy Creek, Ivy Narrows

Location: Floyd County

Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861)

Date(s): November 8-9, 1861

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. William Nelson and Col. Joshua W. Sill [US]; Col. John S. Williams [CS]

Forces Engaged: Combination of detachments from twelve Union Ohio and Kentucky units [US]; nine companies of infantry and two of mounted men (1,010 men) [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 293 total (US 30; CS 263)

Description: While recruiting in southeast Kentucky, Rebels under Col. John S. Williams ran short of ammunition at Prestonsburg and fell back to Pikeville to replenish their supply. Brig. Gen. William Nelson sent out a detachment from near Louisa under Col. Joshua Sill while he started out from Prestonsburg with a larger force in an attempt to “turn or cut the Rebels off.” Williams prepared for evacuation, hoping for time to reach Virginia, and sent out a cavalry force to meet Nelson about eight miles from Pikeville. The Rebel cavalry escaped, and Nelson continued on his way. Williams then met Nelson at a point northeast of Pikeville between Ivy Mountain and Ivy Creek. Waiting by a narrow bend in the road, the Rebels surprised the Yankees by firing upon their constricted ranks. A fight ensued, but neither side gained the bulge. As the shooting ebbed, Williams’s men felled trees across the road and burned bridges to slow Nelson’s pursuing force. Night approached and rain began which, along with the obstructions, convinced Nelson’s men to go into camp. In the meantime, Williams retreated into Virginia, stopping in Abingdon on the 9th. Sill’s force arrived too late to be of use, but he did skirmish with the remnants of Williams’s retreating force before he occupied Pikeville on the 9th. This bedraggled Confederate force retreated back into Virginia for succor. The Union forces consolidated their power in eastern Kentucky mountains.

Result(s): Union victory (Indecisive, but Confederates withdrew.)

Battle of Rowlett’s Station

Other Names: Woodsonville, Green River

Location: Hart County

Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861)

Date(s):

Principal Commanders: Col. August Willich [US]; Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman [CS]

Forces Engaged: 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment [US]; Terry’s Texas Rangers, 7th Texas Cavalry and 1st Arkansas Battalion (approx. 1,350 men) [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 131 total (US 40; CS 91)

Description: After Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell took command of the Department of the Ohio in early November, he attempted to consolidate control by organizing and sending troops into the field. He ordered Brig. Gen. Alexander McD. McCook, commanding the 2nd Division, to Nolin, Kentucky. In the meantime, the Confederates had established a defensive line along the Green River near Munfordville. McCook launched a movement towards the enemy lines on December 10, which the Rebels countered by partially destroying the Louisville & Nashville Railroad bridge over the Green River. As a result, the Union sent two companies of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment across the river to prevent a surprise and began constructing a pontoon bridge for the passage of trains and artillery. When the bridge was completed on December 17, four more of the 32nd Indiana companies crossed the river. The combined force advanced to a hill south of Woodsonville where, in the afternoon, they spotted enemy troops in the woods fronting them. Two companies advanced toward the enemy in the woods, which fell back until Confederate cavalry attacked. A general engagement ensued as eight Yankee companies fought a much larger Confederate force. Fearing that the enemy might roll up his right flank, Col. August Willich, commanding the regiment, ordered a withdrawal to a stronger position in the rear. Knowing of McCook’s approach, the Rebels also withdrew from the field. Although the results of the battle were indecisive, Union troops did occupy the area and insured the movement of their men and supplies on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.

Result(s): Indecisive