Battle of Rowlett's Station
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Rowlett's Station (also known as Battle of Woodsonville or of Green River) was a land battle in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, fought in the whistle-stop station of Rowlett's in Hart County, Kentucky
Hart County, Kentucky
Hart County is a county located in the U.S. state — or, more correctly, "Commonwealth" — of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. , the population was 17,445. Its county seat is Munfordville. The county is named for Captain Nathaniel G. S. Hart, a Kentucky militia officer in the War of 1812...
, on December 17, 1861. The outcome was inconclusive, although the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
continued to hold its objective, a railroad bridge across the Green River
Green River (Kentucky)
The Green River is a tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south-central Kentucky. Tributaries of the Green River include the Barren River, the Nolin River, the Pond River and the Rough River...
.
Background and opposing forces
Brig. Gen. Don Carlos BuellDon Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles—Shiloh and Perryville. The nation was angry at his failure to defeat the outnumbered...
had assumed command of the Army of the Ohio
Army of the Ohio
The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...
in November 1861, and in an attempt to consolidate Union hold over the surrounding area, organized a spate of troop movements into the field. Part of these movements included the march of the 2nd Division under Brig. Gen. Alexander McDowell McCook
Alexander McDowell McCook
Alexander McDowell McCook was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
into Kentucky. Meanwhile, the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
Western Department, under General Albert Sydney Johnston, had sent out elements that lined up along the Green River
Green River (Kentucky)
The Green River is a tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south-central Kentucky. Tributaries of the Green River include the Barren River, the Nolin River, the Pond River and the Rough River...
near Munfordville, Kentucky
Munfordville, Kentucky
Munfordville is a city in and the county seat of Hart County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,563 at the 2000 census.-History:The city was once known as Big Buffalo Crossing. The current name came from Richard Jones Munford, who donated the land for development in 1816...
. McCook initiated a movement toward Confederate lines, and the rebel divisions, under Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman
Thomas C. Hindman
Thomas Carmichael Hindman, Jr. was a lawyer, United States Representative from the 1st Congressional District of Arkansas, and a Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
, responded by blowing up the southern pier of the Lousville and Nashville Railroad bridge spanning the Green River, along with about 100 feet of track, on December 10. Col.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
August Willich
August Willich
August Willich , born Johann August Ernst von Willich, was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of Communism in Germany. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility...
of the 32nd Indiana Infantry sent two of his companies across the river, and had the rest engaged in building a pontoon bridge.
The Union forces were mainly men from the 32nd Indiana Infantry Regiment. The particularly notable Confederates were the 8th Texas Cavalry, later better known as Terry's Texas Rangers
Terry's Texas Rangers
The 8th Texas Cavalry, , popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, was a group of Texas volunteers for the Confederate States Army assembled by Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry in August 1861...
.
The 32nd Indiana Infantry, also called the "First German", was made up of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
immigrants and descendants of local German settlers. Col. Willich had assumed command at the request of Governor Oliver P. Morton. He was a disciplinarian, using Prussian bugle calls to direct his regiment on the parade ground and battlefield.
The 8th Texas Cavalry was formed by Col. Benjamin Franklin Terry
Terry's Texas Rangers
The 8th Texas Cavalry, , popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, was a group of Texas volunteers for the Confederate States Army assembled by Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry in August 1861...
. He was requested by General Johnston to join the army that he was then recruiting, promising him an independent command. The 8th Texas voted to join the general in Kentucky.
Battle
The bridge was completed on December 17, and four more companies crossed the river. In the meantime, Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman directed a Confederate force of Texas RangersTexas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
to destroy the bridge. Advancing into the woods, the Union forces discovered enemy skirmisher
Skirmisher
Skirmishers are infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed ahead or alongside a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to harass the enemy.-Pre-modern:...
s south of Woodsonville. The latter retreated until their cavalry joined them, and then attacked the Yankee companies. This was the first time in the Civil War that cavalry faced infantry.
The Union companies fell into square
Infantry square
An infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:The formation was described by Plutarch and used by the Romans, and was developed from an earlier circular formation...
formation. The Texas Rangers responded by charging the position wildly. In the ensuing battle, Colonel Terry of the Rangers was mortally wounded. On the Union side, Lt.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Max Sachs of the 32nd Indiana and four of his men found themselves isolated by the Rangers, but repeatedly defied their demands to surrender, and they continued to fight until Sachs was struck down. The Rangers charged three times, but were finally forced to retreat. Colonel Willich, who was away at division headquarters at the time, soon returned and ordered a withdrawal to a stronger position. The Confederates, fearing imminent approach of McCook's forces, also withdrew.
Aftermath
Both sides claimed victory, attributing grievous losses to each other. While the outcome was indecisive, the Union forces remained in control of the field of engagement, incidentally making recovery of casualties, and the accounting of those lost, wounded, or missing difficult. The forces continued to ensure the movement of Union men and supplies on the Louisville and Nashville RailroadLouisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
.
The 32nd gained nationwide recognition for its stand against Confederate forces at Rowlett's Station, Ky. A detachment of 500 men under Lt. Col. Henry von Trebra fought off 1300 men of Terry's Texas Rangers and infantry under General Hindman. The 32nd formed the "hollow square", and drove the attackers back, losing 10 and 22 wounded, but killing thirty-three of the enemy, including Col. Terry and wounding fifty others.
Twelve men of the 32nd Indiana Regiment were originally buried on a hilltop near the battle site. In 1867, the state of Kentucky transferred the remains, as well as the limestone tablet bearing an inscription in the soldiers' honor in German, the 32nd Indiana Monument
32nd Indiana Monument
The 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the August Bloedner Monument, is located in Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. It honors the fallen soldiers of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as the "1st German," at the Battle of Rowlett's Station, near...
, to Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. The stone monument is the oldest, intact Civil War monument in the United States.
The 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment changed its name to "Terry's Texas Rangers" in honor of the fallen Colonel.
The Battle of Rowlett's Station was soon overshadowed by Union victories at Mill Springs
Battle of Mill Springs
The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It...
, Kentucky, and Fort Henry
Battle of Fort Henry
The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater....
and Fort Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
Order of battle
Union ArmyBrig. Gen. Alexander McDowell McCook
Infantry
- 32nd Indiana Infantry Regiment
Artillery
- Battery A, Kentucky Light Artillery (Stone's Battery)Battery "A" Kentucky Light ArtilleryBattery "A" 1st Kentucky Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was often referred to as Stone's Battery.-Service:...
- Battery A, 1st Ohio Artillery
Confederate Army
Brig. Gen. Thomas Carmichael Hindman
Infantry
- 1st Arkansas Infantry Battalion
- 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment
- 6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
Artillery
- Swett’s Battery
Cavalry
- 6th Arkansas Cavalry Battalion
- 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment