Army of August 1862
On August 25, 1862 Major General William "Bull" Nelson assumed command of the forces stationed around Richmond, Kentucky. Although the whole force was no more than two brigades, Nelson dubbed the force "Army of Kentucky". The two brigades were commanded by brigadier generals Mahlon D. Manson and Charles Cruft respectively. Merely five days after its creation, the army of mostly green soldiers went into action at the Battle of Richmond and was soundly defeated. The army lost over 800 killed and 4,000 prisoners. Because of the large number of prisoners (including General Manson) and the wounding of General Nelson, the Army of Kentucky virtually ceased to exist. General Cruft officially remained in command of the 2nd Brigade until September but the majority of his brigade had been captured while the rest simply marched back to New Albany, IN. Captain Charles C. Gilbert was appointed acting major general and placed in command of the remnants of the Army. In September 1862 General Don Carlos Buell absorbed the remnants into the III Corps of the Army of the Ohio.
Read more about this topic: Union Army Of Kentucky
Famous quotes containing the words army and/or august:
“The army is always the same. The sun and the moon change. The army knows no seasons.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
“Until, on Vinegar Hill, the fatal conclave.
Terraced thousands died, shaking scythes at cannon.
The hillside blushed, soaked in our broken wave.
They buried us without shroud or coffin
And in August the barley grew up out of the grave.”
—Seamus Heaney (b. 1939)