19 January, 1862: Sunday

UNION MILITARY
Kentucky
Battle of Mill Springs/Logan's Cross Roads
This battle is fought on the north bank of the Cumberland River. Other names for it are Battle of Fishing Creek, Somerset, or Beech Grove.

Confederate Brigadier General George B. Criitenden, suspecting that the Union forces were about to attack, moved out under cover of darkness and heavy rain.

Zollicoffer's troops drove the Union soldiers back. But Zollicoffer, who was wearing a white raincoat, was shot and killed.

Union forced under George H. Thomas came up, the Confederate left broke and the line collapsed. The Confederates withdrew across the Cumberland during the night, leaving behind abandoned camps and supplies.

There were about 4,000 Union soldiers on the field, with 39 killed, 207 wounded and 15 captured or missing, for total casualties of 261.

The Confederates also had about 4,000 soldiers, with losses of 125 killed, 309 wounded and 99 missing for a total of 533.

"A moderately small but strategically important battle, it presaged things to come in the West, showed the weakness of the Confederate line, and boosted the Federal cause among the people of Kentucky and Eastern Tennessee."

In addition, Crittenden's troops were demoralized by the defeat, and the general himself was severely criticized for being in in a position not of his own choosing.

It was the first break in the Confederate Kentucky defense line, which ran from Cumberland Gap to Columbus on the Mississippi.

There are several books on the subject of this battle.

From Amazon.com
Mill Springs: Campaign and battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky by Kenneth A Hafendorfer (Hardcover - 2001)
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Hardcover $45.00 $68.10

2. Zollie Tree: General Felix K. Zollicoffer and the Battle of Mill Spring (Filson Club Publications, 2nd Ser., No. 1.) by Raymond E. Myers and Myers' Raymond E. (Hardcover - Nov 1998)
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Hardcover $74.95 $40.00

3. HARPER'S WEEKLY - ORIGINAL, DOUBLE PAGE CIVIL WAR PRINT - "THE BATTLE OF SOMERSET, OR MILL SPRING, KENTUCKY, JANUARY 19, 1862" - FEBRUARY 8, 1862 by HARPER'S WEEKLY (Unknown Binding - 1862)
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Unknown Binding $59.00

4. Caught in the Crossfire: A Boy's View of the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky by Anita Cole Alcorn with Gloria Stanton (Paperback - Oct 31, 2006)

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Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971