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

Tags: Green River, Munfordville, Nolin, Rowlett’s Station, Woodsonville

Other Names: Green River Bridge

Location: Hart County

Campaign: Confederate Heartland Offensive (1862)

Date(s): September 14-17, 1862

Principal Commanders: Col. Cyrus L. Dunham and Col. John T. Wilder [US]; Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers and Gen. Braxton Bragg [CS]

Forces Engaged: Union garrison [US]; Army of the Mississippi [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 4,862 total (US 4,148; CS 714)

Description: In the 1862 Confederate offensive into Kentucky, Gen. Braxton Bragg’s army left Chattanooga, Tennessee, in late August. Followed by Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Union Army, Bragg approached Munfordville, a station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and the location of the railroad bridge crossing Green River, in mid-September. Col. John T. Wilder commanded the Union garrison at Munfordville which consisted of three regiments with extensive fortifications. Wilder refused Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers’s demand to surrender on the 14th. Union forces repulsed Chalmers’s attacks on the 14th, forcing the Rebels to conduct siege operations on the 15th and 16th. Late on the 16th, realizing that Buell’s forces were near and not wanting to kill or injure innocent civilians, the Confederates communicated still another demand for surrender. Wilder entered enemy lines under a flag of truce, and Confederate Maj. Gen. Simon B. Buckner escorted him to view all the Rebel troops and to convince him of the futility of resisting. Impressed, Wilder surrendered. The formal ceremony occurred the next day on the 17th. With the railroad and the bridge, Munfordville was an important transportation center, and the Confederate control affected the movement of Union supplies and men.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Tags: Green River, Munfordville