Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Paris TN

Today is a small battle of the war. Hardly impacted the course of the war at all except for the lives of the men who were killed or wounded here. The battle of Paris, Tennessee. Paris, Tennessee is about 25 southwest of Fort Henry. After the fall of Fort Henry the Union sent probes inland to find the Confederates. These scouting operations would reveal if a Confederate army was moving up to attack Fort Henry. This was not the case so all it revealed was scattered Confederate units, mainly cavalry but not always. The Confederates are in the area to watch the Federals and see what their next move will be.

I have a book that says where every Tennessee state historical marker is, I was in the area, so I made a side trip to the marker. As the marker says this was a small battle, it doesn't say how many men the Federals had but they got the short end of the battle, losing 60-80 men to the Confederates' 20. But on another website it says "On March 11, 1862, four companies and a battery of artillery consisting of 500 men attacked the Confederate encampment which numbered 400 soldiers. After this "duel between artillery and Enfield rifles" had gone on for 35 minutes, the Federals retreated back toward Paris Landing. The Battle of Paris ended with 20 Confederates killed or wounded and left the Federals with four killed, five wounded and one captured." Those are much different numbers, and for a fight involving 500 men per side they seem more believable.

On this ridge on March 11, 1862, 450 Confederate troops under the command of Major H. Clay King, 1st Kentucky Battalion, Cavalry, and Stack's and McCutchan's unattached Tennessee Companies were attacked by Federal troops from Fort Henry. 20 Confederates and 60 to 80 Federals were killed or wounded before the Federals withdrew.
The marker is located on Highway 54 west of Paris just east of the intersection of 54 and Crutchfield Lane. If you look at the street view on google maps you can see the marker, you can't read it but you can see it. If I had a camera with GPS built in, or traveled with a GPS, I'd be able to load this information onto the Historical Marker Database, alas I don't. Guess I need to buy a new camera and make a trip back there. :)
at

9 comments:

  1. KevinJune 2, 2009 at 4:37 PM

    Thanks for your coverage of Civil War sites in West Tennessee. It's refreshing to see this corner of the war receiving a little attention. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sam ElliottJune 4, 2009 at 7:17 AM

    There was also some skirmishing around Paris in April, 1864, when Forrest raided into W. Tenn. in the campaign that included Ft. Pillow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DeborahOctober 28, 2009 at 9:57 AM

    My Great Great Grandfather, S Bridges was a Private in the 12 Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate Army). He was part of Faulkner's Regiment but deserted April 20, 1864 in Paris, Tennessee. Does anyone know if S Bridges was part of a skirmish there?

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 21, 2012 at 12:03 PM

    I have spent a lot of time on the battle of paris,and can anser some things, but yes there are two differant acc. and deborah no, from what i know it was the wrong time line. jim P

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 24, 2012 at 7:43 PM

    nike are you a local? jim p.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bluegrass UnionistMarch 26, 2012 at 1:17 PM

    Gen. Hylan Lyon began his raid into Western Kentucky from Paris in December 1864. Did the Federals give up control of Paris by then?

    ReplyDelete
  7. NickMarch 26, 2012 at 5:15 PM

    No I'm not a local. I'm in Colorado. Just love the area

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousApril 8, 2012 at 3:15 PM

    bluegrass unionist, not realy it was controlled by both, but the town and co. was mostly pro confedrate.also mike thanks if your in town or plan to, e-mail me i"ll show you around. jim p.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2014 at 12:35 PM

    Anyone know roughly which path way the soldiers took to and from Fort Henry to Paris TN? I live in Buchanan TN and would love to try and hike as much of trail from fort henry to Paris the way that the soldiers did.

    ReplyDelete