Civil War battle overwhelmed lightly populated Madison Co.

Local News

August 22, 2009

Ed Ford The Richmond Register Sat Aug 22, 2009, 11:10 PM EDT

The Battle of Richmond’s Eighth Annual Re-enactment is just ahead, but to place it in proper context, a look behind is required.

Because of the tendency to judge history by modern standards, many individuals don’t get a true picture of the setting for Madison County’s 1862 Civil War battle, according to historian Linda Ashley.

The county and Richmond were totally different from today, the Battle of Richmond Association (BORA) president points out.

“The total population of Madison County, according to the 1860 census, was 17,213,” she noted. “Of that total, 6,040 were slaves and 11,173 were free people. Of those, 3,000 were under 10 years of age and another 2,720 were between ages 10 and 20. This leaves only 5,453 free people past age 20 in the entire county.”

By comparison, the Union army entered Madison County and the Battle of Richmond with some 6,500 troops while the Confederates were 6,600 strong.

Ashley, who carefully combed the 1860 census records, said there were 2,726 houses in Madison County, “assuming that a couple served as heads of households.”

“In Richmond,” she continued, “there were 457 free people. Of those, 248 were less than 20 years of age, leaving 209 free individuals more than age 20. The census shows 73 houses in the town. Although fewer slaves lived in town, there may have been a few separate houses for slaves. But, there were surely no more than 100 houses within Richmond.”

Berea mostly was a farming area and families were “not necessarily clustered into a town,” Ashley said. Total population was 520 with only 210 free individuals 20 years of age or older. Those less than age 20 numbered 310 and total houses was listed as 64.

Richmond Cemetery, where the Union’s final stand took place, had few tombstones and a lot of open area.

“The cemetery had been opened in 1856,” Ashley explained, “and the first person buried there was Mary Todd Lincoln’s aunt, Jane Todd Breck. Considering the small population, probably no more than 100 individuals had been buried there in six years. Also, a few older cemeteries had been moved from other places in the county. But, a high estimate of the number of tombstones would be no more than 150, and there were probably even fewer at that point.”

The cemetery was about four or five acres at the time with additional acreage not yet developed, Ashley said, and the criss-crossed roads there now probably had been laid out, but not paved. Individuals and families had purchased plots of their choosing, but most of the plots had not yet been sold, meaning that those who had died were not buried in one cluster, but spread out across the cemetery.

“The same would have been true of those stones that had been moved from other cemeteries, although they would have been in small groups or lines,” the BORA leader said. “Essentially, the cemetery was a field, criss-crossed by dirt cart-paths, and with about 100 to 150 “small to medium” stones scattered across it.

“I believe some landscaping had been done, with some trees and bushes perhaps planted. It is likely that there were some large trees already there, though I don't know how wooded it might have been,” she said. “The same wrought iron fence now across the front of the cemetery was then around the courthouse square and served to hold the Union prisoners until they were paroled.”

The casualties of the Aug. 29-30 battle also indicate how overwhelmed the area was in terms of numbers.

“Not counting the captured soldiers who had to be fed and for which the victorious Confederate army did not have sufficient provisions,” Ashley added, “there were 139 Confederate and 261 Union killed in action, for a total of 400 — essentially equal to the population of Richmond. Plus, there were 478 Confederate and 1,080 Union wounded for a total of 1,558.”

To put the 1862 figures into perspective, Ashley compared the numbers to present day Madison County and its population of 82,000.

“The equivalent, in 2009, would be a disaster of more than 20,000 casualties in our community in one morning,” she said, “in addition to the damage sustained to homes and infrastructure. That would be like a tornado resulting in 20,000 casualties.”

The 1862 Battle of Richmond was the second largest Civil War conflict in Kentucky and was one of the most overwhelming Confederate victories of the entire war. The 2009 re-enactment weekend for the battle is scheduled Aug. 29-30 at Battlefield Park.

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