Civil War

It was a cold and misty Saturday morning and the living history camp at the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site was coming alive with re-enactors creating another day in the life of the little town of Perryville that existed during the Civil War. Beverly Simpson, 39, of Lawrenceburg, is the civilian coordinator for the camp and one of the many re-enactors who make the town authentic to the period. Simpson was in the middle of the camp, getting dressed in her tent to help prepare breakfast with other families huddled around the warm, crackling flames of the campfires.

Danville had nurtured James G. Birney's Liberty Party which had fought to free slaves before and during the Civil War, and that angered John Hunt Morgan and his raiders. On the morning of Sept. 9, 1862, Morgan and his men rode into town where people knew Morgan and his notorious raiders. They knew of his reputation for taking what he wanted, terrorizing people and burning buildings. He had come to town to intimidate abolitionists and Unionists like Robert Patterson, a Centre College professor.

Editor's note: This is the first of two stories about Casey County's involvement in the Cvil War. Information for the article was taken from research by Aubrey Pennington, 33 N. Hatfield Road, Liberty, an educator in the Pulaski County school system. He is a graduate of Campbellsville College and has a master's degree from Western Kentucky University with an emphasis in military history. LIBERTY - Documented research shows that Civil War skirmishes, raids and foraging activity occurred in Casey County on a limited scale, while most war records focus on the mustering of the 1st Ky. Cavalry and the role of Col. Frank Wolford.

BUTCHERTOWN - David Swearingen, who served with Co. I, 8th Kentucky Cavalry, during the Civil War, is buried in a wooded area near where he lived in the Butchertown community in northern Casey County. However, few people except his family knew where their Civil War ancestor was laid to rest in 1875. The family cemetery has several graves of the Swearingen family, but only one tombstone marked the grave of Willie Maxey, one of David's grandsons. Now, 132 years after the tragic death of Swearingen on May 13, 1875, there is no doubt that he is buried on the side of a knob in the woods.

( Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part article about Leonard C. Barnett, a Georgia soldier who lost his life near Danville while marching with the Confederate troops in October 1864. Andy Bryant, a Danville native who recently moved to south Georgia, has researched and compiled this information about Barnett, a great-great-grandfather of Georgeanne Edwards of Perryville.) A Georgia farm boy who joined the Confederate Army to fight for the South during the Civil War lost his life near Danville after becoming ill while the troops were marching through.

Civil War re-enactor William Hensley, left, demonstrates how Civil War soldiers fired their guns as members of Paint Lick Cub Scout Troop 179 watch during the Battle of Lancaster re-enactment Saturday at the Garrard County Fairgrounds. (Ben Kleppinger Photo)

The city of Crab Orchard Community Association is offering honorary military ranks to fund the upcoming 4th of July Homecoming Celebration Civil War Encampment. In its 33 years the Crab Orchard 4th of July Homecoming Celebration has given Crab Orchard an opportunity to really shine, as well as introduce our small city to many newcomers and festival guests. The following honorary ranks may be purchased in either the Crab Orchard Home Guard (Union) or the Crab Orchard Militia (Confederate)

State historian Dr. James C. Klotter is the speaker for the Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau Civil War Lecture Series at 6:30 p.m. today at the Boyle County Public Library. Klotter's talk is titled, "Robert J. Breckinridge and the Civil War. " Breckinridge was an ardent Unionist Presbyterian minister whose family was divided during the Civil War. Two of Breckinridge's sons fought for the Union while two others embraced the Confederacy. His nephew, Vice President John C. Breckinridge, became a Confederate general and later Secretary of War. Klotter, who was executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society for many years, is a professor of history at Georgetown College and serves as the state historian of Kentucky.

Dear Editor, Much of the rhetoric emanating from Washington in opposition to the war in Iraq is manifested in the conclusion that the country is in a civil war. This conclusion is based on the fact that the Shiites and the Sunnis can't get along, therefore we should just give up on them, fold our tents and leave. After analyzing the situation in Washington, I came to the same conclusion about the Congress of the United States. There is definitely a civil war between the two ruling factions there.

Stories sought for Civil War event On Memorial Day Weekend, Old Fort Harrod State Park will honor the area Civil War deceased with memories of this war in Mercer and Boyle counties. Union and Confederate encampments will be set up on the park grounds and presentations in the museum will show how it felt to be a citizen of these counties during the War. The park is asking area residents who have memorabilia and/or stories about local relatives who served in this war to contact the museum on weekends at (859)