Battle of Sacramento (Kentucky) 1861
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 28 December 1861 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1861 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.4194, -87.2617 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Sacramento was an engagement of the American Civil War that took place in Sacramento, Kentucky on December 28, 1861. Confederate cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest, numbering between 200 and 300, attacked, encircled and defeated a Union force of 500 under Major Eli H. Murray which had been watering south of the town after moving across the bank of the Green River. Though exact casualty information is disputed, with differing accounts from each side, several eyewitnesses attested to the personal courage of Forrest, and the Confederate commander was praised by his superiors for his bravery.
The engagement was one of the earliest of Forrest's career as a commander of the cavalry, and it featured several examples of tactics and traits which would become hallmarks of his military career, including the division of his forces, outflanking and encirclement, concealment, and personally leading cavalry charges. It was also an early battle for Brigadier-General Stovepipe Johnson, who was then a private. The Union force was decisively routed, and the battle became known as "Forrest's First Fight" and is annually re-enacted by local residents.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Sacramento (Kentucky) (revision 1372500424), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the American Civil War
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- Battle of Arlington Mills 1861
- Battle of Athens (1861) 1861
- Battle of Ball's Bluff 1861
- Battle of Barbourville 1861
- Battle of Big Bethel 1861
- Battle of Blackburn's Ford 1861
- Battle of Bolivar Heights 1861
- Battle of Boonville 1861
- Battle of Camp Allegheny 1861
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
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