Perryville - Part 2
October 8, 1862
Assault on Parson's Ridge
Cheatham deployed Maney on the far right to capture the battery, with Stewart making the connection in a single line to Donelson. With the enemy coming into view, the alerted Yankee gunners on northern flank of Union army moved to face the new threat. With 1,600 men, later supported by Turner's battery to the rear, Maney intended to capture the eight gun battery which had enfiladed Donelson's advance. Facing small arms fire from the 123rd Illinois in addition to cannon fire, Maney's men halted at the fence shown here on the left, with the enemy on the hill to their front. When the 105st Ohio arrived, brigade commander and Virginia Unionist William Terrill sent forward 123rd Ohio in a failed bayonet charge. The Confederates attempted another attack, but the men went to ground halfway up the hill and traded fire with Union infantry. Another attack took the hill, but it had cost hundreds of Confederate casualties.
From Parson's Ridge
This is the view from Parson's Hill. Supported by Turner's Battery, the Confederates had suffered hundreds of casualties taking Parson's Hill, only to see new units forming on the next hill, an area which would become known as Starkweather Hill. Falling back through the Cornfield, Terrill briefly considered making a stand there but thought the better of it. The Confederate advance continued toward Starkweather Hill. The battle would last another three hours.