History & Culture

The major Federal victory at the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, led to the total collapse of the eastern sector of the Confederate defensive line. The line had been established to defend the South from Federal invasion and to sway Kentucky’s allegiance to the Southern cause. Considered the first major Federal victory in the western theater of the Civil War, Mill Springs was soon followed by Federal victories at both Forts Henry and Donelson, in northwestern Tennessee. This series of victories, permitted Federal forces to carry the war deeper into Tennessee, leading to the capture of Nashville Tennessee, and setting in motion the sequence of movements resulting in the titanic battle at Shiloh, on April 6th and 7th of 1862. Although overshadowed by ever increasingly bloodier battles, the initial defeat suffered by the Confederacy at Mill Springs, materially aided United States forces to seize the initiative in the West and retain control of Kentucky throughout the war.

 

 

---

Find more information about Civil War history and sites across the nation on the NPS Civil War website.