Battle of Somerset, or Mill Spring Harper's Weekly, February 8 1862
Date
January 19, 1862 (1862-01-19)
Location
Pulaski County and Wayne County, Kentucky
Result
Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)
CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George H. Thomas
George B. Crittenden Felix Kirk Zollicoffer †
Units involved
Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota and Tennessee infantry, cavalry and artillery regiments
Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama infantry, cavalry and artillery regiments
Strength
4,400
5,900
Casualties and losses
39 killed 207 wounded[1]
125 killed 404 wounded/missing[1]
The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in the Confederacy, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads or Battle of Somerset in the Union, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. The Union victory concluded an early Confederate offensive campaign in south central Kentucky.
In late 1861, Confederate Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer guarded Cumberland Gap, the eastern end of a defensive line extending from Columbus, Kentucky. In November he advanced west into Kentucky to strengthen control in the area around Somerset and made Mill Springs his winter quarters, taking advantage of a strong defensive position. Union Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas, ordered to break up the army of Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden (Zollicoffer's superior), sought to drive the Confederates across the Cumberland River. His force arrived at Logan's Crossroads on January 17, 1862, where he waited for Brig. Gen. Albin Schoepf's troops from Somerset to join him. The Confederate force under Crittenden attacked Thomas at Logan's Crossroads at dawn on January 19. Unbeknownst to the Confederates, some of Schoepf's troops had arrived as reinforcements. The Confederates achieved early success, but Union resistance rallied and Zollicoffer was killed. A second Confederate attack was repulsed. Union counterattacks on the Confederate right and left were successful, forcing them from the field in a retreat that ended in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Mill Springs was the first significant Union victory of the war, much celebrated in the popular press, but was soon eclipsed by Ulysses S. Grant's victories at Forts Henry and Donelson.
^ abEicher, p. 163.
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Global Information
United States (Union)
CSA (Confederacy)