Wagner's brigade of Wood's division became engaged, and did good service on the right of Mitchell's division.The rest of Crittenden's corps was not engaged in the action.Thomas, on arriving on the battlefield with this corps, was directed to take position in the line of battle on the right and wait for orders.Here he waited during the entire day, and received none.Only part of Gilbert's corps was engaged in the fight, the heavy blow striking McCook's, which he failed to report to Buell until after two hours' fighting.
The battle was closed by night coming on, and a general engagement was anticipated the next day.Thomas was directed to move Crittenden's and Gilbert's corps forward in the morning at six o'clock, and attack the enemy's front and left flank.
Buell ordered McCook during the night to close the opening between his right and Gilbert's left.His orders for the following day were to hold his position and take advantage of any opportunity that the events of the day might present, the main attack to be made by the other corps.On the following morning, the advance being made in accordance with these orders, it was discovered that the enemy's main body had retired during the night, and was falling back on Harrodsburg, with indications that he would there make a stand.Bragg left his dead and wounded on the field, but retired leisurely and in good order.
Buell reported the strength of his command before the engagement at 58,000 effective men.Of these he claimed 22,000 were raw troops, not drilled, and undisciplined.Less than one-half of this entire force was in the action.His reports show a loss of 4,348, being 916 killed, 2,943 wounded, and 489 missing.Nearly all the losses were from McCook's command, which bore the brunt of the heavy fighting.Bragg referring to his loss in his official report says:
"In such a conflict our own loss was necessarily severe, probably not less than 2,500 killed, wounded, and missing." During the campaign General Buell captured nearly five thousand prisoners.
The enemy's troops engaged in the battle were under the immediate command of General Polk.Bragg had been with Kirby Smith at Frankfort, where these active operations found him engaged in superintending "the ceremony of installing the Provisional Governor into office."In his official report of the battle of Perryville, made from Bryantsville, October 12, 1862, Bragg says: "After consulting with the General (Polk) and reconnoitering the ground and examining his dispositions, I declined to assume the command, but suggested some changes and modifications of his arrangements, which he promptly made." In a subsequent report of Perryville, made while he was at Shelbyville, of date May 20, 1863, he reflects very severely upon Polk's movements at Perryville.He says that he ordered the attack to be made by Polk on Gilbert early in the morning of the 8th, that he waited until 10 A.M., and hearing no firing started to see Polk and have an explanation of the delay.Here he was "informed that it was determined not to attack, but to assume the 'defensive offensive.'" Bragg gave orders for some changes in the line of battle, restoring certain portions of the command that had been withdrawn, and again ordering Polk to bring on the engagement.The execution of this order was delayed by Polk, and Bragg, becoming "impatient at the delay after this order," "despatched a staff officer to repeat it to the General, and soon thereafter followed in person and put the troops in motion."Bragg's intention was not to fight a general engagement at Perryville, but merely to check the advance of Buell's army, thereby gaining time to gather his supplies and men together and leave the State.
Bragg had been urged, by leading Kentuckians in his command and others, to undertake the campaign in Kentucky with the promise of immense numbers of recruits and large quantities of supplies.He anticipated that his coming would be hailed as that of a deliverer, and that the young men of the State would flock to his banners and fill up his army, so that he could attack Buell at any point.
Bragg's entire command in Kentucky was estimated at thirty-five to forty thousand.He anticipated enlisting twenty thousand recruits, and took arms to Kentucky for that number of new troops.Buell's command, with his losses and the garrison at Nashville was less than this, but at Louisville he received some twenty-two thousand new troops.The number of infantry recruits for Bragg's army was very small, for he says in his first official report of the battle of Perryville--when he at that time was preparing to leave the State--"with ample means to arm twenty thousand men and a force with that to fully redeem the State, we have not yet issued half the arms left us by casualties incident to the campaign."General Buell waited for Sill to join him with his division, leaving Dumont at Frankfort.On the march Sill's advance was attacked by a portion of Kirby Smith's command, which he repulsed and arrived at Perryville on the 11th.Buell then moved forward, expecting Bragg to give battle at Harrodsburg, and throwing out a strong force to reconnoitre, discovered the enemy in force some three miles south of that place.During the day Bragg continued his march south, his rear guard being driven out of the place with the loss of considerable stores and about twelve hundred prisoners, in the main sick and wounded.On the next day Buell made a strong reconnoissance to the crossing of ****'s River, and there ascertained that Bragg had crossed his entire army.
