A virtual tour
Corridor has eight stations

Those wishing to fully understand and appreciate the activities and complexities of the Aug. 29-30, 1862 Civil War Battle of Richmond, are invited to take a vehicular tour of the battle corridor. 

The corridor -- areas of battle interest and involvement -- extends some 17 miles from Big Hill at the southern point of Madison County to White Hall State Historic Shrine in the northern portion of the county.  Historical markers provide information at each tour station and brochures are available from Richmond Tourism located at 345 Lancaster Avenue.  Richmond Tourism can be reached at 859-626-8474 or toll free at 800-866-3705 or by e-mail: tourism@richmond.ky.us 

When taking tours, be mindful that parking is limited in some areas and parking should be done safely off roadways as some stations are nearby heavily traveled roads. 

A virtual tour of the corridor begins below. 

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Station 1

Historical Marker "Big Hill Skirmish" on U.S. 421 at the top of Big Hill 

It was here that Confederate Commander Col. John S. Scott's cavalry brigade of some 650 men ran into an advance of Federal cavalry infantry, the Seventh Kentucky, under Col. Leonidas K. Metcalfe, and a section of the Tennessee Union infantry under Lt. Col. Chiles.  Metcalfe's cavalry panicked and fled north.     

At this time, the Confederates had been riding hard for miles while the Union forces had only ridden down from Richmond. 

Until a few years ago, there was a large tree here that showed the effects of cannon shot, presumably from light cannon directed by the Confederates.

Station 2

Ruins of Merritt Jones Tavern (The Grant House) 

These are the ruins of an original log structure that was used for overnight lodging for travelers along the Old State Road.  There's evidence that part of this building was built about 1800. 

A number of wounded Confederates were brought here after the main battle.  Those who died were buried in a small cemetery behind the house. 

Gen. U.S. Grant's visit and overnight stay here in 1863 gives the ruins an added historical dimension. 

The building had what appeared to be three front doors.  The curious middle door, which opened only to a small closet, was the harness or tack room where the landlord locked up the saddles of lodgers, who thus could be forced to pay their bills before they left. 

Station 3

Confederate Cemetery 

A wooded trail leads you some 540 feet off the gravel road to the Confederate Cemetery.  Until 1972, these graves were marked with only small rough field stones, which are still in position along with the newer Veterans Administration markers.  Research by Dr. John B. Floyd Jr., revealed the names of the soldiers here.  Since it's not possible to determine which soldier was buried in which grave, a new marker simply was placed at each grave.     

As you leave this station, you'll pass through an area that was involved in various incidents of fighting.  Some of these actions are described on a state historical marker on the west side of the road.  It notes there is a cemetery 2.2 miles from U.S. 421 at the top of Big Hill on Ky. 1912 that contains marked graves of three Confederate soldiers.  There's also a Battle of Richmond historical marker at the base of Big Hill on the western side of U.S. 421.     

The next station will be on U.S. 421 at a state historical marker that stands approximately at the center of what was the main battlefield during the heaviest fighting on Aug. 29-30, 1862. 

Station 4

Historical marker "Richmond Prelude" between Herndon House and Mt. Zion Christian Church 

First, face south back toward Big Hill.  The Union forces were able to offer a good line of  fire from here toward advancing Confederate troops for a short while.  Soon, the Union soldiers lost virtually all sense of field organization and became a retreating mob as they were overrun by the more experienced Confederate forces. 

The Union soldiers had been brought into Lexington, Ky., and placed under the command of Maj. Gen. William (Bull) Nelson.  When Nelson found that Confederate Gen. Kirby Smith was advancing straight into Richmond, he sent out orders to concentrate the Union forces at Richmond, but directed them not to fight unless they were sure of success.  Two Union brigades were camped in the area by Aug. 27, one under Brig. Gen. Mahlon D. Manson, camped two miles south of Richmond, and the other under Brig. Gen. Charles Cruft, camped along Irvine Pike and the Richmond Cemetery. 

Station 5

Mt. Zion Christian Church (Park south of the church) 

This church, built in 1852, was established during the battle as a Union field hospital, but actually was used to treat wounded from both sides. The surgeons completed amputations here just inside the last south side window toward the back.  By the time the fighting moved past the church, arms and legs they had thrown out were stacked up to the window sill.  The slight scar in the brickwork high up between the third and fourth windows on the south side toward the back of the church was caused by fire from Capt. John T. Humphrey's Arkansas Artillery Battery. 

At dawn on Aug. 30, a Confederate division led by Brig. Gen. Patrick Cleburne, started north to Richmond and on into Brig. Gen. Mahlon Manson's Union brigade just south and east of here.

Station 6

Ft. Estill 

This is the highest rise of ground between Richmond and the main battlefield.  The greatest strategic importance of this position was on the first day of the battle, Aug. 29, when Union forces used this rise to view the battleground to the south. 

After the disastrous failure of the Union strategy the next day, this position was of little importance.  The Union army was in such disorder by the time it fell back to this point, there was no possibility of forming a new line. 

Other markers at this station indicate the importance this particular rise played in the earlier history of Madison County.

Station 7

Richmond Cemetery 

This is the largest and one of the oldest cemeteries in Madison County.  Retreating Union soldiers were nearing this cemetery when Union commander, Maj. Gen. William Nelson, finally arrived. 

Demoralized as they were, the mob of weary Union soldiers raised a cheer when they recognized Nelson.  He was famous for his fiery temper and he responded by berating them as cowards. 

He attempted to form a defense line with about 2,200 men and rode back and forth along the line slapping men across the shoulders with the flat of his saber.  At the same time, he displayed his 300-pound frame and shouted, "Boys, if they can't hit something as big as I am, they can't hit anything." 

Nelson was almost immediately hit in the thigh and carried off the field.   

Under the advancing Confederate troops, the Union soldiers fled in disarray.  Despite its relative brevity, the fighting here was intense enough to cause heavy causalities.  More than 270 Union soldiers were buried along the extreme eastern edge of the cemetery and a smaller undetermined number of Confederates were buried in a common grave (see cemetery map for location of marker).  The Union graves have been moved to the Camp Nelson National Cemetery south of Nicholasville, Ky. 

When leaving, note the decorative metal fence that fronts the cemetery along Main Street.  At the time of the battle, this fence surrounded the Madison County Courthouse, which is the next station.

Station 8

Madison County Courthouse, Main Street, Richmond 

The Confederates sent a cavalry brigade around Richmond to cut off Union troops retreating toward Lexington.  The prisoners were herded back to the courthouse, and, according to custom during this stage in the war, were paroled and allowed to return home. 

The aftermath of the Battle of Richmond is perhaps the oddest part of the entire story.  No army in the entire Civil War, on either side, suffered as complete a rout as did Gen. William Nelson's forces did here.   

Gen. Kirby Smith's Confederate forces later marched in triumph into Lexington, then took Frankfort.  This was the only time in the war that the capitol of an officially loyal state fell to Southern forces. 

Additional points of interest 

Graves of two Confederate soldiers (beginning of tour)

Off highway 1912, this family cemetery contains the graves of two Confederate soldiers:  Pennington, 4th Kentucky Regiment, and Sexton, Co. D, 49th Kentucky Regiment.

 White Hall State Historic Site (End of tour) 

This imposing residence was the home of emancipationist and diplomat Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810-1903).  An antislavery speech he heard while a student at Yale University intensely affected him and led to his strong opposition to slavery.  He published an antislavery newspaper and his outspoken opposition sometimes led to violence and threatened his life.  Clay served as U.S. Minister to Russia under President Abraham Lincoln.  A major general in the Union army, Clay was relieved  of his command of the 18th Kentucky and 69th Indiana infantry regiments by Gen. William Nelson four days prior to the start of the Battle of Richmond.