Having always had a strong interest in the War Between the States, I've never missed an opportunity to visit a major battlefield of that conflict. This Un-civil War of 1861-1865 was the defining moment in the history of the United States of America.

The Battle of Perryville, with about 38,000 troops involved and 7,607 casualties, was the largest battle of The War to be waged in the border state of Kentucky. Although it is lesser known than other battles which were fought nearer the eastern population centers, some historians say Perryville may have been as crucial as Gettysburg in deciding the ultimate outcome of the War for Southern Independence. Perryville is in a sparsely populated rural area and for that reason it is one of the most pristine battlefields of the entire War. The land looks much as it did on that fateful day, October 8, 1862, when so many brave men died here fighting for the right as they saw it.

My visit to Perryville was much more than just a sightseeing trip. It was a pilgrimage. Two of my great, great uncles, James Walter Conn and John Thomas Conn, fought here with the Georgia 41st Volunteer Infantry, defending their Confederate homeland from Northern aggressors. John Thomas was captured. James Walter, one of the people for whom I am named, was counted as missing. No doubt he is one of the hundreds of unknown Confederate dead who lie buried on this hallowed ground.