Battle of Richmond Association

10/21/2026

Thanks for visiting the City of Richmond, Kentucky YouTube Channel!...

10/20/2026

It is a beautiful day! If you are out and about, stop by the Battle of Richmond Visitors Center. We are open until 4 PM today.

10/20/2026

On this day, in 1810, Cassius Marcellus Clay was born.

The youngest son of Green Clay and Sally Lewis Clay, Cassius Clay was a troublemaker from the start. One story from his childhood that particularly stands out is when he was once reprimanded by his mother for telling a lie. He later remembered in his memoir, “She ordered me sternly to come to her; but, as I had once tested her mettle, I was more inclined to take "to my heels," and I ran. She was not a woman to be trifled with…So she made chase; and all the house-servants, and all the kitchenservants joined in the pursuit. Finding that I would be overtaken, I concluded to fight. There was a pile of stone-siftings, left over from an out-building of considerable size, upon which I took my stand, and made things lively…So the dear old mother had to come herself. Thank God, I never in childhood even raised my hand or turned my heart against her. So I surrendered. This was my second whipping, and the last.”

Cassius Clay would go on to become one of the most well known anti-slavery advocates in the country. He survived a duel in 1841, an assassination attempt in 1843, and a brawl at a political debate that lead to a knife wound to his right lung in 1849. After being appointed Minister to Russia by President Abraham Lincoln, he helped secure a military alliance between the Union and the Russians, and helped the U.S. government purchase Alaska in 1867.

He was also a controversial figure that caused scandalous headlines in newspapers across the country. Despite being an anti-slavery advocate, he continued to enslave people until the 13th amendment passed. His wife of over 40 years, Mary Jane Warfield, left him and they divorced after he adopted a Russian boy who was likely his son. In 1894, at the age of 84, he married a 15 year old girl, and in 1901, any the age of 90, shot at a sheriff and a group of deputies who had come to his home to serve a warrant.

Cassius Clay, like all of us, is not one single thing. He was a son, a brother, a father, a husband, a friend, an enemy, an enslaver, a killer, a scholar. He had great faults, but saw great triumphs as well. He turns 216 years old today.

10/17/2026

This event is happening this weekend.

10/14/2026

In a few short weeks, Santa is coming to visit the Richmond Battlefield Park! Bring your cameras and family. Enjoy the afternoon, with music, refreshments, tours, and Santa!

10/13/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/197E5fmb4K/

Civil War in Music This Weekend in Lexington!

The University of Kentucky Opera Theatre will continue its “Telling America’s Stories” series with a powerful Civil War-era song cycle, “Rappahannock County,” opening the 2026-27 season October 16-18 at the Lexington Opera House.

Rappahannock County brings to life the conflict of the Civil War through the lens of students in a modern classroom as they explore the experiences of ordinary people living in and around Rappahannock County, Virginia. Rather than following a single protagonist, Rappahannock County presents a mosaic of interconnected stories drawn from diaries, letters, and historical accounts. The work traces the Civil War chronologically from Virginia's secession in 1861 through the Confederacy's defeat in 1865.

Sung in English with English supertitles, the production runs approximately 85 minutes.

Published by Theodore Presser Company, “Rappahannock County” is presented as part of UK Opera Theatre’s "Telling America’s Stories” initiative, which highlights overlooked or underrepresented narratives in American history through operatic repertoire. The series began with the spring 2025 production of “Sanctuary Road” and continued in spring 2026 with “A Nation of Others.”

Ticket Link here: https://www.centralbankcenter.com/events/detail/rappahannock-county

More information including a welcome from Dr. Everett McCorvey here: https://finearts.uky.edu/music/rappahannock-county-digital-playbill

10/10/2026

Last Saturday, BORA Board Members participated in and represented BORA at the Millstone Festival downtown in Visit Richmond KY, which takes place on a portion of the Richmond Battlefield.

The day began with cloudy skies and cool winds and concluded with sunny and warm weather - a great event in downtown Richmond organized by Richmond Parks & Recreation!

The Third Stage of the battle was fought across Big Hill Avenue and into the Richmond Cemetery (see 4 maps included in this post). Later, around 4,000 captured Federal soldiers spent the night of August 30-31, 1862, as prisoners on the current Madison County Courthouse Square. They signed paroles at the Mount Pleasant home (see listing of the home on 3 of the maps), between Madison Middle School and Apollo Pizza.) Portions of the fence around the Courthouse at that time were later moved to the Richmond Cemetery, and we are pleased to report that the Cemetery has provided those portions for preservation by us and other partners - more on this soon!

Thank you to incoming President Louetta Hetrick for bringing EVERYTHING to and from our Pleasant View house HQ and to incoming Vice President/President Elect Rhonda McIntyre for being there all day with Louetta from set up to close!

Bill Williams served double duty in our tent and the Madison County Historical Society tent, Treasurer Brad Cunningham was there for several hours, and President George Ridings was there early for a while and then late to assist with packing up.

We were able to sell many items you can see on display here from our Mercantile Shop, and we were able to visit with many people about the different sites that comprise Battlefield Park and about the activities (Reenactment and Living History and more) we are able to offer thanks to our great Preservation Partner, the City of Richmond.

We also shared information with visitors about our upcoming 25th Anniversary of Preservation Celebration and Annual Meeting to be held Sunday evening, November 8th at 5 pm at Lake Buck Lodge on the Blue Grass Army Depot. Our keynote speaker is author and historian William C. "Jack" Davis, speaking on The Orphan Brigade. See information attached on the Event and Sponsorship Opportunities and to purchase tickets, along with our Membership form.

Link to purchase tickets online is here:

https://checkout.square.site/merchant/SF6Z3PXZN4N2F/checkout/6BCNFUXEJ7RLQKH7ISJNCGZH

Link to our Square site for online purchase of Membership and to purchase our two hardback books on the battle:

https://battle-of-richmond-association.square.site/

We also had with us a copy of the Parole signed by Private Andrew Copenhaver of the 12th Indiana infantry (US), signed just a few blocks away from our tent, in Mount Pleasant on September 1, 1862.

The original is on display at our Visitor Center, located at 101 Battlefield Memorial Highway, Richmond KY 40475. Repairs and renovations are complete and we are in process of getting everything back in order, so it is open with limited hours as work is being completed, but we look forward to having it open on a regular basis soon.

Dispatch by:
George Nelson Ridings,
BORA President and
Founding Board Member

10/08/2026

Today is the Anniversary of the Battle of Perryville. Comments were disabled on prior Perryville post due to number of images or to sharing in a Group, so this post has links in Comments to maps and other resources.

Dispatch by:
George Nelson Ridings,
BORA President and
Founding Board Member

10/08/2026

Kentucky's largest Civil War battle took place on October 8, 1862, about 5 weeks after the Battle of Richmond, in and outside of Perryville, about 50 miles west of Richmond.

Fighting was intense and lasted from before sunrise until after sunset, resulting in nearly 8,000 casualties.

The Confederate forces pushed the Union units across the rolling hills and won the fighting, but lost the campaign because they began their retreat from Kentucky over the following days. They knew that they were greatly outnumbered by combined Federal troops who had marched into Kentucky from Tennessee and the new units that had been raised and assembled to meet the Confederate move into Kentucky that began in August.

Photos shared here were taken by author during recent years.

Facebook seems to be limiting Comments due to number of images in the post. A following post will have links to Maps and other Resources in Comments.

Following is the Battle Summary from the National Park Service:

Perryville -- Campaign: Confederate Heartland Offensive
Date(s): June-October 1862

Principal Commanders:

Major General Don Buell [US]
Major General Braxton Bragg [CS]

Forces Engaged:
55000 total (US 55000; CS 16000;)

Estimated Casualties: 7607 total (US 4211; CS 3396)

Description:

Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's autumn 1862 invasion of Kentucky had reached the outskirts of Louisville and Cincinnati, but he was forced to retreat and regroup.
On October 7, the Federal army of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, numbering nearly 55,000, converged on the small crossroads town of Perryville, Kentucky, in three columns. Union forces first skirmished with Rebel cavalry on the Springfield Pike before the fighting became more general, on Peters Hill, as the grayclad infantry arrived.

The next day, at dawn, fighting began again around Peters Hill as a Union division advanced up the pike, halting just before the Confederate line. The fighting then stopped for a time.

After noon, a Confederate division struck the Union left flank and forced it to fall back. When more Confederate divisions joined the fray, the Union line made a stubborn stand, counterattacked, but finally fell back with some troops routed. Buell did not know of the happenings on the field, or he would have sent forward some reserves.

Even so, the Union troops on the left flank, reinforced by two brigades, stabilized their line, and the Rebel attack sputtered to a halt. Later, a Rebel brigade assaulted the Union division on the Springfield Pike but was repulsed and fell back into Perryville. The Yankees pursued, and skirmishing occurred in the streets in the evening before dark.

Union reinforcements were threatening the Rebel left flank by now. Bragg, short of men and supplies, withdrew during the night, and, after pausing at Harrodsburg, continued the Confederate retrograde by way of Cumberland Gap into East Tennessee. The Confederate offensive was over, and the Union controlled Kentucky.

Results: Union Victory (strategic)
CWSAC Reference #: KY009

Dispatch by:
George Nelson Ridings
BORA President and
Founding Board Member

10/07/2026

BORA Board Member and Active Volunteer Lisa Vaughn recently captured this sunrise image, looking eastward from Battlefield Park into the Blue Grass Army Depot.

See Comments for a map to show this area. The portion of the American Battlefield Trust map that is shaded in blue has a large blue arrow added to show the vantage point and view.

The image was taken just south of the Pleasant View historic home, built in 1825 (it is marked as the Barnett home on the map.)

This view shows the area where Confederate Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne's Division advanced to attack the Federal left flank, positioned east of Mt. Zion Church.

Submit your photos from the park in Comments or via message to us!

Dispatch by:
BORA President
George Nelson Ridings