9th Kentucky Infantry

For the 9th Kentucky Infantry, Union Army, see 9th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry.
9th Kentucky Infantry Regiment
Active October 3, 1861 to May 7, 1865
Country Confederate States of America
Allegiance Confederate States Army
Branch Confederate States Army
Infantry & Mounted Infantry
Engagements Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Baton Rouge
Battle of Hartsville
Battle of Stones River
Vicksburg Campaign
Siege of Jackson
Battle of Chickamauga
Atlanta Campaign
Battle of Rocky Face Ridge
Battle of Resaca
Battle of Dallas
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Battle of Peachtree Creek
Battle of Atlanta
Battle of Utoy Creek
Battle of Jonesboro
Sherman's March to the Sea
Carolinas Campaign

The 9th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade.

Service

The 9th Kentucky Infantry was organized October 3, 1861 in Bowling Green, Kentucky under the command of Colonel Thomas H. Hunt and designated the 5th Kentucky Infantry; it did not complete organization until May 15, 1862. (It continued to be referred to as the 5th Kentucky Infantry or 5th (Hunt's) Kentucky Infantry during its existence and after the war.) Men were recruited in Harrison, Jefferson, Logan, Nelson, Ohio, and Scott counties. In 1863, Company I was transferred to the 5th Kentucky Infantry.

The regiment retreated to Corinth, Mississippi after the Battle of Shiloh and was ordered to Vicksburg, Mississippi to aid in the defenses there.

The regiment came under heavy fire at the Battle of Stones River on January 2, 1863. Having been ordered by Bragg to attack an area that division commander Major General John C. Breckinridge had reconnoitered and determined to be too heavily defended, the First Kentucky Brigade led the charge. Although initially successful, the brigade was met by heavy Union Army artillery fire. Brigade commander Brigadier General Roger Hanson was also mortally wounded in the attack. The 9th Kentucky Infantry lost one killed and twenty-eight wounded in the battle.

Later that same year, the First Kentucky Brigade was ordered back to Vicksburg, to help relieve the siege. The brigade arrived after the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, and fell back to Jackson, Mississippi where they were attacked in mid-July. At the Battle of Chickamauga the regiment lost 44% of its strength of 230 engaged. Weeks later, the 9th Kentucky Infantry was called upon to guard the Confederate army's retreat following the Battle of Missionary Ridge. The army retreated to Dalton, Georgia and went into winter quarters.

The First Kentucky Brigade became part of the Atlanta Campaign on May 7, 1864 when they left their winter camps and took up positions on Rocky Face Ridge. The regiment became part of the fighting retreating force as Major General William T. Sherman pushed the Confederates further back toward Atlanta. At the Battle of Dallas near New Hope Church, the First Kentucky Brigade made an unsupported charge, losing 51% of its strength. At the Battle of Jonesboro on August 31, 1864 the brigade was ordered to attack the entrenched federal position. At an unseen deep ravine, the attack came to a halt. The following day, the Confederates were overwhelmed when two-thirds of a Union Army division attacked and began to surround their positions. Many of the men of the 2nd Kentucky Infantry, 6th Kentucky Infantry, and 9th Kentucky Infantry were captured. The remnants of the brigade fell back and managed a successful defense against the Union assault, bringing it to a halt. On September 4, only 500 men were present for duty in the entire First Kentucky Brigade.

The 9th Kentucky Infantry was afterward ordered to Griffin, Georgia and converted to mounted infantry. The regiment was engaged in delaying tactics during Sherman's March to the Sea, following him all the way to Savannah, Georgia, finally moving to Augusta, Georgia in early 1865. The regiment's last engagement was on April 29, 1865 in a skirmish near Stateburg, South Carolina. The regiment was ordered to Washington, Georgia and surrendered on May 7, 1865.

Commanders

Notable members

See also

References

External links

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