Maney's Confederate Brigade at the Battle of Perryville

by Stuart W. Sanders

On October 8, 1862, forty thousand Union and Confederate soldiers clashed at Perryville, Kentucky, in the state's largest Civil War battle. Of those who fought, none endured as much as the Tennessee and Georgia soldiers who composed Brigadier General George Maney's brigade. The Confederate unit entered the fray to save other Southern regiments and, in doing so, experienced deadly resistance. Many of those involved called the brigade's encounter the toughest of the Civil War, as several of Maney's regiments suffered casualties of 50 percent or greater. Despite relentless fighting, the Confederates were unable to break the Union line, and the Bluegrass State remained in Federal control. Join author Stuart W. Sanders as he chronicles Maney's brigade in the Battle of Perryville.

Genres: History, Civil War

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 16, 2014

About the author

Stuart W. Sanders is the author of four books, "Murder on the Ohio Belle" (2020), "Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky's Largest Civil War Battle" (2012), "The Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky" (2013), and "Maney's Confederate Brigade at the Battle of Perryville" (2014). He is also the author of the longform essay "Lincoln's Confederate 'Little Sister:' Emilie Todd Helm."

Sanders has contributed essays to multiple Civil War anthologies and has written for many magazines and journals, including "Civil War Times Illustrated," "America's Civil War," "MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History," "Civil War History," "Hallowed Ground," "Civil War Quarterly," "Blue & Gray," "Kentucky Humanities," "The Journal of America's Military Past," "The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society," "Encyclopedia Virginia," and several other publications. He is the former executive director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association and currently works in the public history field in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In 2018, the James Harrod Trust awarded him with the Clay Lancaster Award for Historical Research and Writing.

Reviews

[Brian Miracle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book documents the savage fighting of Maney’s Brigade on the Confederate right flank at the Battle of Perryville. Covers action down to the regimental, and, at times, company level.

Although this book has several good maps, I read it while consulting the book “Battle of Perryville Movement Maps” published by the Friends of Perryville Battlefield.

For an account of the entire battle, I would suggest “Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle” by Kenneth Noe. However, if you want a more detailed look at the fighting on the Confederate right, I recommend this book.

[anne peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Account of One Brigade at Perryville

This volume is an outstanding companion to Kenneth Noe’s “Perryville - This Grand Havoc of Battle”. Maney’s Brigade was in the thick of the fighting on the most hotly contested portion of the field and Mr Sanders expeertly narrates the experiences of both the men and the officers.

[John Maag · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice intro to the battle

[Andy Villanueva III · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you read Sander's "Perryville" version of this small story, then this book is a good accompaniment. However, many times Sander's uses much of the same text to convey what occurred after the battle. Great way to see the Confederate side to this battle that was won by the Confederates but lost due to lack of troop size.