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Union General Don Carlos Buell

The Battle of Perryville tarnished several military reputations, including that of Major General Don Carlos Buell, the Union commander at Perryville.

Born in Lowell, Ohio, in 1818, Buell's military career looked promising. An 1841 West Point graduate, Buell served in the Mexican War, where he was wounded. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Buell helped organize Washington, DC, defenses and was soon given command of a division in the Army of the Potomac. Soon, Buell assumed command of the Department of the Ohio. During the April 1862, Battle of Shiloh, he received national attention when his men made a timely arrival, saving the Union army. Buell's troops moved toward Chattanooga before they were diverted into Kentucky when Confederate troops invaded the state.

Nearly removed from command prior to the Battle of Perryville, Buell did a remarkable job of reorganizing his army. At Perryville, a strange phenomenon called an "acoustic shadow," brought about by the rolling hills and the wind direction, blocked the sound of battle from his ears. During the fight, Buell sat near his tent reading or eating. He had no idea that nearly 40,000 troops were clashing only a few miles away.

Because of Buell's inability to destroy the Confederates who had invaded Kentucky, he was removed from command. He never again led troops in the field. In 1864, Buell resigned from the service, and after the war he and his family operated a coal mine and ironworks in Kentucky. He died in Paradise, Kentucky, on November 19, 1898, and is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.