Floyd – The Kaintuckeean

NoD: Battle of Ivy Mountain

Battle of Ivy Mountain - Floyd County, Ky.

Ivy Mountain Memorial – Floyd County, Ky.

In the fall of 1861, General William Tecumseh Sherman, then the head of the Department of the Cumberland, heard rumors that a concentration of Confederate troops was amassing at Prestonsburg. In response, Sherman ordered Brig. Gen William O. “Bull” Nelson from his station at Maysville who was joined by Louisa-based Colonel Joshua Sill in driving Confederate forces south through Hazel Green and West Liberty.

Always short on supplies, Big Sandy Valley Confederates were also running short on ammunition in Prestonsburg. Under the direction of Capt. Andrew Jackson May, the men fell back on November 5, 1861, toward Piketon (n/k/a Pikeville). In Pikeville, the majority of the region’s Confederates were stationed under Col. John S. Williamson.

On November 8, 1861, May’s men took a stand to slow the southerly advance of Union forces. A volley temporarily halted Union troops, but reinforcements quickly overwhelmed May’s ragtag Rebels who retreated toward Virginia.

Confederate forces under Captain May left in their wake fallen trees and burned bridges, slowing the Union’s eventual taking of Piketon. Effectively, this was the end of the fight for the Big Sandy Valley as the mountains of eastern Kentucky were a Union stronghold for most of the Civil War.

Casualty counts from Ivy Mountains differ, but most reports indicate that Union forces suffered 30 casualties (6 killed; 24 wounded). Colonel Williams wrote of the Confederates’ loss: “10 killed, 15 wounded, and 40 missing. Some of the missing men have gone back to their homes, and others join us daily.” Most notable among Rebel losses was the state senator from Greenup County, Kentucky, Lt. Henry M. Rust “who fell gallantly in the discharge of his duty.”

“Bull” Nelson died in 1862; Jessamine County’s Camp Nelson was named in his honor, as is the adjacent national cemetery.

The monument to the Ivy Mountain battle sits adjacent to US 23 was dedicated in 2001 on the 140th anniversary of the conflict. In a few months, the sesquicentennial will be celebrated. The monument is a fifteen foot tall obelisk over an engraved base. As you can see from the picture, Ivy Mountain has been cut away to create and widen US 23. Without a thought, you know that the location is nothing like that seen by General “Bull” Nelson, Captain May, Senator Rust, and the others involved in the conflict. But, a rugged, narrow trail sweeps down toward the banks of the Big Sandy River. With the trees, the brush, and the passing waters of the Big Sandy, the past is much easier to imagine.

More photographs of the Ivy Mountain Memorial can be viewed on flickr.

Bibliography
Eastern Kentucky and the Civil War
Kentucky Encyclopedia
National Park Service

NoD: Abraham Lincoln Seated in Eastern Kentucky

Law Offices of Eric C. Conn - Stanville, Ky.

Lincoln Memorial – Stanville, Ky.

The National Park Service has temporarily closed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC following this week’s earthquake. But did you know that there is an exact replica of the seated 16th President in Stanville, Kentucky?

If you’ve driven to Pikeville, you have without a doubt seen billboards for attorney Eric C. Conn (aka “Mr. SSI”). The parking lot of his office, on U.S. 23 in Stanville, is the home of the world’s second largest seated Lincoln statue.

Installed on November 4, 2010 (the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s election), the 19 foot tall statue weighs over a ton. It was constructed in Thailand after being commissioned by Conn in October 2009. This “Lincoln Memorial” was paid for entirely by Mr. Conn through what must be an enormous marketing budget.

Conn, a U.S. Army veteran who served a one-year tour of duty in Iraq during the Desert War, had some ten years ago commissioned a replica of the Statue of Liberty (pictured, left).

At the unveiling, Conn “welcomed home” Mr. Lincoln, who was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky in 1809. Illinois, however, has stolen claim to Lincoln, but Conn reminded those present in 2010 of Lincoln’s famous quote: “I, too, am a Kentuckian.”

Bibliography: Floyd County Times, Kentucky Law Blog, Wikipedia, WKYT

kernel: CentrePointe is Now Leasing

Downtown Lexington can rejoice in the progress being made by Gang and gang with the empty block in its core. And now this:

Centrepointe Property for Lease – Prestonsburg, Ky.

OK. So this sign isn’t at Centrepasture — it is by the highway near Prestonsburg, Ky. But when I saw the sign, I couldn’t help but laugh (and pull over and take the picture). Hopefully, we’ll see a sign like this in Lexington soon!

Floyd County Courthouse – Prestonsburg, Ky.

Downtown Prestonsburg is a nice, peaceful place. This courthouse is the fifth courthouse to stand in Prestonsburg Built in the late 1960s to replace an old brick courthouse, it was recently replaced by a judicial center.

For decades, Prestonsburg was the political capital of the eastern part of Kentucky. It was the seat of a county that originally covered all of the eastern portion of the state. [*] In 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy spoke at the pictured Floyd County Courthouse while on his tour of eastern Kentucky. [*]

Solomon DeRossett, an early settler in the area, established a fur-trading post in the area. Trapping and shipping animal skins and pelts from Prestonsburg to customers worldwide. One of DeRossett’s best customers was Napoleon’s France, manufacturing bearskins into hats for the Grenadier Guards.

No Destination: Middle Creek Battlefield

I traveled down the Mountain Parkway to a court hearing in Pikeville. The trip took me through Pike, Floyd, Magoffin, Wolfe and Morgan counties – counties unvisited on No Destination. Still, I had to get where I was going and had work to deal with when I returned to Lexington, so a leisurely drive was not possible.

Notwithstanding, I did pull off the road in Floyd County when I spotted a Civil War battlefield. Dressed in a suit, I couldn’t venture down either the Union or the Confederate Trail, but the small Middle Creek National Battlefield was a worthy visit. Admittedly, I had never before heard of the Battle of Middle Creek, but according to the signage (and a little Googling) it was relatively significant.

President Lincoln believed that keeping Kentucky in Union hands was an important task and the outnumbered Union troops pushed the Rebels back into Virginia during the January 1862 battle. The Union troops were led by Col. James A. Garfield. Garfield, who later became our twentieth President, was promoted to brigadier general as a result of the victory at Middle Fork.

Encompassing 450 acres, the Battlefield officially opened in 2004. The land was donated by the family on whose land the battle was fought (they have owned the land since 1798). Though only signage and trails now exist, plans are in the work for additional facilities. A great step for historic (and battlefield) preservation!