“I think to lose Kentucky is nearly to lose the whole game.”
–President Abraham Lincoln, 1861
The Ides of March has passed and Free Book Friday is here–it’s time to celebrate! We picked today’s giveaway, The Civil War at Perryville: Battling for the Bluegrass, because it covers one of the most significant battles in Kentucky Civil War history–making it an important keystone in our Sesquicentennial commemoration.
Major General Alexander McCook. Courtesy of Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.
Step back in time to when the Confederate army, desperate to seize control of Kentucky, launched an invasion into the commonwealth in the fall of 1862. The Battle of Perryville lasted just one day and yet produced nearly eight thousand combined casualties and losses, forever altering the landscape of the war.
Few know this hallowed ground like Christopher L. Kolakowski, former director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association, who draws on letters, reports, memoirs and other primary sources to offer the most accessible and engaging account of the Kentucky Campaign yet, featuring over sixty historic images and maps.
How do you win Kolakowski’s popular book? Comment on this post and your name will be entered into a random drawing that ends at 12:00 a.m. EST, Sunday, March 18.
It’s easy! After you read this excerpt from The Civil War at Perryville: Battling for the Bluegrass, let us know what you think. (Like what made Kentucky’s role in the Civil War so important, why Lexington was called the “Athens of the West,” what you liked about the excerpt, etc.)
…And then check back Monday morning to see if you won a copy of The Civil War at Perryville: Battling for the Bluegrass. See you on Monday!
I haven’t even heard of this battle. I would love to learn about it.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
Amazing that 8,000 lives were lost in a battle that I’ve not heard of.
Hope I win this book! I’d like to read chapter 10 and learn more about the climax at the Dixville Crossroads!
Congrats to our Free Book Friday winner, Carol Wong! Thanks so much to everyone who participated and we hope you’ll enter our next giveaway on March 23rd.
Twelve days from now, our Civil War Sesquicentennial giveaway ends–so be sure to “share” this sweepstakes info for your chance to win both the grand prize and the consolation prize (which goes out to the person who invites the most friends): https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-History-Press/34357578499?sk=app_28134323652