Haunted Perryville Battlefield: History, Ghosts and Investigations

Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site covers 745 acres of rolling farmland in Boyle County, about 45 miles southwest of Lexington. Split rail fences, a few farmhouses, a Confederate cemetery and a small museum are all that mark the ground where two armies met on October 8, 1862. On a quiet day it looks like any other Kentucky pasture.

Visitors have long said otherwise. People describe soldiers in the fields, sometimes in broad daylight, and after dark the sound of cannon, voices and horses, and lanterns moving where nobody is walking. Ghost Adventures filmed here, and the park, unusually, allows paranormal groups to book the grounds for a night investigation. This guide covers the battle, the stories and how to visit.

The Battle of Perryville

In the late summer of 1862 the Confederacy invaded Kentucky, hoping to bring the border state into the war on its side. General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi marched north from Tennessee, and Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Union Army of the Ohio, about 55,000 strong, followed. That summer had been brutally dry, and by early October both armies were desperate for water. The few pools left in the bed of Doctor’s Creek, west of the little town of Perryville, became the prize.

On October 8 Bragg, believing he faced only part of the Union army, attacked with about 16,000 men. The fighting raged through the afternoon across the hills and ravines along the Chaplin River and Doctor’s Creek. The Confederates drove back the Union left and center, and around Squire Henry P. Bottom’s house and barn the fighting was so close that artillery set the barn on fire, and wounded Union soldiers who had crawled inside for shelter burned to death.

Buell, about two miles away at his headquarters, barely knew a battle was being fought. A freak of geography called an acoustic shadow kept the sound from reaching him, and he committed his reserves only late in the day. By nightfall roughly 22,000 Union soldiers had been engaged. The Union lost about 4,241 men killed, wounded, captured or missing, and the Confederates about 3,396: roughly one in five of everyone who fought.

Bragg held the field but realized he was badly outnumbered, and that night he withdrew toward Tennessee, leaving about 900 wounded men behind. Kentucky stayed in Union hands for the rest of the war. Historian Kenneth Noe has called the last Confederate charge here the high-water mark of the Confederacy in the West. The drought broke two days after the battle.

The mansion Elmwood in Perryville became a field hospital, and many of the Confederate dead were buried in a cemetery on the field begun by Henry Bottom. A Confederate monument was raised over the cemetery in 1902 and a smaller Union memorial in 1931. Kentucky adopted the battlefield as one of its first state parks in the 1930s, about 2,500 acres were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and the museum opened on the battle’s 100th anniversary in 1962.

The ghosts of Perryville Battlefield

Soldiers in the fields

The most common report is simple: people see men in the fields who are not there. StyleBlueprint notes that some visitors describe ghost-like figures in the grassy fields in full daylight, not only at dusk. Paranormal investigators on Ghost Adventures said they saw shadowy figures from the Civil War crossing the fields, and the show returned to the battlefield more than once.

Cannon, voices and horses

After dark, according to accounts gathered by Kentucky Living and retold by Southern Spirit Guide, visitors hear what sounds like cannon fire rolling over the hills, men’s voices and the hooves of horses, and see lanterns flickering across the fields, as if the burial parties and stretcher bearers of October 1862 were still at work. None of it has been recorded in any way that settles the question, but the stories are remarkably consistent.

The Bottom House and the burning barn

The ridge by the Bottom House carries the battle’s worst memory, the wounded soldiers who died in the burning barn. Many visitors find it the most affecting place on the field. Investigators’ permits cover only the open grounds, not any buildings.

A battlefield that welcomes investigators

What makes Perryville different is that the park allows ghost hunting. Groups can book the grounds for six hours at night with a special use permit, one group per night, and the park asks only that they follow its rules: no alcohol, no metal detectors, and no access to buildings or restricted areas. For anyone who wants to spend a night on a Civil War battlefield legally, this is one of the best opportunities in the South.

Where to look

• The Confederate cemetery: where many Confederate dead were buried, marked by the 1902 monument near the museum.
• The H. P. Bottom House ridge: scene of the burning barn and some of the closest fighting.
• Doctor's Creek: the dry creek bed both armies fought to reach.
• The open fields and trails: where figures are reported, sometimes in daylight.

Visiting Perryville Battlefield

The park is at 1825 Battlefield Road, reached from Lexington by US 68 west and US 150 west. The grounds open early every day and close in the late afternoon in winter and early evening in summer, and the museum opens daily from spring through fall and Wednesday to Saturday in winter; hours vary by season, so check the park’s site before you go. Self-guided tour information is posted outside the museum, and a roving guide leads battlefield tours ($20 for adults, $10 for children; call for times).

Paranormal investigations need a special use permit booked at least two weeks ahead. The fee is $250 for up to 10 people for six hours, plus $25 for each extra person, and every member signs a waiver. Only one group is scheduled per night, and access is limited to the open park grounds. No refunds are given, but rain dates are honored within 30 days.

• Visiting State historic site with open grounds, trails and a museum
• Tours Self-guided trails and guided battlefield tours
• Hours and season Grounds open from early morning until late afternoon or evening depending on the season; museum days vary by season
• Ghost hunting Yes, by special use permit: $250 for up to 10 people for six hours on the grounds, booked two weeks ahead

Tips for your visit

• Come in the late afternoon and walk the trail from the museum to the Confederate cemetery and the Bottom House ridge as the light goes.
• Visit around the October 8 anniversary for the most atmospheric weather, and check the park’s events calendar.
• If your group wants to investigate, book your permit early: only one group is allowed each night.
• Bring water and good shoes: the trails cross open, hilly fields.
• Stay in Harrodsburg or Lexington, and add Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill near Harrodsburg to your trip.

More haunted places nearby

• Haunted places in Kentucky: Shaker Village, Liberty Hall, Waverly Hills and more
• Haunted places in Lexington: Ashland, Loudoun House and Gratz Park
• Boone Tavern Hotel: a haunted college hotel in Berea
• Haunted hotels in Kentucky: where to stay
• Haunted places in Kentucky

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

• Wikipedia: Battle of Perryville
• Wikipedia: Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
• Perryville Battlefield: official site
• Perryville Battlefield: Paranormal investigations
• Perryville Battlefield: Directions and hours
• Southern Spirit Guide: Notes on Kentucky hauntings
• StyleBlueprint: The most haunted places in Kentucky