Siege of Munfordville

Wilder

150 years ago today the Confederate armies of Bragg and Smith were embarking on an invasion of Kentucky, pursued by Don Carlos Buell's Union army. Today Bragg turned his forces toward Munford, a station of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad where the railroad crossed the Green River. He decided to attack this station, which was held by Union troops, because of an injudicious move by one his his subordinates, who had moved without authorization on the heavily fortified Union stronghold. He had asked Colonel J. T. Wilder of Indiana, who was commanding the fort to surrender. Wilder refused, and beat back a Confederate attack with heavy losses. To avoid discouraging his men with what looked like a defeat Bragg delayed the strategic course of the invasion to attack Munfordville with his whole army. Wilder again refused the demand of surrender, and Bragg, after again failing to capture the city with a direct attack, began a regular siege.