Battle of Munfordville Facts

September 14–17, 1862

Key facts about the Battle of Munfordville, also known as the Battle of Green River, and the Battle of the Green River Bridge.

Portrait of Braxton Bragg

After the Battle of Munfordville Confederate General Braxton Bragg boasted that his army subdued the Munfordville garrison and captured the bridge spanning the Green River “without our firing a gun.” [Wikimedia Commons]

Also Known As

  • Battle of Green River
  • Battle of the Green River Bridge

Date and Location

  • September 14 – 17, 1862
  • Hart County, Kentucky

Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

Principal Confederate Commanders

Union Forces Engaged

  • Garrison defending the railroad bridge spanning the Green River, plus reinforcements

Confederate Forces Engaged

  • Army of Mississippi

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

  • Roughly 4,000

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

  • Roughly 34,000

Estimated Union Casualties

  • 15 killed and 57 wounded, and 4,133 soldiers captured

Estimated Confederate Casualties

  • 35 killed and 253 wounded

Result

  • Confederate victory

Significance

  • The only major fighting that took place during the Battle of Munfordville occurred on September 14, 1862, when Brigadier General James R. Chalmers launched an unsuccessful assault against the Union garrison protecting the south side of the Green River railroad bridge.
  • All Union soldiers captured at the Battle of Munfordville were paroled and allowed to march south toward Bowling Green and Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio.
  • After the Battle of Munfordville Confederate General Braxton Bragg boasted that his army subdued the Munfordville garrison and captured the bridge spanning the Green River “without our firing a gun.”
  • Confederate General Braxton Bragg occupied Union fortifications near the Green River for only three days following the Battle of Munfordville.
  • On September 20, 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg abandoned Munfordville and moved his army northeast, toward Bardstown, to carry through his planned rendezvous with General Kirby Smith.
  • Munfordville, Kentucky is the hometown of Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner and Union General Thomas John Wood.

Timeline of the Confederate Heartland Campaign

These are the main battles and events of the Confederate Heartland Campaign in order.