Battle at Beardstown

The Service Record for my ancestor Andrew J. (A. J.) Mitchell indicates that he was captured in Perry County Tennessee (exact date unknown) and taken to the Louisville Kentucky Military Prison. The record also indicates that he was discharged in November 1862 as being under age by the Conscript Law and allowed to return to his home in Lawrenceburg, Lawrence County TN. I have not determined his purpose for being in Perry County but believe he was somehow involved in the military action in September 1863 that resulted in the burning of the courthouse. I have read the account of this action and noted that among those captured, their were 30 Regulars and 10 conscripts. I would like to know if my ancestor was among those captured.

Tom Lee

Well first the battle at Beardstown was seperate from burning the court house it happened in 1864. It was really more of an all day skirmish. Between a Regt. of Forrests calvary and the yankees. I think it was the 19th Biffles Regt. The courthouse burning was in 1863. And it was planned by Perry county company who were in Fielding Hurst's 6th TN Federal calvary. Thats why it went so smooth for them. There was another fight in Linden in 1864 when a troop from Forrest ran through it on a fast raid in 1864 too. Perry county troops were extremely effective and involved in a lot of major battles. The 10th TN was one of Forrests best and orginally raised largely in Perry and Hickman counties. The courthouse burning is interesting because it is considered one of the earliest examples of amphbious warfare in America. But the idea was just to snap up a Confederate outpost and dystroy the land records. Most fighting in Perry county was pretty vicious guerilla and calvary fighting. Like the county history says by 1864 both sides had largely stopped taking prisoners. My grandfathers knew the old stories and both knew surviving veterans when little.