Meets 7:00 PM Thursdays
Shepherdsville Community Center

As our October Pack Activity of the Month, Pack 868 took a Saturday field trip to visit the Civil War battlefield at Perryville, Kentucky and observe the annual re-enactment of the battle that was fought on October 8, 1862.

During the morning, Cubs and parents got to walk through the campsites of both Union and Confederate re-enactors.  Soldiers showed the boys their muzzle loading rifles.  Scuttlers (the wives and families that followed the troops) were there in period costume and showed the boys how folks lived during the Civil War.  A boot maker even showed the boys how shoes and boots were made in the 1800s.

After lunch, everyone gathered on the hillsides overlooking the valley where the first engagements of the actual battle occurred to witness infantry, cavalry, and artillery re-enactors from both sides engage each other in mock warfare.  There was lots of black powder shooting, including cannon fire.

After the battle re-enactment, many visitors left and the crowd thinned out considerably, creating a good opportunity to visit the on-site Museum and the various souvenir vendors without being rushed or crowded.

The Pack traveled as a group on the Troop 868 bus and got back to Shepherdsville in time to eat supper at home.

Matt, Henry, Dawson, Hunter, and Josh climb on a cannon displayed at the battlefield.		Pack 868 Cub Scouts Trey, Matt, Dawson, Josh, and Hunter in light blue pose with Union soldiers
A Union soldier showed the boys his rifle and explained how to load and shoot it.		Frpm the scuttlers, the boys got to learn about Army life during the Civil War.
The Cub Scouts particularly enjoyed playing with a small chicken.		A shoemaker showed the boys how leather was cut and sewn to make shoes and boots.
Several of the scouts visited souvenir vendors on their way back to the troop bus for lunch and played with their new toys while eating.		Matt and his family sought a thin slice of shade and a back rest against the troop bus.  Plus the tires made a great coffee table to hold a canned drink.
Shortly before 2:00 PM the Union Army formed up on the battlefield.		We all waited from our viewing spot on the hillside for the Confederates to arrive.
The Confederates soon arrived and volleys of rifle fire were traded back and forth.		The respective cavalries made several charges at each other, first with pistols then with swords.
This Confederate artillery crew fired their cannon repeatedly, each time startling everyone.		Slowly but surely, the Rebels drove the Yankees up the hillside toward the Union line.
In the actual Battle of Perryville, more than 1,300 soldiers were killed and more than 6,000 wounded or captured in about 10 hours of fighting.  Union deaths were greater than Confederate losses which meant a tactical victory for the South, but confusion behind the lines and reports that the Union had reinforcements just a day's march away led the Southern forces to make a hasty overnight retreat, thus handing victory to the North.