Middle Creek National Battlefield
Middle Creek National Battlefield
Route 114
Prestonsburg, KY 41653
Telephone: 606-886-1312
Email: fdfitz@mail.com
Website: www.middlecreek.org
Battle of Ivy Mountain Monument
The Ivy Mountain Battlefield is located on U S Route 23 ten miles south of Prestonsburg at Ivel. A fourteen-foot-high granite obelisk marks the spot where, on November 8th, 1861, four union regiments under General “Bull” Nelson clashed with three companies of the newly-organized 5th Kentucky Infantry. Though outnumbered more than twelve to one, the Confederates held their ground for more than two hours before leaving their position and retreating up the road to Piketon. Six Union soldiers were killed during the fight, and twenty four were wounded. Confederate losses were ten killed, fiften wounded, and forty missing.
The Battle of Middle Creek Floyd County, Kentucky January 10, 1862 Though they were once stained with blood and blackened by the smoke of two thousand muskets, the hay fields which welcome today’s visitor to the Fitzpatrick Farm on Middle Creek look no different than those found on other Eastern Kentucky farms. Compared to the Battle of Antietam Creek, the Battle of Middle Creek was only a skirmish. Nevertheless, it had a significant impact on the course of the Civil War. It ended Confederate supremacy in the region, and it launched the career of the man who became our twentieth president. With good reason it has been called the battle that launched a presidency. On January 10th, 1862, James A. Garfield, an obscure Ohio college professor and newly-minted colonel of a regiment of Ohio volunteers, launched an attack on a brigade of Confederate soldiers holding a position on the ridges overlooking the Forks of Middle Creek, located two miles west of Prestonsburg, Kentucky. The Confederates were commanded by Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall, a seasoned veteran famous for his exploits during the Mexican War. We invite you to read the history of this nationally significant battlefield, learn about its participants, and become acquainted with the Middle Creek National Battlefield Foundation and its plans to develop the battlefield as a historic site. For more information visit www.middlecreek.org.
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