USA Today lists Perryville Battlefield as one of 10 great Civil War sites

PERRYVILLE, Ky. — The Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site was listed as one of the "10 great places to visit Civil War sites" by USA Today.

On Oct. 8, 1862, Perryville became the site of the most destructive Civil War battle in the state, which left more than 7,600 killed, wounded or missing. The battlefield is one of the most unaltered Civil War sites in the nation, according to the Kentucky Department of Parks.

"If a soldier who fought here in 1862 could walk these fields now, he would say, 'I know this place – it is Perryville,'" said Joni L. House, preservation coordinator for Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site. "There are few battlefields in the United States that are as well preserved as Perryville and our staff and volunteers work constantly to keep it that way."

USA Today partnered with Jeff Shaara, author of "Jeff Shaara's Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America's Hallowed Ground," to choose 10 "noteworthy" battlefields. Perryville was listed among sites in Antietam, Md.; Vicksburg, Miss.; Petersburg, Va.; Manassas, Va.; Shiloh, Tenn.; Mobile Bay, Ala.; Glorieta Pass, N.M.; Chickamauga, Ga.; and Olustee, Fla.; 

"You don't have to be a fanatic history buff to go to these places," Shaara states in the USA Today article. "You can get something out of it just by taking the time to visit."

Perryville Battlefield received national attention earlier this year when the Battle of Perryville's 150th Commemoration was featured on an episode of RFD-TV's "Small Town Big Deal."

"The battlefield brings in thousands of visitors each year," said Jennifer Kirchner, executive director of the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It is a place where you can step back in time and experience what is considered to be a crucial battle in the fight for Kentucky. In Boyle County, we are so privileged to have access to this monumental piece of our past." 

In August, the battlefield will be the site of a Preservation Kentucky conference — "Battlefields & Beyond: Civil War Sites in the 21st Century" — which is the first Civil War sites preservation conference in Kentucky since 1993. The event will be a regional educational forum for administrators, staff, docents and board members of Civil War battlefields, historic sites and museums. 

"Battlefields and Beyond" will feature sessions and events held in Civl War-era buildings, tours of Civil War-ear downtown Danville, Perryville Battlefield, and Camp Nelson Heritage Park. 

"This conference will expound on the history and significance of Danville, Perryville and the battlefield during a poignant time in our past," Kirchner said.

The three-day event will be Aug. 15-17. Registration is $125 and includes full access to all conference sessions, workshops and events.  

"We have a motto – 'This Place Matters' – and when you get this type of recognition we know that this place really does matter to people all around the country," House said.

To see the USA Today article, visit http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/10greatplaces/2013/07/05/10-great-places-to-visit-civil-war-sites/2491487/

For more information on the conference, visit http://www.preservationkentucky.org or call (502) 871-4570. 

For more information on Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, visit www.perryvillebattlefield.org.