Historical Marker

Kirkland Home

Historical marker location:

Perryville, Kentucky

( 1470 Battlefield Rd., Perryville)

Near here was the home of Charles King and Caroline Purdom Kirkland. To escape the Battle of Perryville, they traveled with their 3 young children 10 miles south to the home of Caroline’s father in Forkland. When they returned a few days later, they found their home had been used as a hospital and much of their property destroyed.

(Reverse) Their blood-stained dining room table was used for operations and their clothes torn for bandages. Furniture, fences, & outbuildings were burned for fuel and farm animals killed for food. Soldiers were buried poorly in the yard; after a rain their limbs protruded from the soil. With these horrific conditions, the family moved, sold the farm, and never returned.