17, however, Wilder recognized his difficult position and asked Bragg for proof of the superior numbers he claimed. In an unusual move, Wilder agreed to be blindfolded and brought to Buckner. When he arrived, he told Buckner that he (Wilder) was not a military man and had come to ask him what he should do. Flattered, Buckner showed Wilder the strength and position of the Confederate forces, which outnumbered Wilder's men almost 5-to-1. Seeing the hopeless situation he was in, Wilder informed Buckner that he wanted to surrender. Any other course, he later explained, would be "no less than willful murder". Bragg's men continued northward to Bardstown where they rested and sought supplies and recruits. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio, the main Union force in the state, was pressing toward Louisville. Bragg left his army and met Kirby Smith in Frankfort, where he was able to attend the inauguration of Confederate Governor Richard Hawes on October 4. Buckner, although protesting this distraction from the military mission, attended as well and gave stirring speeches to the local crowds about the Confederacy's commitment to the state of Kentucky. The inauguration ceremony was disrupted by the sound of cannon fire from an approaching Union division and the inaugural ball scheduled for that evening was canceled. Based on intelligence acquired by a spy in Buell's army, Buckner advised Bragg that Buell was still ten miles from Louisville in the town of Mackville. He urged Bragg to engage Buell there before he reached Louisville, but Bragg declined. Buckner then asked Leonidas Polk to request that Bragg concentrate his forces and attack the Union army at Perryville, but again, Bragg refused. Finally, on October 8, 1862, Bragg's army—not yet concentrated with Kirby Smith's—engaged Maj. Gen. Alexander McCook's corps of Buell's army and began the Battle of Perryville. Buckner's division fought under General Hardee during this battle, achieving a significant breakthrough in the Confederate center, and reports from Hardee, Polk, and Bragg all praised Buckner's efforts. His gallantry was for naught, however, as Perryville ended in a tactical draw that was costly for both sides, causing Bragg to withdraw and abandon his invasion of Kentucky. Buckner joined many of his fellow generals in publicly denouncing Bragg's performance during the campaign. Later Civil War service Following the Battle of Perryville, Buckner was reassigned to command the District of the Gulf, fortifying the defenses