The Affair at Morton’s Ford Conclusion

by Dan O'Connell May 15, 2012

Butler’s Raid BG Isaac Wistar was ordered to advance to Bottom’s Bridge by 0300 on the 7th. Although he was given command of 6200 troops (4,000 infantry and 2.200 cavalry) he elected to begin his movement cautiously. An advanced “picked company”, under the command of CPT Hill, 1st New York Mounted Rifles, was assigned to [...]

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The War In Three Acts

by Ned B. May 14, 2012

On the bookshelf across from where I am sitting are two trilogies that both try to tell the story of the entire war.  One is well known these days – Shelby Foote’s The Civil War: A Narrative, published in the mid-Twentieth Century.  The other was well know in its day but is less so now [...]

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The Affair at Morton’s Ford Part 2

by Dan O'Connell May 13, 2012

Raccoon Ford MG Newton’s I Corps troops were assigned to execute the demonstration at Raccoon Ford. The lead elements marched early on February 6th and arrived at the river later that day. A 300 man detail was sent to the ford and to raise attention to their presence burned several buildings. There was no response [...]

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DE ARAGON – The Chronicle of a Confederate Surgeon – Part 6

by Robert M. Webb May 11, 2012

This is the 6th part in the series about Major Ramon T. de Aragon, a surgeon in the Army of Tennesee. This post covers the Battle of Murfreesborough after Bragg brought his army back out of Kentucky following the Battle of Perryville.      The journey back to Knoxville was about two hundred miles through country that [...]

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The Affair at Morton’s Ford Part 1

by Dan O'Connell May 10, 2012

Introduction In the introduction of the opening volume of his fabulous set of works on the Overland Campaign, Gordon Rhea mentions the fight at Morton’s Ford. The brief description of the fight there sparked my curiosity and I thought it would be interesting to look into it further. This short post will describe the action [...]

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The Battle of Belmont Conclusion

by Dan O'Connell May 8, 2012

On the Water Because the Mississippi River separated the opposing forces from the battlefield water transportation was critical. The Union forces needed to move troops across the river under the guns of the Confederate stronghold at Columbus. The threat of these guns forced Grant to make his landings several miles from his objective. The time [...]

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Take Your Damn Quote Back To Ohio!

by Ned B. May 7, 2012

We recently passed the 150th anniversary of the Battle of  Shiloh which prompts me to discuss a quotation which bothers me.  Anyone who has read a modern book on Shiloh has probably seen some variation on “Take your damned regiment back to Ohio.  There is no enemy closer than Corinth.”  Allegedly this statement was the [...]

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