Month: June 2013
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Arkansas Post – Part 2
The First Attempt It didn’t take Federal military officials long to sniff out the activity on the Arkansas River. By November 3rd the Union commander at Helena, BG Alvin Hovey, was seeking permission to conduct operations against the developing Confederate strongpoint. The emphasis on operations against Vicksburg, however, precluded any chance of authorization for the […]
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Short Takes
Tony Horowitz (Confederates in the Attic) has an article on “150 Years of Misunderstanding the Civil War.” A better title would be “150 Years of Changing Interpretations of the Civil War.” Historians, as Lord Acton observed, are merely politicians looking backwards, and they have their own prejudices and points of view. As he notes most […]
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From the Engineer Depot – Meteor Lost
When MG William S. Rosecrans formed the Pioneer Brigade in November, 1862 to alleviate deficiencies in his engineer organization he needed an experienced engineer officer to take command. The task fell to Captain James St. Clair Morton. Rosecrans was intrigued by the young engineer Morton for his “iconoclasm, outspoken individualism and willingness to challenge engineer […]
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Arkansas Post – Part 1
Background As the first Union attempt at Vicksburg was gaining momentum in the fall of 1862 the Confederate leaders on the other side of the river also worried about possible action there. In Arkansas MG Theophilus Holmes, commander of the Trans- Mississippi Department, ordered Colonel John Dunnington to locate a suitable position for a fortification […]
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Need Help With US Grant Quote
I am looking for a cite for a U. S. Grant quote. It was supposedly made while touring in France after the war when someone asked him what he’d learned from Napoleon. I faced two problems during the war. One was the rifled musket behind works and the other was moving huge amounts of men […]
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Where was Rosecrans?
Previously I wrote about who really won the battle of Iuka. This time I am going to dig deeper into Rosecrans’ performance at that battle. Attention has often been deflected from Rosecrans by questions about where Grant and Ord were during the battle. A lot of ink has been spilled about ‘acoustic shadows’, mis-communication or […]
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Will the Real Winner of Iuka Come On Down!
Brett’s post last month on the new book by Frank Varney inspired me to write this post. In my view, the standard conclusion about the Battle of Iuka is wrong, but not in the way Varney would like. I agree that the winner of the battle has been unjustly overlooked, but its not Rosecrans that […]