Download or read book Corinth 1862 written by Timothy B. Smith and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2016-10-07 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spring of 1862, there was no more important place in the western Confederacy-perhaps in all the South-than the tiny town of Corinth, Mississippi. Major General Henry W. Halleck, commander of Union forces in the Western Theater, reported to Washington that "Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of war, and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards." In the same vein, Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard declared to Richmond that "If defeated at Corinth, we lose the Mississippi Valley and probably our cause." Those were odd sentiments concerning a town scarcely a decade old. By this time, however, it sat at the junction of the South's two most important rail lines and had become a major strategic locale. Despite its significance, Corinth has received comparatively little attention from Civil War historians and has been largely overshadowed by events at Shiloh, Antietam, and Perryville. Timothy Smith's panoramic and vividly detailed new look at Corinth corrects that neglect, focusing on the nearly year-long campaign that opened the way to Vicksburg and presaged the Confederacy's defeat in the West. Combining big-picture strategic and operational analysis with ground-level views, Smith covers the spring siege, the vicious attacks and counterattacks of the October battle, and the subsequent occupation. He has drawn extensively on hundreds of eyewitness accounts to capture the sights, sounds, and smells of battle and highlight the command decisions of Halleck, Beauregard, Ulysses S. Grant, Sterling Price, William S. Rosecrans, and Earl Van Dorn. This is also the first in-depth examination of Corinth following the creation of a new National Park Service center located at the site. Weaving together an immensely compelling tale that places the reader in the midst of war's maelstrom, it substantially revises and enlarges our understanding of Corinth and its crucial importance in the Civil War.
Download or read book The Darkest Days of the War written by Peter Cozzens and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2017-12-10 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the late summer of 1862, Confederate forces attempted a three-pronged strategic advance into the North. The outcome of this offensive--the only coordinated Confederate attempt to carry the conflict to the enemy--was disastrous. The results at Antietam and in Kentucky are well known; the third offensive, the northern Mississippi campaign, led to the devastating and little-studied defeats at Iuka and Corinth, defeats that would open the way for Grant's attack on Vicksburg. Peter Cozzens presents here the first book-length study of these two complex and vicious battles. Drawing on extensive primary research, he details the tactical stories of Iuka--where nearly one-third of those engaged fell--and Corinth--fought under brutally oppressive conditions--analyzing troop movements down to the regimental level. He also provides compelling portraits of Generals Grant, Rosecrans, Van Dorn, and Price, exposing the ways in which their clashing ambitions and antipathies affected the outcome of the campaign. Finally, he draws out the larger, strategic implications of the battles of Iuka and Corinth, exploring their impact on the fate of the northern Mississippi campaign, and by extension, the fate of the Confederacy.
Download or read book The Mississippi River Campaign 1861 1863 written by Benton Rain Patterson and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2010-08-23 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Telling the story of the Civil War's Mississippi River Campaign through the experiences of leading officers, ordinary soldiers, and civilians, this book explains how the river campaign came to be one of the key tenets of the Union's strategy and a fundamental contributor to the war's ultimate outcome. It describes the Union's drive down the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois, the drive up the river from the Gulf of Mexico, and the capturing of key cities and rebel fortifications along the way, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Memphis, Vicksburg, and finally, Port Hudson, Louisiana. The text is supplemented with 24 historical photographs from the Library of Congress and the National Archives.
Download or read book The Vicksburg Campaign written by Christopher Richard Gabel and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Vicksburg Campaign, November 1862-July 1863 continues the series of campaign brochures commemorating our national sacrifices during the American Civil War. Author Christopher R. Gabel examines the operations for the control of Vicksburg, Mississippi. President Abraham Lincoln called Vicksburg "the key," and indeed it was as control of the Mississippi River depended entirely on the taking of this Confederate stronghold.
Download or read book The Civil War in Mississippi written by Michael B. Ballard and published by Heritage of Mississippi. This book was released on 2014-09-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the first Union attack on Vicksburg in the spring of 1862 through Benjamin Grierson's last raid through Mississippi in late 1864 and early 1865, this book traces the campaigns, fighting, and causes and effects of armed conflict in central and North Mississippi, where major campaigns were waged and fighting occurred.
Download or read book Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 written by O. Edward Cunningham and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2009-06-25 with total page 724 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “May well be the best, most perceptive and authoritative account of the Battle of Shiloh.” —The Weekly Standard The bloody and decisive two-day battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862 changed the entire course of the American Civil War. The stunning Northern victory thrust Union commander Ulysses S. Grant into the national spotlight, claimed the life of Confederate commander Albert S. Johnston, and forever buried the notion that the Civil War would be a short conflict. The conflagration had its roots in the strong Union advance during the winter of 1861-1862 that resulted in the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. The offensive collapsed General Johnston’s advanced line in Kentucky and forced him to withdraw all the way to northern Mississippi. Anxious to attack the enemy, Johnston began concentrating Southern forces at Corinth, a major railroad center just below the Tennessee border. His bold plan called for his Army of the Mississippi to march north and destroy General Grant’s Army of the Tennessee before it could link up with another Union army on the way to join him. On the morning of April 6, Johnston boasted to his subordinates, “Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee!” They nearly did so. Johnston’s sweeping attack hit the unsuspecting Federal camps at Pittsburg Landing and routed the enemy from position after position as they fell back toward the Tennessee River. Johnston’s death in the Peach Orchard, however, coupled with stubborn Federal resistance, widespread confusion, and Grant’s dogged determination to hold the field, saved the Union army from destruction. The arrival of General Don C. Buell’s reinforcements that night turned the tide of battle. The next day, Grant seized the initiative and attacked, driving the Confederates from the field. Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war, with nearly 24,000 killed, wounded, and missing. Edward Cunningham, a young Ph.D. candidate, researched and wrote Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 in 1966. Though it remained unpublished, many Shiloh experts and park rangers consider it the best overall examination of the battle ever written. Indeed, Shiloh historiography is just now catching up with Cunningham, who was decades ahead of modern scholarship. Now, Western Civil War historians Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith have resurrected this beautifully written, deeply researched manuscript from undeserved obscurity. Fully edited and richly annotated with updated citations and observations, original maps, and a complete order of battle and table of losses, it represents battle history at its finest.
Download or read book The Night the War Was Lost written by Charles L. Dufour and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Long before the Confederacy was crushed militarily, it was defeated economically," writes Charles L. Dufour. He contends that with the fall of the critical city of New Orleans in spring 1862 the South lost the Civil War, although fighting would continueøfor three more years. On the Mississippi River, below New Orleans, in the predawn of April 24, 1862, David Farragut with fourteen gunboats ran past two forts to capture the South's principal seaport. Vividly descriptive, The Night the War Was Lost is also very human in its portrayal of terrified citizens and leaders occasionally rising to heroism. In a swift-moving narrative, Dufour explains the reasons for the seizure of New Orleans and describes its results.
Download or read book The Real Horse Soldiers written by Timothy B. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2020-02-08 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This epic account is as thrilling and fast-paced as the raid itself and will quickly rival, if not surpass, Dee Brown’s Grierson’s Raid as the standard.” —Terrence J. Winschel, historian (ret.), Vicksburg National Military Park Winner, Operational/Battle History, Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Book Award Winner, Fletcher Pratt Literary Award, Civil War Round Table of New York There were other simultaneous operations to distract Confederate attention from the real threat posed by U. S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee. Benjamin Grierson’s operation, however, mainly conducted with two Illinois cavalry regiments, has become the most famous, and for good reason: For 16 days (April 17 to May 2) Grierson led Confederate pursuers on a high-stakes chase through the entire state of Mississippi, entering the northern border with Tennessee and exiting its southern border with Louisiana. Throughout, he displayed outstanding leadership and cunning, destroyed railroad tracks, burned trestles and bridges, freed slaves, and created as much damage and chaos as possible. Grierson’s Raid broke a vital Confederate rail line at Newton Station that supplied Vicksburg and, perhaps most importantly, consumed the attention of the Confederate high command. While Confederate Lt. Gen. John Pemberton at Vicksburg and other Southern leaders looked in the wrong directions, Grant moved his entire Army of the Tennessee across the Mississippi River below Vicksburg, spelling the doom of that city, the Confederate chances of holding the river, and perhaps the Confederacy itself. Based upon years of research and presented in gripping, fast-paced prose, Timothy B. Smith’s The Real Horse Soldiers captures the high drama and tension of the 1863 horse soldiers in a modern, comprehensive, academic study. Readers will find it fills a wide void in Civil War literature.
Download or read book Staff Ride Handbook For The Vicksburg Campaign December 1862 July 1863 Illustrated Edition written by Dr. Christopher Gabel and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes over 30 maps and Illustrations The Staff Ride Handbook for the Vicksburg Campaign, December 1862-July 1863, provides a systematic approach to the analysis of this key Civil War campaign. Part I describes the organization of the Union and Confederate Armies, detailing their weapons, tactics, and logistical, engineer, communications, and medical support. It also includes a description of the U.S. Navy elements that featured so prominently in the campaign. Part II consists of a campaign overview that establishes the context for the individual actions to be studied in the field. Part III consists of a suggested itinerary of sites to visit in order to obtain a concrete view of the campaign in its several phases. For each site, or “stand,” there is a set of travel directions, a discussion of the action that occurred there, and vignettes by participants in the campaign that further explain the action and which also allow the student to sense the human “face of battle.” Part IV provides practical information on conducting a Staff Ride in the Vicksburg area, including sources of assistance and logistical considerations. Appendix A outlines the order of battle for the significant actions in the campaign. Appendix B provides biographical sketches of key participants. Appendix C provides an overview of Medal of Honor conferral in the campaign. An annotated bibliography suggests sources for preliminary study.
Download or read book Perryville written by Kenneth W. Noe and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2001-09-21 with total page 669 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Seaborg Civil War Prize: “Impressively researched . . . will please many readers, especially those who enjoy exciting battle histories.” ―Journal of Military History On October 8, 1862, Union and Confederate forces clashed near Perryville in what would be the largest battle ever fought on Kentucky soil. The climax of a campaign that began two months before in northern Mississippi, Perryville came to be recognized as the high-water mark of the western Confederacy. Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle is the definitive account of this important conflict. While providing all the parry and thrust one might expect from an excellent battle narrative, the book also reflects the new trends in Civil War history in its concern for ordinary soldiers and civilians caught in the slaughterhouse. The last chapter, unique among Civil War battle narratives, even discusses the battle’s veterans, their families, efforts to preserve the battlefield, and the many ways Americans have remembered and commemorated Perryville. “This superb book unravels the complexities of Perryville, but discloses these military details within their social and political contexts. These considerations greatly enrich our understanding of war, history, and human endeavor.” —Virginia Quarterly Review “It should remain the definitive work of the Perryville campaign for many years.” —Bowling Green Daily News
Download or read book Shiloh written by Timothy B. Smith and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2016-10-07 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical moment in the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh has been the subject of many books. However, none has told the story of Shiloh as Timothy Smith does in this volume, the first comprehensive history of the two-day battle in April 1862—a battle so fluid and confusing that its true nature has eluded a clear narrative telling until now. Unfolding over April 6th and 7th, the Battle of Shiloh produced the most sprawling and bloody field of combat since the Napoleonic wars, with an outcome that set the Confederacy on the road to defeat. Contrary to previous histories, Smith tells us, the battle was not won or lost on the first day, but rather in the decision-making of the night that followed and in the next day’s fighting. Devoting unprecedented attention to the details of that second day, his book shows how the Union’s triumph was far less assured, and much harder to achieve, than has been acknowledged. Smith also employs a new organization strategy to clarify the action. By breaking his analysis of both days’ fighting into separate phases and sectors, he makes it much easier to grasp what was happening in each combat zone, why it unfolded as it did, and how it related to the broader tactical and operational context of the entire battle. The battlefield’s diverse and challenging terrain also comes in for new scrutiny. Through detailed attention to the terrain’s major features—most still visible at the Shiloh National Military Park—Smith is able to track their specific and considerable influence on the actions, and their consequences, over those forty-eight hours. The experience of the soldiers finally finds its place here too, as Smith lets us hear, as never before, the voices of the common man, whether combatant or local civilian, caught up in a historic battle for their lives, their land, their honor, and their homes. “We must this day conquer or perish,” Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston declared on the morning of April 6, 1862. His words proved prophetic, and might serve as an epitaph for the larger war, as we see fully for the first time in this unparalleled and surely definitive history of the Battle of Shiloh.
Download or read book Port Hudson Confederate Bastion on the Mississippi written by Lawrence Lee Hewitt and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 1994-09-01 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the evidence of the site has nearly vanished, Port Hudson, Louisiana, holds a distinct place in Civil War History. Located just north of Baton Rouge, the village was the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River and the site of the longest genuine siege in American military history. In Port Hudson, Confederate Bastion on the Mississippi, Lawrence Hewitt offers a compelling account of the Confederate occupation of Port Hudson in August, 1862, and the Union's efforts to capture the stronghold, culminating in a final unsuccessful assault in May, 1863. Throughout his study, Hewitt offers a colorful narrative account of daily life in the garrison, the commanders' strategies, and the importance of Port Hudson to the war.Wanting to strengthen their hold on Vicksburg, the Confederates begna constructing earthworks for a battery at Port Hudson in early April, 1862. By late summer, the first troops began arriving for duty. As thee soldiers fortified the bluff, they sought to avoid drawing fire from Union naval vessels already present in the area. Throughout their occupation of Port Hudson, the Confederate troops were able to hold their position tenaciously, fighting off Federal efforts to block supply ships by controlling the mouth of the Red River. The Union's failure to starve out the Confederates eventually led them to launch a direct assault on Port Hudson. This attack was unsuccessful and was followed by an equally disastrous siege. Consequently, Port Hudson did not surrender until after the capitulation of Vicksburg in 1863.Hewitt also discusses a unique outcome of this period of the war: the increased enlistment of black soldiers in northern units. According to the author, the newspaper coverage of the charge by black troops at Port Hudson proved to be vital in convincing the northern masses to accept the enlistment of nearly 180,000 black soldiers in the army before the end of the war. Port Hudson will generate renewed interest in and discussion of an important period in Civil War history among scholars and Civil War buffs alike.
Download or read book The Shiloh Campaign written by Steven E. Woodworth and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some 100,000 soldiers fought in the April 1862 battle of Shiloh, and nearly 20,000 men were killed or wounded; more Americans died on that Tennessee battlefield than had died in all the nation’s previous wars combined. In the first book in his new series, Steven E. Woodworth has brought together a group of superb historians to reassess this significant battleandprovide in-depth analyses of key aspects of the campaign and its aftermath. The eight talented contributors dissect the campaign’s fundamental events, many of which have not received adequate attention before now. John R. Lundberg examines the role of Albert Sidney Johnston, the prized Confederate commander who recovered impressively after a less-than-stellar performance at forts Henry and Donelson only to die at Shiloh; Alexander Mendoza analyzes the crucial, and perhaps decisive, struggle to defend the Union’s left; Timothy B. Smith investigates the persistent legend that the Hornet’s Nest was the spot of the hottest fighting at Shiloh; Steven E. Woodworth follows Lew Wallace’s controversial march to the battlefield and shows why Ulysses S. Grant never forgave him; Gary D. Joiner provides the deepest analysis available of action by the Union gunboats; Grady McWhineydescribes P. G. T. Beauregard’s decision to stop the first day’s attack and takes issue with his claim of victory; and Charles D. Grear shows the battle’s impact on Confederate soldiers, many of whom did not consider the battle a defeat for their side. In the final chapter, Brooks D. Simpson analyzes how command relationships—specifically the interactions among Grant, Henry Halleck, William T. Sherman, and Abraham Lincoln—affected the campaign and debunks commonly held beliefs about Grant’s reactions to Shiloh’s aftermath. The Shiloh Campaign will enhance readers’ understanding of a pivotal battle that helped unlock the western theater to Union conquest. It is sure to inspire further study of and debate about one of the American Civil War’s momentous campaigns.
Download or read book Civil War Mississippi written by Michael B. Ballard and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Corinth 1862 written by Timothy B. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A panoramic new look at the critical role of Corinth, Mississippi in the Civil War. Vividly details the nearly year-long campaign that opened the way to Vicksburg and presaged the Confederacy's defeat in the West.
Download or read book The War of the Rebellion written by United States. War Department and published by . This book was released on 1887 with total page 1036 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Official records produced by the armies of the United States and the Confederacy, and the executive branches of their respective governments, concerning the military operations of the Civil War, and prisoners of war or prisoners of state. Also annual reports of military departments, calls for troops, correspondence between national and state governments, correspondence between Union and Confederate officials. The final volume includes a synopsis, general index, special index for various military divisions, and background information on how these documents were collected and published. Accompanied by an atlas.
Download or read book The War of the Rebellion written by United States. War Dept and published by . This book was released on 1884 with total page 1048 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
