- Joined
- Feb 15, 2015
- Location
- New York, New York
While watching an episode of "Lonesome Dove - The Series" (Western TV show that aired in the late 90s) this weekend one of the main characters is a Southerner from Virginia who fought in the Civil War (14th Va. Regiment). The US Army comes to the small Montana frontier town and a captain stops to play poker in his saloon. The Southerner (ironically named Clay Mosby) spies the Captain's silver cigar case as one his father owned. Seems Sheridan's men not only burned his family plantation home, but also killed his father, mother and wife.
My question is while I do know Sheridan's Valley Campaign of burning every barn and field to cripple the Confederacy took place in the fall of 1864, I had to wonder the veracity of the army actually killing civilians so brutally (Mr. Mosby claims his father died at the end of a bayonet) and its implied his wife was raped and murdered. I did some digging this morning but all I could turn up was Sheridan left women and children homeless and stole their valuables and livestock. Was this scenario created as a plot device or is there any credence to this storyline?
A big thank you in advance to anyone who could shed some light on this question!
My question is while I do know Sheridan's Valley Campaign of burning every barn and field to cripple the Confederacy took place in the fall of 1864, I had to wonder the veracity of the army actually killing civilians so brutally (Mr. Mosby claims his father died at the end of a bayonet) and its implied his wife was raped and murdered. I did some digging this morning but all I could turn up was Sheridan left women and children homeless and stole their valuables and livestock. Was this scenario created as a plot device or is there any credence to this storyline?
A big thank you in advance to anyone who could shed some light on this question!