Fascinating Small Battles

[Sbc]

New Market and the Cadets

 

[Sbc]

I prefer Cowpens for several reasons: 1) I believe Tarleton was hands down a bigger jerk than Ferguson so his defeat was that much sweeter even though unlike Ferguson he personally escaped; 2) More of the "British" at Cowpens really were (or else Scots - same thing under the circumstances), unlike King's Mountain where ONLY Ferguson was really British; 3) mainly, it was an actual field battle with tactics on both sides, not just individual bushwhacking; 4) for once - and maybe the only time in the entire war! - the Americans actually had a plan which worked smoothly and almost how it was conceived - even the near-disaster "retreat" was turned to advantage.

Tarelton did get his comeuppance!

 

[Lost Cause]

Actions around Yorktown/Williamsburg in the East, Grand Gulf in the Deep South, and Pilot Knob in the West.

 

[ErnieMac]

Ligny, Qutre Bras.

Small?

Monterrey Pass (Gettysburg Retreat).
Westport (Price's Raid 1864).
Raymond (Vicksburg Campaign).
Carnifex Ferry (West Virginia).
Cloyd's Mountain and Piedmont (Shenandoah Valley 1864).

 

[RebYell64]

Everything that happened between the Battles of Missionary Ridge and Kennesaw Mountain. Then the constant sniping and skirmishing during the siege of ATL.

Agreed 100% with the addition of Peachtree Creek. Allatoona Pass is one I recently found out about....it's in my backyard! I knew something had happened there but I didn't know how brutal it really was....wish there was more of a marker or some better way to recognize it at the now Lake Allatoona and surrounding area.

 

[Chattahooch33]

Agreed 100% with the addition of Peachtree Creek. Allatoona Pass is one I recently found out about....it's in my backyard! I knew something had happened there but I didn't know how brutal it really was....wish there was more of a marker or some better way to recognize it at the now Lake Allatoona and surrounding area.

Have you been to the park there? It is still relatively new and excellent

 

[RebYell64]

It's been at least a year since I've been there for any extended period of time. I'll have to check it out!

 

[Railgunner52]

Personally, I think we are all in love and fascinated by the large scale battles - Gettysburg, Antietam, Wilderness, Shiloh, and Chickamauga.

But what smaller scale action are you fascinated by? For me, it would be a toss up between Ball's Bluff, the battles that comprised Burnside's North Carolina Expedition, and the September 1863 battle of Sabine Pass in Texas.

Brawner's Farm comes to mind, although some would consider this to be part of the 2ND Battle of Manassas. It was the first fight that the Iron Brigade fought as a unit and they went Toe-to-Toe with Jackson's Troops after Stonewall launched a suprise attack against their column. They did have some help from another brigade in their division ( I forgot who), but any other brigade might have been slaughtered.

The Battle of Helena was a small battle that had huge consequences for the Union, and seems to be greatly overlooked. It was the biggest lopsided victory that the Union had in the War. From what I have read, just under 3,000 Union Troops defeated a force of nearly 17,000 Confederates, and saved Grant from possibly having to abandon his siege of Vicksburg. Apparently this was the last Confederate Offensive in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.

The smaller battles are very interesting as they seem to fill the large gaps in between the big battles.

 

[AUG]

The Battle of Helena was a small battle that had huge consequences for the Union, and seems to be greatly overlooked. It was the biggest lopsided victory that the Union had in the War. From what I have read, just under 3,000 Union Troops defeated a force of nearly 17,000 Confederates, and saved Grant from possibly having to abandon his siege of Vicksburg. Apparently this was the last Confederate Offensive in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.

The Battle of Helena is definitely a fascinating one imo. There's a very detailed chapter on it in "Civil War Arkansas, 1863: Battle for a State" by Mark K. Christ, and that's pretty much the best description of the battle I'm aware of.

It was actually fought on July 4, 1863, the day Vicksburg fell, so it really had little to no impact on things across the river. It was true that Gen. Theophilus Holmes planned to relieve pressure on Vicksburg, however the chance of doing so by attacking Helena was small. It was really one last desperate attempt by Trans-Miss. department commander Kirby Smith to do something for Vicksburg west of the river, when there really wasn't much that could be done at that point.

And it was actually not that lopsided of a battle; Holmes had over 7,600 men at his disposal and the the Federal garrison at Helena consisted of a little over 4,000. Holmes sent his men on a head-on frontal assault over rough ground on several fortified hills or bluffs around the city. The fighting was very intense and they managed to temporarily breakthrough at one point, though suffered heavy losses and were quickly driven back out. The general opinion among the Confederates afterwards - having learned that Vicksburg surrendered the same day they made that attack - was that it was all for nothing, and most of the blame was placed on Holmes. And Helena may have been the last Confederate offensive in Arkansas, but was not the last in the Trans-Mississippi.

 

[Railgunner52]

Slightly different than what I've read, but very interesting all the same. Thanks for the recommendation on the book. I'll have to check it out. What was the Last Offensive the Confederates launched in the Trans-Mississippi?

 

[Railgunner52]

New Market and the Cadets

New Market was a good one! Have you seen the Netflix Movie "The Field of Lost Shoes"? I thought it was pretty good considering it was a Netflix Special.

 

[AUG]

Slightly different than what I've read, but very interesting all the same. Thanks for the recommendation on the book. I'll have to check it out. What was the Last Offensive the Confederates launched in the Trans-Mississippi?

Joe Shelby's Raid later in 1863 and Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition/Raid in fall of 1864. There were also some small raids by Stand Watie in the Indian Territory (Cabin Creek, etc.), but Price's Missouri Expedition in 1864 was the last major Confederate offensive in the Trans-Mississippi.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

The Battles of Rowlett's Station and Munfordville, Kentucky.

The state of Kentucky, the Civil War Trust and private donors have done a great job preserving and interrupting these two American Civil War battles.

Confederate Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry of the 8th Texas Rangers Cavalry unit was mortally wounded at the Battle of Rowlett's Station.

Bill

 

[Sbc]

New Market was a good one! Have you seen the Netflix Movie "The Field of Lost Shoes"? I thought it was pretty good considering it was a Netflix Special.

Will have to watch it.