Fighting Men

I would have to consider Sam Hildebrand, he had 80 notches on Kill-Devil, and had a single minded determination once you were on his list. As he said "“I make no apology to mankind for my acts of retaliation; I make no whining appeal to the world for sympathy. I sought revenge and I found it; the key of hell was not suffered to rust in the lock while I was on the war path.”
That is one hell of a quote. One word springs to mind. Implacable.
 
Newt Knight was able to live to a ripe old age in Jones County Mississippi and openly defied the miscegenation laws and no one touched him. Knight during the ACW openly killed a Confederate Major at his home plus other Confederates and lived amongst them for decade's afterwards right until the 1920s and no one got in his face.
Leftyhunter
If thats some qualification would have to nominate Capt David Poole, who was known to kill Germans and slaves during the war and hop on dead Union soldiers to count them. Yet at the end of the war became something of a celebrity to the Union as a go between to get other guerrillas to surrender. Then became a fairly well to do cattlemen, openly traveling between Missouri and Texas, and later Arizona...........yet despite being well connected to wartime excesses, no one ever "got in his face"

1863 image Sherman Texas
 
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If thats some qualification would have to nominate Capt David Poole, who was known to kill Germans and slaves during the war and hop on dead Union soldiers to count them. Yet at the end of the war became something of a celebrity to the Union as a go between to get other guerrillas to surrender. Then became a fairly well to do cattlemen, openly traveling between Missouri and Texas, and later Arizona...........yet despite being well connected to wartime excesses, no one ever "got in his face"

1863 image Sherman Texas
He probably wasn't that tough, the picture shows him with only five pistols.
I doubt if they were photography props.
 
He probably wasn't that tough, the picture shows him with only five pistols.
I doubt if they were photography props.
I like to think he brought the ZZ Top beard to Texas :D:bounce: :dance:

Could have been the inspiration for Duck Dynasty beards as well...............
 
1. Lt.Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest
2. Brig Gen. Turner Ashby “ The Black Knight “
3. Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton
4. Lt. Col. Rufus Dawes
5. Capt. Martin Van Buren Bates. “ The Kentucky Giant “
6. Private Gamecock “Jake” - 3rd Tennessee ( A Viscious Fighter with his Spurs ! )
 
You know, when I first read accounts of how much armament some of these guys went into battle with, I thought it was just legend...but they really were walking arsenals, and their horse too!
I'm only speaking for the men who joined Quantrill's command, but they didn't start out heavily armed. In 1862, Q allowed one man to join his command because he had his own pistol. I'm assuming it was a revolver, which wasn't a very common thing to have in pre-war Missouri. They were pretty expensive and a farmer didn't have a need for such a thing. They probably had a shotgun, maybe a hunting rifle, and a man of means maybe had a single shot pistol. If someone was in the freighting business, (which was a huge business in western Missouri), hauling goods to Santa Fe or to one of the many western forts, they would be more likely to have a revolver. I remember reading somewhere where the army would sell pistols at cost to emigrants travelling to Oregon or California.

But once the war started, it didn't take long for the guerrillas to acquire revolvers. There's many accounts of the guerrillas being better armed than the Federals chasing them.
 
I'm only speaking for the men who joined Quantrill's command, but they didn't start out heavily armed. In 1862, Q allowed one man to join his command because he had his own pistol. I'm assuming it was a revolver, which wasn't a very common thing to have in pre-war Missouri. They were pretty expensive and a farmer didn't have a need for such a thing. They probably had a shotgun, maybe a hunting rifle, and a man of means maybe had a single shot pistol. If someone was in the freighting business, (which was a huge business in western Missouri), hauling goods to Santa Fe or to one of the many western forts, they would be more likely to have a revolver. I remember reading somewhere where the army would sell pistols at cost to emigrants travelling to Oregon or California.

But once the war started, it didn't take long for the guerrillas to acquire revolvers. There's many accounts of the guerrillas being better armed than the Federals chasing them.

Ah! I know Forrest - who did pay a lot out of his pocket - usually went into a fight with four or five pistols stuck in his belt and a couple more in saddle holsters, a rifle or shotgun, and his saber. He was constantly upgrading at the enemy's cost! They soon became just as well armed, and in some cases better armed, than the Union soldiers.

That's something interesting I didn't know about the wagon trains - selling pistols to the emigrants. My grandfather's family, after pausing to stare at their burned out homes and stables, went from Kentucky to Independence Missouri after the war and headed out for California with a bunch of Mormons...who were quite well armed!
 
Ah! I know Forrest - who did pay a lot out of his pocket - usually went into a fight with four or five pistols stuck in his belt and a couple more in saddle holsters, a rifle or shotgun, and his saber. He was constantly upgrading at the enemy's cost! They soon became just as well armed, and in some cases better armed, than the Union soldiers.

That's something interesting I didn't know about the wagon trains - selling pistols to the emigrants. My grandfather's family, after pausing to stare at their burned out homes and stables, went from Kentucky to Independence Missouri after the war and headed out for California with a bunch of Mormons...who were quite well armed!
Postwar the Mormons had lost two wars and been driven from two states.
 
Bedord Forrest is said to have killed more men in single combat (26) than any other general officer of the Civil War. He had 29 horses shot out from under him in battle. With the possible exception of Forrest, Wade Hampton probably killed more opponents in hand-to-hand combat (13) than any other general officer. At Gettysburg alone, he killed three Federals with his pistol and one with his sword. He then wounded several more with his sword before being struck in the head and hip and forced to leave the field.
There were 18 Lt. Generals appoint in the CSA. Hampton was one of only two officers without previous military experience (the other being Nathan Bedford Forrest) to achieve the rank of lieutenant general in the Confederate service.
 
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I was wondering who the top ten blood and thunder battlefield fighting men were. I'm thinking of Rufus Dawes of the Iron brigade as one such.
This is about raw fighting ability. We often rank generals and whatnot, but who would be the worst man you can imagine to get in a fight with on the battlefield?
As a researcher and author who has thoroughly studied Rufus Dawes, I classify him as a fearless leader of a regiment of tough, dedicated fighters. A subordinate called him “the manliest man of a manly regiment “. Rufus sets the bar as a true citizen soldier - a good comparison (that many can identify with) would be Captain Winters featured in”Band of Brothers”. But as a “blood and thunder” fighting man, my thoughts go to Forrest and Custer.
 
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As a researcher and author who has thoroughly studied Rufus Dawes, I classify him as a fearless leader of a regiment of tough, dedicated fighters. A subordinate called him “the manliest man of a manly regiment “. Rufus sets the bar as a true citizen soldier - a good comparison (that many can identify with) would be Captain Winters featured in”Band of Brothers”. But as a “blood and thunder” fighting man, my thoughts go to Forrest and Custer.

Many folks are nominating Forrest.
At this rate, it looks like he was absolutely the deadliest close combat operator on the field.
I take your point on Dawes. He was a fierce leader of a fierce band of men. I get the Band of brothers reference.
I felt sorry to hear he retired from PTST type symptoms. He was at the sunken lane, or bloody lane fight, I think he was at the railway cutting if I rember.
It doesnt matter how tough you are, you can see too much horror, and it damages the mind.
 
Jackhinson.jpg


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Sniping is not really in the correct league here. It's such a different style as to be incomparable..its not "blood and thunder" fighting. I can hit a grapefruit every time with a 7.62 FN SLR at 300m, but it's not the same as a hand to hand fight.
I'll cede your point. However, I'd fear the man I'll never see, more than the man standing across from me, where I have a chance.
 
I'll cede your point. However, I'd fear the man I'll never see, more than the man standing across from me, where I have a chance.
Everybody hates snipers. The enemy hate them and our own men often regard them as weird, different, kinda spooky and all sorts of things.
Snipers are also never taken alive, and if you're any good, they will send anti snipe teams to hunt you down and kill you.
I have a great respect for snipers, and everybody in or out of uniform fear them with good reason.
 
I will stand by the point that I would not like to have made Jack Hinson mad at me. We might remember that he sometimes scouted for Forrest. Along that line, I consider Hinson a "Sniper" in the modern use of the term as opposed to the "Sharpshooters" used on line. "One shot, one kill" as opposed to harassing's fire. Does anyone know of any others?
 
Everybody hates snipers. The enemy hate them and our own men often regard them as weird, different, kinda spooky and all sorts of things.
Snipers are also never taken alive, and if you're any good, they will send anti snipe teams to hunt you down and kill you.
I have a great respect for snipers, and everybody in or out of uniform fear them with good reason.
I'll go ahead, & admit my bias right now. The service flag that is my current avatar, is for my oldest boy, who is a Sniper :cool:
 
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