tony_gunter
2nd Lieutenant
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2011
- Location
- Mississippi
Forrest had several brilliant victories, and Sooy Smith draws some well-deserved criticism for his command in the west, but the traditional telling of the Battle of Okolona seems to me to be pure Forrest fan fiction.
If I understand Smith's orders correctly, he was under affirmative orders to wait for an additional brigade and proceed south by February 1st, destroying the rail and materiel along the M&O before meeting Sherman's main body in Meridian.
In a series of events that would foreshadow Sherman's inability to have cavalry in place for a major expedition *cough Snake Creek Gap*, inclement weather delayed the cavalry reinforcement on which Smith was waiting. Having information that Forrest was in command of a force equivalent to his own, Smith made the executive decision to await their arrival, missing his date of departure.
If I'm reading the order of battle correctly, Smith was wise to wait. A participant in Forrest's movement to meet Smith writes of the order of battle:
"Thursday, 11th.-The regiment moved down to Oxford. Here our wagon train, which we had left on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, met us. The Second Tennessee was attached to the Third Brigade of Forrest's Cavalry, commanded by Colonel T. H. Bell. We now for the first time belong to a brigade composed of Tennesseans. We found that Major-General Forrest had organized his command into four brigades, as follows:
The First, commanded by Brigadier-General R. V. Richardson, was composed of five regiments, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J. U. Green, Colonels F. M. Stewart, T. H. Logwood, and J. J. Neely, and Major Marshall; and two battalions, commanded by Street and Bennett, all West Tennessee troops, one thousand five hundred rank and file. The Second, Colonel Robert McCulloch (Second Mis- souri) commanding, was made up of the Second Missouri Regiment (commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel R. A. McCulloch), Leo Willis' Texan Battalion, Colonel W. W. Faulkner's Kentucky Regiment, Keizer's Tennessee Battalion, A. H. Chalmers' Mississippi Battalion, and a fragment of the Second Arkansas Cavalry (commanded by Captain F. M. Cochran). The Third, under Colonel Tyree H. Bell, was constituted of Colonels Russell's, Wilson's, and Barteau's Tennessee regiments. And the Fourth, commanded by Colonel J. E. Forrest, was formed of McDonald's Battalion (General For- rest's old regiment), W. L. Duckworth's Tennessee Regiment, John McGuirk's Mississippi Regiment, the Fifth Mississippi Regiment and Duff's Mississippi Battalion-one thousand strong. McCulloch's and Forrest's Brigades were organized
into a division, commanded by Brigadier-General James
R. Chalmers."
That's at least 4600 men in four brigades. Smith has just over 5,000 and decides to await his full complement of 7,000. As a result, Smith begins riding south on February 11th, one day after he was to have met Sherman in Meridian.
Smith traverses 160 miles in 9 days, tearing up rail, burning cotton, and liberating slaves. After clashing with elements of Forrest's command at West Point, he finds that Forrest has split his command into three columns to block every water crossing south. Here he receives word that Sherman has already left Meridian, which will undoubtedly free Jackson's cavalry division to support Forrest. On the 21st, He feigns an assault on Ellis bridge while having his main body begin the trip back to Memphis.
Forrest meanwhile was hoping to lure Smith across a creek south of Tibbee where the hills beyond would restrict Smith's crossing and expose him to defeat in detail by Forrest's main body of 2500. It took two hours for Forrest to realize that Smith had withdrawn north, after which Forrest mounted a pursuit.
To put additional space between himself and Forrest, Smith left a rearguard at Okolona with instructions to perform a delaying action. The troops constructed breastworks on hills commanding a field and waited. Forrest arrived with his vanguard and made multiple charges, breaking the federal line. The rearguard withdrew and formed again multiple times, chewing up the balance of a day while Smith's main body continued riding away. The next morning, Forrest's men, exhausted and running low on ammo, gave up the chase. Smith continued on to Memphis mostly unmolested.
This doesn't seem to match the narrative that we've been fed: Forrest with a mere 2,500 men stopped an overwhelming Federal force that had to flee for their lives! Instead, Forrest with only a 1.5-to-1 disadvantage in men allowed Smith to cut a path of destruction 160 miles long through Mississippi and slip away before Jackson's cavalry division could pitch in, then got his brother killed by making repeated frontal assaults against a small rearguard force.
If I understand Smith's orders correctly, he was under affirmative orders to wait for an additional brigade and proceed south by February 1st, destroying the rail and materiel along the M&O before meeting Sherman's main body in Meridian.
In a series of events that would foreshadow Sherman's inability to have cavalry in place for a major expedition *cough Snake Creek Gap*, inclement weather delayed the cavalry reinforcement on which Smith was waiting. Having information that Forrest was in command of a force equivalent to his own, Smith made the executive decision to await their arrival, missing his date of departure.
If I'm reading the order of battle correctly, Smith was wise to wait. A participant in Forrest's movement to meet Smith writes of the order of battle:
"Thursday, 11th.-The regiment moved down to Oxford. Here our wagon train, which we had left on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, met us. The Second Tennessee was attached to the Third Brigade of Forrest's Cavalry, commanded by Colonel T. H. Bell. We now for the first time belong to a brigade composed of Tennesseans. We found that Major-General Forrest had organized his command into four brigades, as follows:
The First, commanded by Brigadier-General R. V. Richardson, was composed of five regiments, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J. U. Green, Colonels F. M. Stewart, T. H. Logwood, and J. J. Neely, and Major Marshall; and two battalions, commanded by Street and Bennett, all West Tennessee troops, one thousand five hundred rank and file. The Second, Colonel Robert McCulloch (Second Mis- souri) commanding, was made up of the Second Missouri Regiment (commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel R. A. McCulloch), Leo Willis' Texan Battalion, Colonel W. W. Faulkner's Kentucky Regiment, Keizer's Tennessee Battalion, A. H. Chalmers' Mississippi Battalion, and a fragment of the Second Arkansas Cavalry (commanded by Captain F. M. Cochran). The Third, under Colonel Tyree H. Bell, was constituted of Colonels Russell's, Wilson's, and Barteau's Tennessee regiments. And the Fourth, commanded by Colonel J. E. Forrest, was formed of McDonald's Battalion (General For- rest's old regiment), W. L. Duckworth's Tennessee Regiment, John McGuirk's Mississippi Regiment, the Fifth Mississippi Regiment and Duff's Mississippi Battalion-one thousand strong. McCulloch's and Forrest's Brigades were organized
into a division, commanded by Brigadier-General James
R. Chalmers."
That's at least 4600 men in four brigades. Smith has just over 5,000 and decides to await his full complement of 7,000. As a result, Smith begins riding south on February 11th, one day after he was to have met Sherman in Meridian.
Smith traverses 160 miles in 9 days, tearing up rail, burning cotton, and liberating slaves. After clashing with elements of Forrest's command at West Point, he finds that Forrest has split his command into three columns to block every water crossing south. Here he receives word that Sherman has already left Meridian, which will undoubtedly free Jackson's cavalry division to support Forrest. On the 21st, He feigns an assault on Ellis bridge while having his main body begin the trip back to Memphis.
Forrest meanwhile was hoping to lure Smith across a creek south of Tibbee where the hills beyond would restrict Smith's crossing and expose him to defeat in detail by Forrest's main body of 2500. It took two hours for Forrest to realize that Smith had withdrawn north, after which Forrest mounted a pursuit.
To put additional space between himself and Forrest, Smith left a rearguard at Okolona with instructions to perform a delaying action. The troops constructed breastworks on hills commanding a field and waited. Forrest arrived with his vanguard and made multiple charges, breaking the federal line. The rearguard withdrew and formed again multiple times, chewing up the balance of a day while Smith's main body continued riding away. The next morning, Forrest's men, exhausted and running low on ammo, gave up the chase. Smith continued on to Memphis mostly unmolested.
This doesn't seem to match the narrative that we've been fed: Forrest with a mere 2,500 men stopped an overwhelming Federal force that had to flee for their lives! Instead, Forrest with only a 1.5-to-1 disadvantage in men allowed Smith to cut a path of destruction 160 miles long through Mississippi and slip away before Jackson's cavalry division could pitch in, then got his brother killed by making repeated frontal assaults against a small rearguard force.
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