Raymond

[tony_gunter]

I wouldn't disagree with you at all if this were a "normal" campaign. I know wagons were always in short supply in the DMEL and I think the Confederate use of railroads and rivers to move troops could make that SOP of regimental wagons less likely.

Even with regimental wagons I don't think they would have the capacity to sustain a brigade in active operations including combat.

Just some random considerations:

1) Somebody had wagons, because Johnston spent about 24 hours loading them up with goods prior to evacuation.

2) Gregg may have had a couple days rations cooked already. Remember, his troops spent a full day of R&R resting and swimming in the Pearl River. I think the primary concern for marching troops was to get on the road at first light to escape the heat.

 

[alan polk]

Just some random considerations:

1) Somebody had wagons, because Johnston spent about 24 hours loading them up with goods prior to evacuation.

2) Gregg may have had a couple days rations cooked already. Remember, his troops spent a full day of R&R resting and swimming in the Pearl River. I think the primary concern for marching troops was to get on the road at first light to escape the heat.

I just find it difficult to think that the thousands of men comprising Gregg's task force were expected to supply themselves on the go—and to even do so without wagons on top of that. If they actually did so for 70 some-odd hours —marching and fighting a severe battle— while keeping relative order would be, in my mind, unprecedented.

 

[danny]

Lol. Gotta be quicker!

Any thoughts on why Gregg would deviate from his orders?

You think it possible that W Adams w/ his command had gone to Jackson for refit/remount?

As @tony_gunter rightly pointed out, Adams did go silent for about 48 hours. 05.08-05.10 I think. I haven't validated that or mapped his movements. I was hoping Tony had already done that for me!

I'm rapidly out growing "quick."

 

[JohnG0609]

unprecedented.

An off the cuff response but I would suggest the entire Maryland Campaign as a precedent.

 

[JohnG0609]

Somebody had wagons,

I agree and I had addressed this in an earlier post, very speculative but Mimms, as the QM, had his orders too. Evacuate everything of military value from Jackson. Mimms was not under any order to provide transportation to Gregg.

2) Gregg may have had a couple days rations cooked already. Remember, his troops spent a full day of R&R resting and swimming in the Pearl River. I think the primary concern for marching troops was to get on the road at first light to escape the heat.

That is a great observation and had not occurred to me. Certainly possible if not yet conclusive. Probably only way to get to the bottom of this is a trip to the NA to dig into the DMEL records. But I think we have definitely discovered something that as thus far had been unnoticed and unexplained. It's relative importance may be major or may be minor. We can't know its significance until we know how it occurred.

I'm just a little hung up on Gregg's decision to get under way in 2 hours and contrary to his orders of "three days rations". The order required promptness, but that is far from "immediately," or "without delay." To me, the order didn't convey any sense of emergency.

 

[JohnG0609]

I'm rapidly out growing "quick."

Lol, I'll make a stab in the dark that you're the old guy in the family pic.