{⋆★⋆} MG Van Dorn, Earl

Earl Van Dorn​

Born: September 17, 1820

Birth Place: Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi

Father: Peter Aaron Van Dorn 1773 – 1837

(Buried: Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi)​

Mother: Sophia Donelson Caffery

(Buried: Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi)​

Wife: Caroline Godbold 1827 – 1876

(Buried: Godbold – Webb – Simms Cemetery, Washington Co., Alabama)​

Children:

Olivia Van Dorn Lumsden 1852 – 1874​

(Buried: Godbold – Webb – Simms Cemetery, Washington Co., Alabama)​

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Earl Van Dorn Jr. 1854 – 1884​

(Buried: Monroe City Cemetery, Monroe, Louisiana)​

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Percy Goodbread Van Dorn 1856 – 1879​

(Buried: Wrightsboro Cemetery, Wrightsboro, Texas)​

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Lammie Belle Van Dorn Carr 1858 – 1930​

(Buried: Mission Burial Park South, San Antonio, Texas)​

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Douglas Van Dorn 1861 – 1906

(Buried: Wrightsboro Cemetery, Wrightsboro, Texas)​

Education:

1842: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (52nd​ out of 56)​

Occupation before War:

1842 – 1861: Served in the United States Army, rising to Major​

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1847 – 1848: Aide to General P. F. Smith​

Civil War Career:

1861: Brigadier General in the Mississippi State Militia​

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1861: Major General, & Commander of Mississippi State Militia​

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1861: Colonel of 1st​ Confederate Cavalry, Regulars Regiment

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1861: Brigadier General of Confederate Army, Infantry​

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1861 – 1863: Major General of Confederate Army, Infantry​

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1862: Confederate Commander at Holly Springs Raid​

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1862: Commander during the Battle of Pea Ridge​

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1862: Commander during the Second Battle of Corinth​

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1863: Confederate Cavalry Commander Dept. of Mississippi, and East Louisiana​

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1863: Successful during the Battle of Thompson's Station​

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1863: Shot at his headquarters at Spring Hill, Tennessee​

Died: May 7, 1863

Place of Death: Spring Hill, Tennessee

Age at time of Death: 42 years old

Cause of Death: Wounds to the head due to bullet shot from citizen

Burial Place: Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi

 

[Pollaco]

The Star of the West had been commissioned to transport the troops marching to Indianola.But it was "detained"

 

[GwilymT]

You may have me on part of that one. He didn't become a CS colonel until March 16, 1861. The seizures of US property, arsenals forts and such, in Texas happened mainly the months before his commission. But Van Dorn was a colonel when the Star of the West was seized.

Right on, I wasn't sure of the timeline.

 

[DixieRifles]

Yes, Van Dorn's defeat of Grant restored some of his reputation and brought back some of the expectation for him as well. Interestingly enough, Grant's only two defeats came from Robert E. Lee and Earl Van Dorn.

You could also add General William Loring who stopped the naval fleet and Grant's troops at Ft Pemberton on March 19, 1863.

 

[tony_gunter]

That raid halted Grant's overland offensive to Jackson in its tracks and ended any threat by Grant to Vicksburg until May of 63.

Actually, Halleck and Lincoln had already halted Grant's overland offensive in favor of Lincoln's pet project, a riverine direct assault which ended with the repulse at Chickasaw Bayou.

All Grant was doing at the time was pulling as many troops as he could to the front to maintain Pemberton's attention, which is part of the reason why his rear was so vulnerable (the other being that he was denied permission to rebuild the more easily defended rail line back to Memphis, because ... again ... Lincoln wanted Vicksburg taken by river). Grant intended to follow Pemberton if he abandoned Grenada, but that was completely contingent on Sherman's success at Chickasaw Bayou. For all purposes, Grant was really just waiting and watching, having been directly ordered to not proceed any farther south.

 

[Luke Freet]

Actually, Halleck and Lincoln had already halted Grant's overland offensive in favor of Lincoln's pet project, a riverine direct assault which ended with the repulse at Chickasaw Bayou.

All Grant was doing at the time was pulling as many troops as he could to the front to maintain Pemberton's attention, which is part of the reason why his rear was so vulnerable (the other being that he was denied permission to rebuild the more easily defended rail line back to Memphis, because ... again ... Lincoln wanted Vicksburg taken by river). Grant intended to follow Pemberton if he abandoned Grenada, but that was completely contingent on Sherman's success at Chickasaw Bayou. For all purposes, Grant was really just waiting and watching, having been directly ordered to not proceed any farther south.

No, Grant had planned a coordinated offensive between himself and Sherman, and had pushed for this offensive because McClernand was back north recruiting more troops; Grant feared his rival for command, who was on better terms with Lincoln, would usurp his command if he did not succeed and take Vicksburg then and there. And because of that, the fiascos at Holly Springs and CHickasaw Bayou occured.

 

[tony_gunter]

No, Grant had planned a coordinated offensive between himself and Sherman, and had pushed for this offensive because McClernand was back north recruiting more troops; Grant feared his rival for command, who was on better terms with Lincoln, would usurp his command if he did not succeed and take Vicksburg then and there. And because of that, the fiascos at Holly Springs and CHickasaw Bayou occured.

That's not true. Check out Papers of Ulysses S Grant Volume 7.

Grant was repeatedly ordered to not go too far south. Finally, Halleck directly ordered him to stop his progress and send as many men as possible downriver under Sherman.

Halleck directed the objective, the force, and the commander of the Chickasaw Bayou expedition. Grant's only participation involved trying to hold Pemberton's attention at Grenada, and following him if he ordered a retreat.

 

[tony_gunter]

No, Grant had planned a coordinated offensive between himself and Sherman, and had pushed for this offensive because McClernand was back north recruiting more troops; Grant feared his rival for command, who was on better terms with Lincoln, would usurp his command if he did not succeed and take Vicksburg then and there. And because of that, the fiascos at Holly Springs and CHickasaw Bayou occured.

Also, if you look at the map, Grant's supply line ran from Memphis to Grand Junction to Holly Springs to Oxford, dangerously extended on Grant's left flank.

Grant asked Halleck for the resources needed to move that to the direct Memphis railroad and was denied because, unbeknownst to him, Lincoln had already ordered a river campaign against Vicksburg, and Halleck had decided that Grant's strategic objective was strictly limited to holding the line from Memphis to Corinth.

Of course, Halleck only belatedly informed Grant of these decisions.

Moving the supply line to the direct route would have placed it well out of harm's way on the left flank, and the unfordable Yazoo would have screened it on the right flank.

 

[danny]

In 1861, in Virginia, a correspondent described Earl Van Dorn, "The Gen is rather under-sized—of a spare frame, erect & graceful in his movements; his mustache is long but light; otherwise he is closely shaven, which is one cause of his youthful appearance. His uniform was a gray tunic, with buff collar & cuffs, heavy gold braiding on the sleeves & three stars on each side of his collar, the one in the center being the largest; as he drew back on his buck gauntlets; I caught sight of a cross, embroidered thereon in scarlet silk an ancient symbol of rank."
Maj Gen Dabney Maury described him, "He used to ride a beautiful bay Andalusia horse, & as he came galloping along the lines, with his yellow hair waving in the wind & his bright face lighted with kindliness & courage, we all loved to see him. His figure was lithe & graceful, his stature did not exceed five feet eight inches, but his clear blue eyes, his firm set mouth, with white strong teeth, his well-cut nose with expanding nostrils, gave assurance of a man whom men could trust & follow." With his classical education, he was erudite & cultured; his writing was laced with French & Latin.
In Nov of 1899, Emily Miller, with the help of her son T. Marshall Miller, had her brother's body disinterred. She accompanied the casket by rail to Port Gibson for reburial next to his father in Wintergreen Cemetery, both stones facing south toward the Van Dorn home, as the Judge wished. At Port Gibson, the casket was opened, after more than 30 years of interment, & the remains were found to be in an excellent state of preservation. "The form was clad in the Confederate gray uniform of a Maj-Gen, the belt, buckles & epaulettes being intact, & around his shoulders were the soft golden curls familiar to soldiers on a hundred battlefields as the intrepid warrior rode at the front of his men & urged them to battle."