Were the grand cavalry raids worth the effort?

Sure, I'm not really objecting to that idea. In a conventional war it's always been that way; on to Berlin, Tokyo, etc. But then again, was the Confederacy ever going to win by seizing and holding Union territory? It seems to me that the Confederacy was never going to win in any conventional sense, it's only hope was in not losing. In other words, hanging on until the Union thought it was no longer worth the cost and went home.

That has pretty much been the strategy of every force when facing a larger army; Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc. They can never "beat" the US or the British Empire in any conventional sense, just hang on and keep bleeding them until they get tired and go home. Sometimes it works.

So, could cavalry raids, wisely used, have worked toward that end? Perhaps they could have if the Confederacy had been able to replace the losses in horses.
Cavalry raids combined with a strong conventional army could indeed work which is more or less what the Union did especially Giereson's raid.
Leftyhunter
 
Stoneman's 1865 Raid has not been mentioned on this thread, although there have been other threads about it. IIRC, the gist of those threads was that it needed to happen, even if a Union victory was practically guaranteed by that point.
 
@major bill ,
Not sure if this occurred but theoretically the most efficient way for an ACW era cavalry to disrupt a rail road would be to utilize light horse drawn artillery and ambush locamotives. Especially in the case of the Confederacy it was very difficult to replace locamotives which has far as I know the Confederacy could not manufacture. Frequent raids with horse drawn artillery should be very effective in disrupting rail traffic.
Leftyhunter
 
Johnsonville. Union Supply Operations on the Tennessee River & the Battle of Johnsonville, November 4-5, 1864 by Jerry T. Wooten & With Blood & Fire: Life Behind Union Lines in Middle Tennessee 1863-65 by Michael R. Bradley. After you have read these books (that are available from Amazon) you will know exactly how many ways I have it on this subject. Dr. Bradley's book in particular is an eyeopening window into the vicious guerrilla/counterinsurgency war that was fought along the Nashville & Chattanooga. It will become instantly apparent that regular Confederate cavalry raids were no serious threat to RR operations in Middle Tennessee. The RR's were under constant sustained attack throughout the war by "banditti." I like the treatment given by R.E. Riegel in Federal Operations of Southern Railroads during the Civil War. Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 9, No.2 PP 126-138 online as a quick overview of RR operations in the Western Theater. These sources will definitely inform your understanding of civil War RR operations in Middle Tennessee.
I just made a post and didn't read your excellent post. No doubt frequent cavalry raids with mounted light artillery would of severely disrupted enemy railway traffic.
Leftyhunter
 
I just made a post and didn't read your excellent post. No doubt frequent cavalry raids with mounted light artillery would of severely disrupted enemy railway traffic.
Leftyhunter
What they did was place I.E.D.'s under the track & blow up the engine. In The Supply for Tommorow Must Not Fail, The Civil War of Captain Simon Perkins Jr., a Union Quartermaster by Lenettte S. Taylor an engine & ten cars were destroyed between Nashville & Murfreesboro by an 'infernal device.' A brutal guerrilla war was fought all along the line from Murfreesboro to Chattanooga. Groups & individuals who assisted them were hunted down & killed on the spot. Houses were burned for miles extending out from the rail line. The reaction to any attack on the N&CRR was iron fisted. Whatever it took, anybody who threatened Sherman's supply line was rundown & exterminated. This was civil war in its purest form.
 
Grierson's raid was worth it. It allowed Grant to march past Vicksbug and land on the eastern shore of the Mississippi at Bruinsburg. Grierson's subsequent performance at Port Hudson was less sterling.

Morgan's raid did tie down some Union resources, but didn't have much impact.
 
Grierson's raid was worth it. It allowed Grant to march past Vicksbug and land on the eastern shore of the Mississippi at Bruinsburg. Grierson's subsequent performance at Port Hudson was less sterling.

Morgan's raid did tie down some Union resources, but didn't have much impact.
Marmaduke and Jo Shelpy did a fair amount of cavalry raiding in Missouri. At the end of the day not sure what they actually accomplished.
Leftyhunter
 
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