1NCCAV
Sergeant
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2016
That is a knowledgable military man's analysis. Hope you find it thought provoking, I have.
Thank you, that was a good, thought provoking post.
That is a knowledgable military man's analysis. Hope you find it thought provoking, I have.
Cavalry raids combined with a strong conventional army could indeed work which is more or less what the Union did especially Giereson's raid.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.
Thank you.Thank you, that was a good, thought provoking post.
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.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.
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.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
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.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.