Western Theater : Especially Trans-Mississippi Battles.

Buckeye Bill

Captain
Forum Host
Annual Winner
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Ladies and Gents,

I am just curious about members participation on this message board regarding the Western Campaign of the American Civil War, especially the Trans-Mississippi battles. I have posted a ton of threads since 2013 regarding this topic and to be quite honest, most members do not seem interested. I bumped the Battle of Hatchie's Bridge thread and the Battle of Baxter's Springs thread in the past two days. Both threads did not gain any traction, especially with newer members.

Question : Should I continue to post and bump threads involving the Western Campaign, especially the Trans-Mississippi battles?

My Goal : To get members interested in battles not named Gettysburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg or Manassas.

This is not a rant, it is just a curiosity thread. Honestly, it boggles my mind that members aren't more curious about the battles which do not receive a ton of notoriety.

Bill
 
I agree with you completely. It seems that the largest, most well known battles get most of the attention, and while they are certainly worthy of it, I would like to have more emphasis placed on the trans-Mississippi, and other lesser covered fronts.

Thanks!

I love learning about the well known battles and visiting the well known battlefields. But I get an extra kick about learning about the lesser known battles and visiting the lesser known battlefields (ie : Hatchie's Bridge Battlefield in Tennessee). How many members on this board have heard about this battle? Visited this battlefield? Give two flipped cheeseburgers about this battle?

Bill
 
Last edited:
I have recently devoted more attention to studying the trans-Mississippi. The campaigns of Taylor in Louisiana, Price in Missouri, and Shelby in New Mexico among others, while abject failures, are fascinating to learn about. Although I have yet to visit the Hatchie's Bridge battlefield, I did visit some of the battle sites in Arizona and New Mexico this summer.
 
I am almost always interested in Trans Mississippi sites and battles. Of course, living in a town that has so much Civil War history contributes to my interest, and growing up on an old battle site probably does, too. You make it around to many, many more sites than I do, and I always enjoy your photo tours. Please keep them coming!
 
I am almost always interested in Trans Mississippi sites and battles. Of course, living in a town that has so much Civil War history contributes to my interest, and growing up on an old battle site probably does, too. You make it around to many, many more sites than I do, and I always enjoy your photo tours. Please keep them coming!

Thanks, Patrick!

Maybe @CivilWarTalk or @ami can elaborate?

Bill
 
I've noticed the same pattern. I'll occasionally bump a Western Theater or more obscure battle on its anniversary, but generally get few comments before it fades back into the anonymous land of "not-first-page forum topics." LOL Now I'm not complaining...I mean, it is what it is, but sometimes it would be nice to hear more from the experts on the forum on these other battles. I definitely don't consider myself an expert on any of them. My primary interest is in the 2nd Mississippi Infantry and of course it fought in most of the major ANV's battles, so there's plenty of discussion there. But I'm always curious to learn more about the "second, third, and fourth-tier" battles and engagements too. Just my 2-cents...
 
Question : Should I continue to post and bump threads involving the Western Campaign, especially the Trans-Mississippi battles?

My Goal : To get members interested in battles not named Gettysburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg or Manassas.

This is not a rant, it is just a curiosity thread. Honestly, it boggles my mind that members aren't more curious about the battles which do not receive a ton of notoriety.

Bill

I still have the "Great Battles of the Civil War" animated CD-ROM series that TravelBrains put out... a while ago. (Anyone remember or know what happened to them?) It's quite well done with the centerpiece of each being a detailed battle animation that you can zoom in critical areas down to the regimental level. Funnily enough, those four are the battles covered by the series. Teasers were out that Shiloh and Chickamauga were to follow, but I have seen nothing for years. Call me disappointed. This project totally needed expanding to cover lesser-known but crucial encounters west of the Appalachians and west of the Mississippi.

I might not get to them right away, but you know how I feel: I'm still waiting for your travel-log book! :D I want to see any site that you have visited, researched, and/or photographed, especially if it's a battle I'm not up on. As @Patrick H said, "Please keep them coming!"
 
Thanks for the compliments!

But @Coonewah Creek hit the nail on the head!!! It is a pattern and it is a pattern throughout the American Civil War crowd. I personally think the student/fan of the ACW is doing themselves a disservice by not studying the Western Theater, especially the Trans-Mississippi battles.

Just my .02.....
Bill
 
members aren't more curious about the battles which do not receive a ton of notoriety.
Having posted numerous threads regarding Trans-Mississippi places and events, your question has occurred to me on more than one occasion. It can be frustrating but I keep reminding myself the war west of the Mississippi had little if any impact on the final outcome. It's hard for folks to be curious or ask questions if they haven't read and in most cases never heard about the people, places, and events west of the Mississippi.

Your goal and mine may not seem rewarding, but it is important to some of us, so please continue to post and bump threads.
 
Being from Louisiana I read Trans-Miss threads first, but do not always hit "Like", for which I apologize. I will do better. I did read both of the original post battles yesterday, and did more research on Baxter Springs to see if it had any effect on the killing of wounded at Jenkin's Ferry. Thanks for all of your work.
 
Side note from a Games forum host :D:

I saw a YouTube video by a game designer/player who is a decent ACW aficionado. He was going over recent "fan-built" expansions to the classic Victory Games Civil War board game. One of the new leader counters was a general he "had never heard of" - despite decades of reading about the war - named Marmaduke. Now I don't have near the reading and knowledge of many others so I am not criticizing him but I did remember that John S. was the "Stuart" of the Missouri/Arkansas region from Boonville right up to Price's 1864 raid. It struck me how truly little attention gets paid to the Trans-Mississippi 'sideshow' in general, even by enthusiasts and experts. Any corrective to this is welcome.

(Interestingly, that game was one of the first to require players to use some 'command points' there every turn, with real consequences for ignoring the region for too long.)
 
Two issues for me, and maybe this is just an indication that I need to change my habits.

1) I still have a hard time navagating the site set up. I navigate the site by most recent post. The things that often get the most chatter are typically things I'm not that interested in (collecting, arms talk, etc), but they push things that do seem more interesting down, and I typically miss them.
2) I really have no context for Trans-Mississippi. It's never been a point of focus for me, and while I hope to visit sites in Missouri and Arkansas in the near future, it's really a black hole for me.
 
Being from Louisiana I read Trans-Miss threads first, but do not always hit "Like", for which I apologize. I will do better. I did read both of the original post battles yesterday, and did more research on Baxter Springs to see if it had any effect on the killing of wounded at Jenkin's Ferry. Thanks for all of your work.

Thanks again guys for the kind words!

But my OP is not about "Likes." It is all about interaction on a message board about the American Civil War. I personally believe the Western Theater had just as much an impact on the outcome as the Eastern Theater. But Washington DC, Richmond and the big newspapers are located near most of the Eastern Theater conflicts.

Bill
 
Keep those trans-Mississippi threads coming! I agree that it is a little dismaying when they get so little feedback. When I get a chance, I plan to continue sharing what little knowledge I've accumulated during my lifetime, which, with the exception of four years in the Navy, I've spent in the trans-Mississippi. The battles fought here may have been a sideshow, but they're just so darned interesting!
 
Looking for interactive discussion, not just readership. Got it.

I am a traveling and photography fool. My function on this board is to share my travels with other members. My threads are wrapped around capturing the scenery of these battles. I try to tell these stories with photographs. And I love to arrange these photos with the battlefield tour stops. I love the interaction with the members which have visited these venues. I love the interaction with members which have not visited these venues or can't visit these venues for various reasons. I was just curious on why the Western Theater battles do not gain much traction.

Thanks for the interaction!!!
Bill
 
Back
Top