Western Theater : Especially Trans-Mississippi Battles.

So, let me give you a little critique, and maybe a little help...

So I just looked over this thread:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-battle-of-baxter-springs-kansas-fort-blair.177139/

A very good first post indeed, very well written, good photos.

So here are the problems I see for making this post visible to members.... This is a photo tour, with a good general description of the events at this location, but the title doesn't tell the reader any information about that, so they are left guessing what content is actually in the thread, sure, we know it's about "this battle", but what about it?

A better title would be: "Photo Tour of the Battle of Baxter Springs, site of Fort Blair in Kansas"

Something like that....

In addition, and this isn't your fault totally, but this thread would do "better" in the Traveler's Discussion Forum, that's a much more popular forum than the Trans-Mississippi Theater forum, so you may have lost some view because of that. However, because this is 2021, I can now fix that issue, and put one thread in more than one forum, so the thread is now in both places!

Next, and I know you put plenty of photos in the thread, but this thread really screams for a great cover photo... a photo at the top of the thread that would be like the magazine cover photo for the story. This might be the best photo of your thread, or the photo with the most iconic scene, whatever you think would best represent the thread in photographic form.... If you are providing a photo that Ami can take and edit/transform into a fully edited promotional cover photo, that's even better.

Finally, this is probably the most important part, if you are writing great posts, Ami and I don't always see everything. Start a thread with us in the "Contact the Staff" forum, and let us know that you started a thread and you think it should be promoted on the homepage, and be sure to include the URL or the LINK to the thread you created so we can find it quickly and work on promoting it! If there is an issue with promoting it, or an adjustment is needed, we can discuss it in that forum.

I hope that's helpful!
 
So, let me give you a little critique, and maybe a little help...

So I just looked over this thread:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-battle-of-baxter-springs-kansas-fort-blair.177139/

A very good first post indeed, very well written, good photos.

So here are the problems I see for making this post visible to members.... This is a photo tour, with a good general description of the events at this location, but the title doesn't tell the reader any information about that, so they are left guessing what content is actually in the thread, sure, we know it's about "this battle", but what about it?

A better title would be: "Photo Tour of the Battle of Baxter Springs, site of Fort Blair in Kansas"

Something like that....

In addition, and this isn't your fault totally, but this thread would do "better" in the Traveler's Discussion Forum, that's a much more popular forum than the Trans-Mississippi Theater forum, so you may have lost some view because of that. However, because this is 2021, I can now fix that issue, and put one thread in more than one forum, so the thread is now in both places!

Next, and I know you put plenty of photos in the thread, but this thread really screams for a great cover photo... a photo at the top of the thread that would be like the magazine cover photo for the story. This might be the best photo of your thread, or the photo with the most iconic scene, whatever you think would best represent the thread in photographic form.... If you are providing a photo that Ami can take and edit/transform into a fully edited promotional cover photo, that's even better.

Finally, this is probably the most important part, if you are writing great posts, Ami and I don't always see everything. Start a thread with us in the "Contact the Staff" forum, and let us know that you started a thread and you think it should be promoted on the homepage, and be sure to include the URL or the LINK to the thread you created so we can find it quickly and work on promoting it! If there is an issue with promoting it, or an adjustment is needed, we can discuss it in that forum.

I hope that's helpful!

Thanks, Michael!

Bill
 
Oh, and that's one thing we should all keep in mind, your thread title will kind of determine your audience. If the title sounds like you need to be an academic to read the thread, only academic types will read your thread, if your title makes it sound like you wrote a post that anyone will enjoy, then everyone will come and read your thread.

Telling members you've included photos for all of us to follow along with, tells "the rest of us" that we are all welcome to enjoy your content, we don't need to be subject matter experts to read this thread! :smile:

Just another clue to getting more eyes on the threads!
 
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
How can they write any more books and articles on Gettysburg?
 
I became interested in the Civil War recently after I discovered my Great Great Gramps was in a Union Battery in the Western Theater. My plan is to follow his Battery back and forth across the Mississippi, so I will be looking through related posts quite often looking for book recommendations, differing points of view, explanations and such. Many thanks to all who have spent countless hours doing the research and making it available for the rest of us.
 
How can they write any more books and articles on Gettysburg?
:D
Because it seems that, for many, Gettysburg is the Civil War…

“Chickamauga was the second largest battle of the war in terms of casualties, with only Gettysburg being larger, yet almost every source in print or on the web shows only the organization of the [Army of Tennessee] on the second day of battle…. Let that happen to Gettysburg and you’d hear the howls of outrage across the continent.”

—Brad Butkovich, author and game designer
http://www.civilwarvirtualtours.com/chickamauga/orderofbattle/orderofbattle.html
 
:D
Because it seems that, for many, Gettysburg is the Civil War…

“Chickamauga was the second largest battle of the war in terms of casualties, with only Gettysburg being larger, yet almost every source in print or on the web shows only the organization of the [Army of Tennessee] on the second day of battle…. Let that happen to Gettysburg and you’d hear the howls of outrage across the continent.”

—Brad Butkovich, author and game designer
http://www.civilwarvirtualtours.com/chickamauga/orderofbattle/orderofbattle.html

Love your new avatar!!!

Bill
 
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'll be perfectly honest, I have little interest in the Trans-Mississippi battles, other than the Red River Campaign, because they had little to no bearing on the larger conflict. That being said, if there are particularly interesting human interest stories about the battles, I would love to know more, so would encourage you to post with a view to educating those of us who don't know much about the battles.

I have to admit, though, that my brother who lives in Arizona took me to a CW battle site in Arizona once and to be honest, the story of the battle was pretty much underwhelming in that, with the numbers involved, it was a joke to call it a battle. I think about 25 guys were in the "battle", total! So I tend to view battles out in the far west as little more than skirmishing, at best. This may be wrong, but its my current mindset.
 
I am fairly new to this site but almost exclusively read posts about the Trans Mississippi theater. Both my great GF's fought in this theater - my maternal GGF Gann fought with the US 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment from NW Arkansas and my paternal GGF Holcomb with the CSA 23rd Arkansas Infantry from SW Arkansas. My Gann GGF fought at small skirmishes in NW Arkansas but then was on the Camden Expedition with Gen Steele and fought at Prairie D Ann and on to Jenkin's Ferry before returning north. My Holcomb GGF was an Assistant Surgeon and was at the second battle of Corinth, Hatchie Bridge, Port Hudson and then possibly with General Dockery in southern Arkansas after release from Port Hudson parole. At Hatchie's bridge he was with J. C Moore's regiment which was tasked with trying to hold the bridge while the rest of Earl Van Dorn's forces crossed at Crum's bridge a few miles south. My 2 GGF's may have directly fought against each other but I cannot absolutely prove that Dr. Holcomb was present with Dockery's forces during the latter parts of the war.

My wife and I (with our 2 dogs) took trips this summer to the Corinth battlefield and then on to Hatchie's bridge..."that miserable bridge" according to the Union General Ord. We walked down to the water edge and tried to visualize where all the forces were set that day. So I very much enjoyed the Hatchie Bridge pictures. Keep these Trans Mississippi posts coming.
 
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.

Answer: Yes!

It was great to meet you, @Buckeye Bill , at Chickamauga a few years back. Walking that ground was a great learning experience and we've since been as a group to Vicksburg, MS.

Several of us are going to Shiloh week after next, because @rebel brit and Mrs. are able to fly in. I'm really looking forward to it and would love it if you could come. Your pictures are among the very best ever posted to CWT.

Cheers.
 
I'll be perfectly honest, I have little interest in the Trans-Mississippi battles, other than the Red River Campaign, because they had little to no bearing on the larger conflict. That being said, if there are particularly interesting human interest stories about the battles, I would love to know more, so would encourage you to post with a view to educating those of us who don't know much about the battles.

I have to admit, though, that my brother who lives in Arizona took me to a CW battle site in Arizona once and to be honest, the story of the battle was pretty much underwhelming in that, with the numbers involved, it was a joke to call it a battle. I think about 25 guys were in the "battle", total! So I tend to view battles out in the far west as little more than skirmishing, at best. This may be wrong, but its my current mindset.

Wait, Shiloh and Vicksburg had, "little to no bearing on the larger conflict?"

You can't be serious?

How about all of the smaller battles that got Grant to Vicksburg? Many believe this was the defining battle of the war and they are not that far off course. Control of the Mississippi River was at stake and I guess that doesn't matter if all one can spell, is "G-E-T-T-Y-S-B-U-R-G."

G-Burg was of course about zero strategic importance to anyone, a gigantic accident, really. But the Union won, so let's pretend it was, "the turning point of the War."

Mkay...
 
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

Battles in the Trans-Mississippi theater (west of the Mississippi River) deserve more consideration, not just the well-known ones in other theaters that get the popular coverage.

In my view, some of the more interesting and significant Trans-Mississippi conflicts that occurred (chronologically listed) included:

Wilsons Creek, MO (Aug. 10, 1861)
Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern), AR (Mar. 7-8, 1862)
Glorietta Pass, NM (territory) (Mar. 26-28, 1862)
Prairie Grove, AR (December 7, 1862)
Helena, AR (July 4, 1863)
Mansfield, LA (April 8, 1864)
Jenkins Ferry, AR (April 30, 1864)
Westport, MO (October 23, 1864)

There were numerous other small-scale conflicts, perhaps worthy of further investigation, that happened in this theater too.
 
Wait, Shiloh and Vicksburg had, "little to no bearing on the larger conflict?"

You can't be serious?

How about all of the smaller battles that got Grant to Vicksburg? Many believe this was the defining battle of the war and they are not that far off course. Control of the Mississippi River was at stake and I guess that doesn't matter if all one can spell, is "G-E-T-T-Y-S-B-U-R-G."

G-Burg was of course about zero strategic importance to anyone, a gigantic accident, really. But the Union won, so let's pretend it was, "the turning point of the War."

Mkay...
Are you serious that you dont know that Vicksburg and Shiloh are on the eastern side of the Mississippi? Take a look at a map.

Trans-Mississippi means west of the river, in case you didnt know.
 
Please keep up the Trans Mississippi posts and discussions. Control of the Mississippi River was very important.
Events in Missouri and Arkansas are often overlooked, but need recognition.

20190307_084030.jpg
 
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
I think there's a pretty broad consensus now that the war was won in the West. One just has to look at a map to see the amount of territory, state capitols, industrial and arms production centers, breadbaskets, railroads, taken from the Confederacy west of the Appalachians versus east of the Appalachians 1861-64 to see the answer. Without even comparing win/loss records west vs. east of the mountains or numbers of armies captured or destroyed.

One of the early authors to point this out was John Fiske in his 1895 lectures at Harvard, expanded into book form and published in two volumes in 1900 as The War in the West: The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War.

Saying so also does no demean the contribution made in the East. That is where Davis and Lee put the Confederacy's main effort, and also drew a huge Union effort. However, while that theater was largely stalemated the first three years of the war, much of the West was irretrievably conquered by the Union, setting up Sherman's turning of the Confederacy's left flank in 1864 through the Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea, and finally his 1865 advance up through the Carolinas toward Lee's rear.
 
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