Murfreesboro Western Theater Not Given Proper Respect?

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

I have been studying the battle of Stones River (sometimes called the Second Battle of Murphreesboro) some recently, and never before realized that it had a casualty count Higher than that of the famous Eastern Theater battle of Antietam. (I am studying Stones River thanks to a new friend having given me some bullets and other items that he personally dug at Stones River long ago.)
Does anyone else get the feeling that the Western Theater is not given proper respect in history circles, except for possibly Vicksburg and Atlanta?

 

[donna]

No it not as appreciated. I have several ancestors that were mostly in the Western theater so always of interest to me.

 

[Pollaco]

I do agree , the Western Theater does get less respect than the Eastern Theater. But the Trans Mississippi Department gets even less.

 

[Luke Freet]

I have been studying the battle of Stones River (sometimes called the Second Battle of Murphreesboro) some recently, and never before realized that it had a casualty count Higher than that of the famous Eastern Theater battle of Antietam. (I am studying Stones River thanks to a new friend having given me some bullets and other items that he personally dug at Stones River long ago.)
Does anyone else get the feeling that the Western Theater is not given proper respect in history circles, except for possibly Vicksburg and Atlanta?

In popular culture the Eastern theater got the most attention for a number of factors. The primary pundits for Civil War Memoria for the longest time were pro-Confederate, who would always gas up Generals Lee, Jackson & Stuart and the Army of Northern Virginia.

Of course, in Union Memoria, the west became the focus, though until recent decades it's focused on the actions of Grant & Sherman.

 

[Jamieva]

Eastern battles were closer to the major union cities and therefore had newspaper reporters with the army sending information back to print, this also brought Brady etc out to the battlefields to take pictures.

Stones river is overshadowed by Fredericksburg and it was kind of inconclusive, it also is nit written about much and a good chunk of the battlefield is lost.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Recall reading that of all the major CW battles, Stones River (Murfreesboro) had the distinction of having the highest percentage of casualties on both sides, for the numbers engaged.

 

[David Moore]

I have been studying the battle of Stones River (sometimes called the Second Battle of Murphreesboro) some recently, and never before realized that it had a casualty count Higher than that of the famous Eastern Theater battle of Antietam. (I am studying Stones River thanks to a new friend having given me some bullets and other items that he personally dug at Stones River long ago.)
Does anyone else get the feeling that the Western Theater is not given proper respect in history circles, except for possibly Vicksburg and Atlanta?

Perhaps the most important thing to know Stones River is expressed in the following quote from Lincoln to the commanding general at Stones River:

"I can never forget, whilst I remember anything, that about the end of last year and the beginning of this, you gave us a hard earned victory, which had there been a defeat instead, the nation could scarcely have lived over."

 

[Pollaco]

"On to Richmond" was the popular Battle cry and it kind of stuck in the Eastern and Northern mindset. The capital became synonymous with the Confederacy. Virginia was the home of Davis + Co. and was a nest of vipers that needed cleaning out if any progress was to be made.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Perhaps the most important thing to know Stones River is expressed in the following quote from Lincoln to the commanding general at Stones River:

"I can never forget, whilst I remember anything, that about the end of last year and the beginning of this, you gave us a hard earned victory, which had there been a defeat instead, the nation could scarcely have lived over."

"On to Richmond" was the popular Battle cry and it kind of stuck in the Eastern and Northern mindset. The capital became synonymous with the Confederacy. Virginia was the home of Davis + Co. and was a nest of vipers that needed cleaning out if any progress was to be made.

Guess you are right, once Richmond was made the Capitol it became the prime target for the Union army.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

I do agree , the Western Theater does get less respect than the Eastern Theater. But the Trans Mississippi Department gets even less.

Amen. My great grandfather in the 13th IL Cavalry fought in Arkansas.

 

[David Moore]

"On to Richmond" was the popular Battle cry and it kind of stuck in the Eastern and Northern mindset. The capital became synonymous with the Confederacy. Virginia was the home of Davis + Co. and was a nest of vipers that needed cleaning out if any progress was to be made.

Within the Western theater there is pecking order. Shiloh is more known than Stones River. Vicksburg over the Tullahoma Campaign. Chickamauga is interpretared as a severe Union defeat when at the time it was seen as a reverse. Iuka, Corinth, Ft Davidson and Westport are all but unknown. The March to the Sea ( a western army) is more known than Franklin and Nashville.

 

[52ndFandS]

No it not as appreciated. I have several ancestors that were mostly in the Western theater so always of interest to me.

With.the exception of one, all my relatives fought out west too.

 

[Nathan Towne]

In popular culture the Eastern theater got the most attention for a number of factors. The primary pundits for Civil War Memoria for the longest time were pro-Confederate, who would always gas up Generals Lee, Jackson & Stuart and the Army of Northern Virginia.

Of course, in Union Memoria, the west became the focus, though until recent decades it's focused on the actions of Grant & Sherman.

Hey @Luke Freet,

I have just been looking back through some of your posts. There is a new book on the Murfreesboro Campaign coming out later this year which appears as though it is going to be significantly more comprehensive than McDonough, Cozzens and Daniel's books.

Will definitely pick up a copy.

 

[jackt62]

It is true that the western theater was not given the "proper respect" or more specifically, careful attention and study, that was given to the east. The various reasons for this have been stated in many of the above posts. That situation changed in the later part of the 20th century, particularly after the publication of scholarly works about the Army of Tennessee by Thomas Connelly and Stanley Horn. Fortunately, the major battles and campaigns in the west have now received their proper due by historians including Bearss, Powell, and McMurry, among many others. Shiloh, Chickamauga, Atlanta, and all the engagements in between were as important, if now more so, than the hyper-critical focus that was traditionally left to Lee and his men in Virginia.

 

[7thWisconsin]

The war was won and lost in the West, but popular interest always favored the East, even while it was still going on.

 

[Belfoured]

It is true that the western theater was not given the "proper respect" or more specifically, careful attention and study, that was given to the east. The various reasons for this have been stated in many of the above posts. That situation changed in the later part of the 20th century, particularly after the publication of scholarly works about the Army of Tennessee by Thomas Connelly and Stanley Horn. Fortunately, the major battles and campaigns in the west have now received their proper due by historians including Bearss, Powell, and McMurry, among many others. Shiloh, Chickamauga, Atlanta, and all the engagements in between were as important, if now more so, than the hyper-critical focus that was traditionally left to Lee and his men in Virginia.

I agree. I think it's very hard to say that the Western Theater hasn't received the proper level of study/interest after the developments of the last 25 years. We've got a number of great books by Tim Smith on Donelson/Henry/Shiloh/Corinth and on Vicksburg. Dave Powell has turned out a lot of great material on Chickamauga and Robertson's in the middle of a campaign project. Hess, Ecelbarger, and Jenkins have cranked out good books on the Atlanta Campaign battles and now we've just gotten volume 1 of the Powell campaign opus. There's the SIU Press series of essays. And even during the '90's Cozzens, Castel, and Daniel were adding to the library.

 

[Pollaco]

Most all citys and towns had a newspaper but it was the bigger newspapers from the big cities of the East that were the ones who could afford to send reporters, journalists, and sketch artists to the battlefields.

 

[Lubliner]

Another highlight is the so-called 'end' to the war, stated as Appomattox for more years than I am alive.
Lubliner.

 

[Belfoured]

Most all citys and towns had a newspaper but it was the bigger newspapers from the big cities of the East that were the ones who could afford to send reporters, journalists, and sketch artists to the battlefields.

True, but I think that may have been more the case on the Confederate side. For the federals, the Cincinnati and Chicago papers did that. For the Confederates the largest city, New Orleans, was out of the mix pretty quickly.

 

[Belfoured]

Another highlight is the so-called 'end' to the war, stated as Appomattox for more years than I am alive.
Lubliner.

So recently we've gotten books on Bentonville and on Johnston's surrender. The Civil War publishing community really addressed the problem with emphasis beginning in the '90's.