The Battle of Monroe's Crossroads
The Battle of Monroe's Crossroads

Author: Eric J. Wittenberg

Publisher: Savas Beatie

Published: 2006-04-19

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 1611210151

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A detailed tactical narrative of one of the most important but least known engagements of William T. Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign during the Civil War. As General Sherman’s infantry crossed into North Carolina, Maj. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s veteran Federal cavalry division fanned out in front, screening the advance. When Kilpatrick learned that Confederate cavalry under Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton was hot on his trail, he decided to set a trap for the Southern horsemen near a place called Monroe’s Crossroads. Hampton, however, learned of the plan and decided to do something Kilpatrick was not expecting: attack. On March 10, 1865, Southern troopers under Hampton and Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler launched a savage surprise attack on Kilpatrick’s sleeping camp. After three hours of some of the toughest cavalry fighting of the entire Civil War, Hampton broke off and withdrew. His attack, however, stopped Kilpatrick’s advance and bought another precious day for Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee to evacuate his command from Fayetteville. This, in turn, permitted Hardee to join the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and set the stage for the climactic Battle of Bentonville nine days later. Noted Civil War author Eric J. Wittenberg has written the first history of this important but long-forgotten battle, and places it in its proper context within the entire Carolinas Campaign. His study features twenty-eight original maps and dozens of illustrations. Finally, an author of wide experience and renown has brought to vivid life this overlooked portion of the Carolinas Campaign. Praise for The Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads “All the elements that we expect in great battle are here: high drama, command decisions good, bad, and ugly; courage and cowardice, sacrifice, and fortitude. Readers both new to the genre and veteran to the literature will find much of value in The Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads.” —Noah Andre Trudeau, author of The Last Citadel: Petersburg, June 1864–April 1865 “Features a marvelous cast of characters and a riveting story impeccably researched and judiciously interpreted. It is the definitive account of this fascinating battle.” —Mark L. Bradley, author of Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville

The Aftermath of Battle
The Aftermath of Battle

Author: Meg Groeling

Publisher: Savas Beatie

Published: 2015-10-19

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1611211905

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The stories of what happened after the shooting stopped and the process of burying bodies in the wake of Civil War carnage and chaos. The clash of armies in the American Civil War left hundreds of thousands of men dead, wounded, or permanently damaged. Skirmishes and battles could result in casualty numbers as low as one or two and as high as tens of thousands. The carnage of the battlefield left a lasting impression on those who experienced or viewed it, but in most cases the armies quickly moved on to meet again at another time and place. When the dust settled and the living armies moved on, what happened to the dead left behind? Unlike battle narratives, The Aftermath of Battle picks up the story as the battle ends. The burial of the dead was an overwhelming experience for the armies or communities forced to clean up after the destruction of battle. In the short-term action, bodies were hastily buried to avoid the stench and the horrific health concerns of massive death; in the long-term, families struggled to reclaim loved ones and properly reinter them in established cemeteries. Visitors to a battlefield often wonder what happened to the dead once the battle was over. This compelling, easy-to-read overview, enhanced with extensive photos and illustrations, provides a look at the aftermath of battle and the process of burying the Civil War dead.

Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions
Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions

Author: Eric J. Wittenberg

Publisher: Grub Street Publishers

Published: 2011-10-27

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1611210712

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An award-winning historical study of the important role played by Union and Confederate horse soldiers on the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg. The Union army’s victory at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1863, is widely considered to have been the turning point in America’s War between the States. But the valuable contributions of the mounted troops, both Northern and Rebel, in the decisive three-day conflict have gone largely unrecognized. Acclaimed Civil War historian Eric J. Wittenberg now gives the cavalries their proper due. In Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions, Wittenberg explores three important mounted engagements undertaken during the battle and how they influenced the final outcome. The courageous but doomed response by Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth’s cavalry brigade in the wake of Pickett’s Charge is recreated in fascinating detail, revealing the fatal flaws in the general’s plan to lead his riders against entrenched Confederate infantry and artillery. The tenacious assault led by Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt on South Cavalry Field is also examined, as is the strategic victory at Fairfield by Southern troops that nearly destroyed the Sixth US Cavalry and left Hagerstown Road open, enabling General Lee’s eventual retreat. Winner of the prestigious Bachelder-Coddington Award for historical works concerning the Battle of Gettysburg, Eric J. Wittenberg’s Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions rights a long-standing wrong by lifting these all-important engagements out of obscurity. A must-read for Civil War buffs everywhere, it completes the story of the battle that changed American history forever.

Five Or Ten Minutes of Blind Confusion
Five Or Ten Minutes of Blind Confusion

Author: Eric J. Wittenberg

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781945602061

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In Five or Ten Minutes of Blind Confusion: The Battle of Aiken, South Carolina, February 11, 1865, award-winning Civil War cavalry historian Eric J. Wittenberg tells the story of the Battle of Aiken in both tactical and strategic detail. This book fills an important gap in the body of literature addressing Sherman's 1865 Carolinas Campaign.

Chancellorsville Staff Ride: Briefing Book [Illustrated Edition]
Chancellorsville Staff Ride: Briefing Book [Illustrated Edition]

Author: Ted Ballard

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2014-08-15

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1782898565

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Contains more than 20 maps, diagrams and illustrations Although "Fighting Joe" Hooker skillfully executes a well-conceived plan and out-flanks his adversary, months of offensive planning are shelved as he suddenly orders his army on the defensive. Lee seizes the initiative and achieves what has often been called his most brilliant victory. How could this happen when Hooker's army outnumbers that of Lee 2 to 1 and is far superior in artillery and logistics? Answers to these and other questions concerning leadership, communications, use of terrain, and the psychology of men in battle, are often found by personal reconnaissance of the battlefield. This book offers a staff ride briefing of Chancellorsville. Since 1906 staff rides have been used to in the education of U.S. Army officers to narrow the gap between peacetime training and war.

The Battles that Made Abraham Lincoln
The Battles that Made Abraham Lincoln

Author: Larry Tagg

Publisher: Grub Street Publishers

Published: 2012-12-19

Total Pages: 661

ISBN-13: 1611211271

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A timely look at the atmosphere of political hostility surrounding the Civil War, and the venom faced by America’s sixteenth president. Today, Abraham Lincoln is a beloved American icon, widely considered to be our best president. It was not always so. This book takes a look at what Lincoln’s contemporaries actually thought and said about him during his lifetime, when political hostilities, and ultimately civil war, raged. The era in which our sixteenth president lived and governed was the most rough-and-tumble in the history of American politics. The hostility behind the criticism aimed at Lincoln by the great men of his time, on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, is startling, the spectacular prejudice against him often shocking for its cruelty, intensity, and unrelenting vigor. The plain truth is that Lincoln was deeply reviled by many in his time. This book is both an entertaining read and a well-researched, serious look at the political context that begat the president’s predicament. Lincoln’s humanity has been unintentionally trivialized by some historians and writers who have hidden away the real man in a patina of bronze. This book helps us better understand the man he was, and how history is better and more clearly viewed through a long-distance lens. “Not the warm and fuzzy portrait we’re used to seeing . . . An eye-opening study, the first of its kind to focus on what Lincoln’s contemporaries really thought of him. On the other hand, this is not mean-spirited Lincoln-bashing . . . Tagg assesses his presidency through the social and political context of mid-19th century America. It was a time, for example, when ‘the rabid press routinely destroyed the reputations of public men,’ when the stature of the presidency, ‘stained by feeble performances from a string of the poorest presidents in the nation’s history,’ had plunged over decades.” —Civil War Times Magazine