Some Observations About the American Civil War
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The Army of the Potomac versus the Army of Northern Virginia in the spring of 1864 and again in 1865
I
find it interesting to compare the relative performance of the two
opposing armies in the spring of 1864 to the spring of 1865. In
both cases, the campaigns started with approximately 120,000 Yankees
against 60,000 rebels. The results were remarkably
different. In my mind, the major reason for this difference, was
the replacement of every single Union Corp commander in the intervening
year. It started with the death of Sedgewick, killed at
Spotsylvannia and culminated with the dismissal of Warren, after five
forks. Union Corp commander performance during the Battle of the
Wilderness was absolutely abysmal. During the Appomattox
Campaign, Union Corp commanders performed brilliantly.
Cavalry versus Infantry
The
general feeling has been that Cavalry in the American Civil War was not
a decisive battlefield weapon, but was more suited for scouting and
securing ones flanks. Though I need to research this topic more,
it is clear that Sheridan effectively used Cavalry as a decisive
battlefield force in late 1864 and 1865 in Virginia. Why and how
did this come to be, so late in the war, when entrenching and
fortifications also became such an important part of the battlefield?
MYTH:Attacking Entrenched Troops was Doomed to Failure
Entrenched
troops were frequently attacked successfully, sometimes with decisive
results. Extreme examples of what could be achieved include
Missionary Ridge, Nashville, and the Breakthrough at
Petersburg.What if Meade had Immediately Counter Attacked after Pickett's Charge
Could
the result have been the same as Wellington's counter attack after the
failed charge of the French Guard at Waterloo? Sure there was
that line of Confederate artillery to overcome - but it seems like the
reward would have been worth the risk. I think that it would have
been difficult for Lee to escape with that portion of his army that was
North and East of Gettysburg had his center been decisively broken.The Men of the Iron Brigade and the Beanpole and CornStalk Bridge
Before
they were famous, three companies of soldiers from the Iron Brigade
built the famous "Beanpole and Cornstalk" bridge over Potomic Creek in
1862 for the famous railroader Haupt. Haupt's report of
May25th, 1862, he clearly states that "many of the men were sickly
and ineffiecient". This is clearly a different vision of the Iron
Brigade soldiers than what is so often reported in the history books.
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