Saber and Scapegoat

Saber and Scapegoat PDF Author: Mark Nesbitt
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 9780811731027
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The major facts of the Gettysburg campaign and battle are well known, but controversies about its outcome abound even today. No issue is more contested than that of the whereabouts of the dashing cavalryman, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. Author Mark Nesbitt gives a detailed reconstruction of Stuart's actions during the campaign and presents the case that Stuart was not at fault for the loss: He was following orders to the best of his ability. The blame surrounding Stuart only surfaced after the war when, in an attempt to exonerate Lee, some veterans vilified Stuart unfairly. Unfortunately for the great cavalryman, that culpability has stuck. Nesbitt's findings challenge generations of Gettysburg historiography and are certain to fuel the controversy for years to come.

Saber and Scapegoat

Saber and Scapegoat PDF Author: Mark Nesbitt
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 9780811731027
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The major facts of the Gettysburg campaign and battle are well known, but controversies about its outcome abound even today. No issue is more contested than that of the whereabouts of the dashing cavalryman, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. Author Mark Nesbitt gives a detailed reconstruction of Stuart's actions during the campaign and presents the case that Stuart was not at fault for the loss: He was following orders to the best of his ability. The blame surrounding Stuart only surfaced after the war when, in an attempt to exonerate Lee, some veterans vilified Stuart unfairly. Unfortunately for the great cavalryman, that culpability has stuck. Nesbitt's findings challenge generations of Gettysburg historiography and are certain to fuel the controversy for years to come.

Jeb Stuart and the Confederate Defeat at Gettysburg

Jeb Stuart and the Confederate Defeat at Gettysburg PDF Author: Warren C. Robinson
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803205659
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
"The Army was much embarrassed by the absence of the cavalry," Robert E. Lee wrote of the Gettysburg campaign, stirring a controversy that has never died. Lee's statement was an indirect indictment of General James Ewell Brown ("Jeb") Stuart, who was the cavalry.

The Gettysburg Nobody Knows

The Gettysburg Nobody Knows PDF Author: Gabor S. Boritt
Publisher: Gettysburg Civil War Institute
ISBN: 9780195129069
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Leading authorities shed new light on the greatest battle in American history, focusing in particular on the unknown, the controversial, and what might have been.

The Stand of the U.S. Army at Gettysburg

The Stand of the U.S. Army at Gettysburg PDF Author: Jeffrey C. Hall
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253003294
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 470

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Book Description
"This is not just 'another Gettysburg book,' but a different Gettysburg book. Most of the prior Gettysburg books have been accounts of Confederate command failures that led to Confederate defeat. This is the story of the Federal defense leading to Federal victory. The book contains new material and new insights. It rivals Coddington as an essential Gettysburg book, and it maps the battle like Bigelow mapped The Campaign at Chancellorsville." -- Alan T. Nolan, author of Lee Considered and The Iron Brigade This major reinterpretation of the key battle of the American Civil War tells the story of the Gettysburg campaign as it unfolded from early June through mid-July 1863, and its climax with the Federal victory at Gettysburg. The book strives to describe the campaign with utmost clarity. In pursuit of this goal, it restricts itself to the campaign's major events and participants. Yet many components of even a boiled-down account of the campaign are complex. Accordingly, The Stand features more than 160 maps and numerous diagrams that allow the reader to understand what happened at every important stage of the campaign, with special emphasis on the three-day battle of July 1--3. The book also pays tribute to the vast literature on Gettysburg, with careful consideration of the many analyses of the campaign, paying particular attention to recent works. The appearance of new interpretations, including those offered here, suggests that only now, nearly 150 years after the event, are we approaching a complete and accurate view of what happened during those crucial days at Gettysburg.

Glorious War

Glorious War PDF Author: Thom Hatch
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250028515
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
Glorious War, the thrilling and definitive biography of George Armstrong Custer's Civil War years, is nothing short of a heart-pounding cavalry charge through the battlefield heroics that thrust the gallant young officer into the national spotlight in the midst of the country's darkest hours. From West Point to the daring military actions that propelled him to the rank of general at age twenty-three to his unlikely romance with Libbie Bacon, Custer's exploits are the stuff of legend. Always leading his men from the front with a personal courage seldom seen before or since, he was a key part of nearly every major engagement in the east. Not only did Custer capture the first battle flag taken by the Union Army and receive the white flag of surrender at Appomattox, but his field generalship at Gettysburg against Confederate cavalry General Jeb Stuart had historic implications in changing the course of that pivotal battle. For decades, historians have looked at Custer strictly through the lens of his death on the frontier, his last stand, casting him as a failure. While some may say that the events that took place at the Little Big Horn are illustrative of America's bloody westward expansion, they have in the process unjustly eclipsed Custer's otherwise extraordinarily life and outstanding career and fall far short of encompassing his incredible service to his country. This biography of thundering cannons, pounding hooves, and stunning successes tells the true story of the origins of one of history's most dynamic and misunderstood figures. Award-winning historian Thom Hatch reexamines Custer's early career to rebalance the scales and show why Custer's epic fall could never have happened without the spectacular rise that made him an American legend.

Year of Desperate Struggle

Year of Desperate Struggle PDF Author: Monte Akers
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 161200282X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
By the summer of 1863, following Chancellorsville, it was clear to everyone on both sides of the Civil War that the Army of Northern Virginia was the most formidable force Americans had ever put in the field. It could only be ÒtiedÓ in battle, if against great odds, but would more usually vanquish its opponents. A huge measure of that armyÕs success was attributable to its cavalry arm, under Major General J.E.B. Stuart, which had literally Òrun ringsÓ around its enemies. But Northern arithmetic and expertise were gradually catching up. In this work, the sequel to his acclaimed Year of Glory, author Monte Akers tracks Stuart and his cavalry through the following year of the war, from Gettysburg to the Overland Campaign, concluding only when Jeb himself succumbs to a gunshot while fending off a force three times his size at the very gates of Richmond. Gettysburg put paid to the aura of unstoppable victory surrounding the Army of Northern Virginia. But when Grant and Sheridan came east they found that Lee, Stuart, Longstreet, and the rest still refused to be defeated. It was a year of grim casualties and ferocious fightingÑin short, a year of Òdesperate struggleÓ with the gloves off on both sides. This work picks up where Year of Glory left off, with a minute examination of StuartÕs cavalry during the controversial Gettysburg campaign, followed by the nine months of sparring during which the Army of Potomac declined to undertake further major thrusts against Virginia. But then the UnionÕs western chieftains arrived and the war became one huge Òfuneral procession,Ó as Grant and Sheridan found that their prior victories had by no means prepared them for meeting the Army of Northern Virginia. In this work Akers provides a fascinating, close-in view of the ConfederacyÕs cavalry arm during this crucial period of the war. After StuartÕs death the Army of Northern Virginia would eventually be cornered, but while he was alive it was often the Northerners who most needed to look to their security.

Plenty of Blame to go Around

Plenty of Blame to go Around PDF Author: Eric J. Wittenberg
Publisher: Savas Beatie
ISBN: 1611210178
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
“A welcome new account of Stuart’s fateful ride during the 1863 Pennsylvania campaign . . . well researched, vividly written, and shrewdly argued.” —Mark Grimsley, author of And Keep Moving On June 1863. The Gettysburg Campaign is in its opening hours. Harness jingles and hoofs pound as Confederate cavalryman James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart leads his three brigades of veteran troopers on a ride that triggers one of the Civil War’s most bitter and enduring controversies. Instead of finding glory and victory-two objectives with which he was intimately familiar, Stuart reaped stinging criticism and substantial blame for one of the Confederacy’s most stunning and unexpected battlefield defeats. In Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg, Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi objectively investigate the role Stuart’s horsemen played in the disastrous campaign. It is the first book ever written on this important and endlessly fascinating subject. Did the plumed cavalier disobey General Robert E. Lee’s orders by stripping the army of its “eyes and ears?” Was Stuart to blame for the unexpected combat that broke out at Gettysburg on July 1? Authors Wittenberg and Petruzzi, widely recognized for their study and expertise of Civil War cavalry operations, have drawn upon a massive array of primary sources, many heretofore untapped, to fully explore Stuart’s ride, its consequences, and the intense debate among participants shortly after the battle, through early post-war commentators, and among modern scholars. The result is a richly detailed study jammed with incisive tactical commentary, new perspectives on the strategic role of the Southern cavalry, and fresh insights on every horse engagement, large and small, fought during the campaign.

Clashes of Cavalry

Clashes of Cavalry PDF Author: Thom Hatch
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1684424585
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
The story of two remarkable men, both natural-born cavalry leaders of great courage, who shared similar traits. Their Civil War legacies were destined to be connected in a series of battles—beginning with Brady Station where Custer’s star rose rapidly, at Gettysburg where Stuart’s star became tarnished, and continuing to Yellow Tavern where Stuart was Killed. Unlike most standard biographies, Clashes of Cavalry takes an innovative approach to chronicling the lives of these two Civil War giants by not only depicting their lives and exploits individually, but also by examining the role of each in specific battles in which both participated. Author Thom Hatch first sets the stage with in-depth portrayals of “Beauty” Stuart and “Fanny” Custer, exploring how the early years of the two future cavaliers shaped their eventual military careers. Both born to conservative rural families, educated at West Point, and with sensitive yet outgoing personalities, Custer and Stuart shared some remarkable similarities. The early chapters follow the two young cavaliers through the first two years of the war, leading up to the largest cavalry engagement of the century at Brandy Station in 1863. Both Custer and Stuart participated in the action that day, with the twenty-three-year-old Custer faring far better than Stuart. Custer’s performance earned him the attention and respect of his superiors and started him down the path that would eventually lead to his promotion. Stuart, However, was blamed for the needless slaughter of his men by the Union’s surprise attack and faulted for his overconfidence. Both Custer and Stuart’s careers continued through battles at Gettysburg, the Bristoe Campaign, and the Wilderness. While Stuart was destined to fall at Yellow Tavern, Custer went on to even greater success, culminating with an assault on the Confederates at Appomattox Court House that essentially ended the war. Clashes of Cavalry paints a vivid portrait of these brilliant cavalrymen. Although Custer never enjoyed the same level of command as Stuart, there is reason to believe that given the same opportunity he would have been equal to the task. History has remembered both as gifted horsemen and inspired leaders, truly among the most celebrated heroes of the Civil War.

America's Military Adversaries

America's Military Adversaries PDF Author: John C. Fredriksen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1576076040
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 636

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Book Description
This work chronicles the lives and accomplishments of over 200 enemies who have fought, plotted, spied on, and in some instances defeated U.S. forces over the past three centuries. Books on American military heroes abound. But this book is the first to focus on America's talented enemies—the generals, admirals, Indian chiefs and warriors, submarine captains, fighter pilots, and spies who opposed the United States with military force or other means. Often these military leaders were among the best minds of their times. For more than two centuries, the new nation's most constant military opponents were the Native Americans, led by such capable chiefs as American Horse and Little Wolf. Under D'Iberville, Canada's French colonialists became formidable foes, but they were soon surpassed by the rigorously disciplined redcoats of Great Britain under Howe and Cornwallis. Ironically, the most effective enemies in the history of the United States were not the leaders of foreign military forces—like Mexico's Santa Anna, Japan's Yamamoto, or Vietnam's Vo Nguyen Giap. They arose from among its own citizens during the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in American history.

Horse Soldiers at Gettysburg

Horse Soldiers at Gettysburg PDF Author: Daniel Murphy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0811772721
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
Cavalry operations during the Gettysburg campaign have been well covered, but never like this. Most cavalry treatments of the campaign and battle have focused on strategy, operations, and tactics and zoomed in on particular episodes: the Battle of Brandy Station in June 1863 (the largest cavalry engagement on American soil), Jeb Stuart’s controversial ride-for-glory that deprived Lee of important intelligence for days, Union cavalry general John Buford’s role in the start of the battle on July 1, and the cavalry battle involving not only Stuart but also George Armstrong Custer east of Gettysburg on July 3. Daniel Murphy’s book covers the grand sweep of cavalry in the Gettysburg campaign, from Lee’s crossing of the Rappahannock in early June 1863, through the epic three-day clash in Pennsylvania, to the conclusion of Lee’s retreat in July 1863. But more than that, in a book blending strategy and tactics and campaign narrative with deep research in primary sources and an equestrian’s sense for what it’s like to ride and manage horses, Daniel Murphy brings a horseman’s eye to the story of the campaign: how individual cavalrymen experienced the campaign from the saddle and how horses—with special needs for care and maintenance—were in fact weapons that helped shape battles. In this new narrative of Civil War cavalry, author Daniel Murphy gets into the saddle and explores what it was like to be a cavalryman during the Gettysburg campaign. Horse-soldiering was a unique way of doing battle, and Murphy gives it more justice and nuanced description than any author has yet given it.