Battle of Vicksburg : Confederate Army

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Battle of Vicksburg
Confederate Order of Battle

  ORGANIZATION OF CONFEDERATE FORCES

VICKSBURG ORDER OF BATTLE


ARMY OF VICKSBURG

Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton

STEVENSON'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson

1st Brigade
Brig. Gen. Seth Barton

40th Georgia, Col. Abda Johnson, Lt. Col. Robert M. Young
41st Georgia, Col. William E. Curtiss
42d Georgia, Col. Robert J. Henderson
43d Georgia, Col. Skidmore Harris (k), Capt. Mathadeus M. Grantham
52d Georgia, Col. Charles D. Phillips (m), Maj. John J. Moore
Pettus Flying Artillery, Lt. Milton H. Trantham
Company A, Pointe Coupee Artillery, Lt. John Yoist
Company C, Pointe Coupee Artillery, Capt. Alexander Chust

2d Brigade
Brig. Gen. Alfred Cumming

34th Georgia, Col. James A.W. Johnson
36th Georgia, Col. Jesse A. Glenn, Maj. Charles E. Broyles
39th Georgia, Col. Joseph T. McConnel (w), Lt. Col. J.F.B. Jackson
56th Georgia, Col. Elihu P. Watkins (w), Lt. Col. John T. Slaughter
57th Georgia, Lt. Col. Cincinnatus S. Guyton, Col. William Barkuloo
Cherokee Georgia Artillery, Capt. Max Van Den Corput

3d Brigade
Brig. Gen. Edward D. Tracy (k)
Col. Isham W. Garrott*
Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Lee

20th Alabama, Col. Isham W. Garrott (k), Col. Edmund W. Pettus
23d Alabama, Col. Franklin K. Beck
30th Alabama, Col. Sharles M. Shelley, Capt. John C. Francis
31st Alabama, Col. Daniel R. Hundley (w), Lt. Col. Thomas M. Arrington, Maj. George W. Mathieson
46th Alabama, Col. Michael L. Woods (c), Capt. George E. Brewer
Waddell's Alabama Battery, Capt. James F. Waddell

*Garrott was killed on June 7, 1863. His commission as a brigadier general, dated May 28, 1863, arrived after his death.

4th Brigade
Col. Alexander W. Reynolds

3d Tennessee (Provisional Army), Col. Newton J. Lillard
31st Tennessee, Col. William M. Bradford
43d Tennessee, Col. James W. Gillespie
59th Tennessee, Col. William L. Eaken
3d Maryland Battery, Capt. Fred O. Claiborne (k), Capt. John B. Rowan

Waul's Texas Legion
Col. Thomas N. Waul

1st Infantry Battalion, Maj. Eugene S. Bolling
2d Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. James Wrigley
Zouave Battalion, Capt. J.B. Fleitas
Cavalry Detachment, Lt. Thomas J. Cleveland
Artillery Company, Capt. J.Q. Waul

Attached

Company C. 1st Tennessee Cavalry, Capt. Richard S. Vandyke
Botetourt Virginia Artillery, Capt. John W. Johnston, Lt. Francis G. Obenchain
Signal Corps Detachment, Lt. C.H. Barrott


FORNEY'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. John H. Forney

1st Brigade
Brig. Gen. Louis Hebert

3d Louisiana, Lt. Col. Samuel D. Russell, Maj. David Pierson (w)
21st Louisiana, Col. Isaac W. Patton,
22d Louisiana (detachment), Col. Charles H. Herrick (mw), Lt. Col. John T. Plattsmier
36th Mississippi, Col. William W. Witherspoon
37th Mississippi, Col. Orlando S. Holland
38th Mississippi, Col. Preston Brent, Capt. Daniel B. Seal
43d Mississippi, Col. Richard Harrison
7th Mississippi Infantry Battalion, Capt. A.M. Dozier
Company C, 2d Alabama Artillery Battalion, Capt. T.K. Emanuel (k), Lt. John R. Sclater
Appeal Arkansas Artillery, Capt. William N. Hogg, Lt. Christopher C. Scott, Lt. R.N. Cotten

2d Brigade
Brig. Gen. John C. Moore

37th Alabama, Col. James F. Dowdell
40th Alabama, Col. John H. Higley
42d Alabama, Col. John W. Portis, Lt. Col. Thomas C. Lanier
35th Mississippi, Col. William S. Barry, Lt. Col. Charles R. Jordan
40th Mississippi, Col. Wallace B. Colbert
2d Texas, Col. Ashbel Smith
Companies A,C,D,E,G, I, and K, 1st Mississippi Light Artillery, Col. William T. Withers
Sengstak's Alabama Battery, Capt. Henry H. Sengstak
Company B, Pointe Coupee Artillery, Capt. William A. Davidson


SMITH'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. Martin Luther Smith

Baldwin's Brigade
Brig. Gen. William E. Baldwin

17th Louisiana, Col. Robert Richardson
31st Louisiana, Lt. Col. Sidney H. Griffin (k), Lt. Col. James W. Draughon
4th Mississippi, Lt. Col. Thomas N. Adaire (w), Capt. Thomas P. Nelson
46th Mississippi, Col. Claudius W. Sears
Tobin's Tennessee Battery, Capt. Thomas F. Tobin

Shoup's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Francis A. Shoup

26th Louisiana, Col. Winchester Hall (w), Lt. Col. William C. Crow
27th Louisiana, Col. Leon D. Marks (k), Lt. Col. L.L. McLaurin (k), Capt. Joseph T. Hatch
29th Louisiana, Col. Allen Thomas
McNally's Arkansas Battery, Capt. Francis McNally

Vaughn's Brigade
Brig. Gen. John C. Vaughn

60th Tennessee, Capt. J.W. Bachman
61st Tennessee, Lt. Col. James G. Rose
62d Tennessee, Col. John A. Rowan

**Mississippi State Troops

Brig. Gen. Jeptha V. Harris

5th Regiment, MST, Col. H.C. Robinson
3d Battalion, MST, Lt. Col. Thomas A. Burgis
**Under General Vaughn's command.

Attached

14th Mississippi Light Artillery Battalion, Maj. Matthew S. Ward
Smyth's Company Mississippi Partisan Rangers, Capt. J.S. Smyth
Signal Corps Detachment, Capt. M.T. Davison


BOWEN'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. John S. Bowen

1st (Missouri) Brigade
Col. Francis M. Cockrell

1st Missouri, Col. Amos C. Riley
2d Missouri, Lt. Col. Pembroke Senteny (k), Maj. Thomas M. Carter
3d Missouri, Lt. Col. Finley L. Hubbard (mw), Col. William L. Gause, Maj. James K. McDowell
5th Missouri, Lt. Col. Robert S. Bevier, Col. James McCown
6th Missouri, Col. Eugene Erwin (k), Maj. Stephen Cooper
Guibor's Missouri Battery, Capt. Henry Guibor, Lt. William Corkery, Lt. Cornelius Heffernan
Landis' Missouri Battery, Capt. John C. Landis, Lt. John M. Langan
Wade's Missouri Battery, Lt. Richard C. Walsh

2d Brigade
Brig. Gen. Martin E. Green (k)
Col. Thomas P. Dockery

15th Arkansas, Lt. Col. William W. Reynolds, Capt. Caleb Davis
19th Arkansas, Col. Thomas P. Dockery, Capt. James K. Norwood
20th Arkansas, Col. D.W. Jones
21st Arkansas, Col. Jordan E. Cravens, Capt. A. Tyler
1st Arkansas Cavalry Battalion (dismounted), Capt. John J. Clark
12th Arkansas Sharpshooters Battalion, Capt. Griff Bayne, Lt. John S. Bell
1st Missouri Cavalry (dismounted), Col. Elijah Gates, Maj. William C. Parker
3d Missouri Cavalry (dismounted), Lt. Col. D. Todd Samuel, Capt. Felix Lotspeich
3d Missouri Battery, Capt. William E. Dawson
Lowe's Missouri Battery, Capt. Schyler Lowe, Lt. Thomas B. Catron

River Defenses

Col. Edward Higgins

1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery, Col. Charles A. Fuller, Lt. Col. Daniel Beltzhoover
8th Louisiana Hevy Artillery Battalion, Maj. Frederick N. Ogden
22d Louisiana (detachment), Capt. Samuel Jones
1st Tennessee Heavy Artillery, Col. Andrew Jackson, Jr.
***Caruthers' Tennessee Battery, Capt. J.B. Caruthers
***Johnston's Tennessee Battery, Capt. T.N. Johnston
***Lynch's Tennessee Battery, Capt. John P. Lynch
Company L, 1st Mississippi Light Artillery, Capt. Samuel C. Bains

***These three companies were attached to the 1st Tennessee Heavy Artillery.

Miscellaneous

54th Alabama, Lt. Joel P. Abney
6th Mississippi (detachment), Maj. J.R. Stevens
City Guards, Capt. E.B. Martin
Signal Corps Detachment, Capt. C.A. King


ARMY OF RELIEF

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston

BRECKINRIDGE'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge

Adam's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Adams

32d Alabama, Lt. Col. Henry Maury
13th and 20th Louisiana (Consolidated), Col. Augustus Reichard
16th and 25th Louisiana (Consolidated), Col. Daniel Gober
19th Louisiana, Col. Wesley P. Winans
14th Louisiana Sharpshooters Battalion, Maj. John E. Austin

Helm's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Benjamin H. Helm

41st Alabama, Col. Martin L. Stansel
2d Kentucky, Lt. Col. James W. Hewitt
4th Kentucky, Col. Joseph P. Nuckols, Lt. Col. John A. Adair
6th Kentucky, Lt. Col. Martin H. Cofer
9th Kentucky, Col. John W. Caldwell

Stovall's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Marcellus A. Stovall

1st and 3d Florida (Consolidated), Col. William S. Dilworth
4th Florida, Col. Edward Badger
47th Georgia, Col. George W.M. Williams
60th North Carolina, Col. Washington M. Hardy, Lt. Col. James M. Ray

Artillery

Maj. Rice E. Graves

Johnston (Tennessee) Artillery, Capt. John W. Mebane
Cobb's Kentucky Battery, Capt. Robert Cobb
5th Company, Washington Artillery, Capt. Cuthbert H. Slocomb


FRENCH'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. Samuel G. French

McNair's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Evander McNair

1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (dismounted), Col. Robert W. Harper, Lt. Col. Daniel H. Reynolds
2d Arkansas Mounted Rifles (dismounted), Col. J. A. Williamson
4th Arkansas, Col. Henry G. Bunn
25th and 31st Arkansas (Consolidated), Col. Thomas H. McCray
29th North Carolina, Lt. Col. Creasman
39th North Carolina, Col. David Coleman 

Maxey's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Samuel B. Maxey

4th Louisiana, Lt. Col. William F. Pennington, Col. Samuel E. Hunter
30th Louisiana (battalion), Lt. Col. Thomas Shields
42d Tennessee, Lt. Col. Isaac N. Hulme
46th and 55th Tennessee (Consolidated), Col. Alexander J. Brown, Lt. Col. Gideon B. Black
48th Tennessee, Col. William M. Voorhees
49th Tennessee, Maj. David A. Lynn
53d Tennessee, Lt. Col. John R. White
1st Texas Sharpshooter Battalion, Maj. James Burnet

Evan's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Nathan G. Evans

17th South Carolina, Col. Fitz William McMasters
18th South Carolina, Col. William H. Wallace
22d South Carolina, Lt. Col. James O'Connell
23d South Carolina, Col. Henry L. Benbow
26th South Carolina, Col. Alexander D. Smith
Holcombe Legion, Lt. Col. William J.Crawley, Maj. Martin G. Zeigler

Artillery

Fenner's (Louisiana) Battery, Capt. Charles E. Fenner
Macbeth (South Carolina) Artillery, Lt. B.A. Jeter
Culpeper's (Sdouth Carolina) Battery, Capt. James F. Culpeper


LORING'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. William W. Loring
Adams' Brigade
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman (k)
Col. Arthur E. Reynolds
Brig. Gen. John Adams

1st Confederate Battalion, Lt. Col. George H. Forney
6th Mississippi, Col. Robert Lowry
14th Mississippi, Lt. Col. Washington L. Doss
15th Mississippi, Col. Michael Farrell
20th Mississippi, Col. Daniel R. Russell, Lt. Col. William N. Brown
23d Mississippi, Col. Joseph M. Wells
26th Mississippi, Col. Arthur E. Reynolds, Maj. Tully F. Parker
Lookout (Tennessee) Artillery, Capt. Robert L. Barry

Buford's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Abraham Buford

27th Alabama, Col. James Jackson
35th Alabama, Col. Edward Goodwin
54th Alabama, Col. Alpheus Baker, Maj. T.H. Shackelford
55th Alabama, Col. John Snodgrass
9th Arkansas, Col. Isaac L. Dunlop
3d Kentucky, Col. Albert P. Thompson
7th Kentucky, Col. Edward Crossland
8th Kentucky, Col. Hylan B. Lyon, Lt. Col. A.R. Shacklett
12th Louisiana, Col. Thomas M. Scott
3d Missouri Cavalry (dismounted), Lt. Col. D. Todd Samuels
Company A, Pointe Coupee Artillery, Capt. Alcide Bouanchaud

Featherston's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Featherston
Col. John A. Orr

3d Mississippi, Col. Thomas A. Mellon, Maj. Samuel A. Dyer
22d Mississippi, Col. Frank S. Schaller, Lt. Col. H.J. Reid
31st Mississippi, Col. John A. Orr, Lt. Col. Marcus D.L. Stephens
33d Mississippi, Col. David W. Hurst
1st Mississippi Sharpshooter Battalion, Maj. William A. Rayburn, Maj. James M. Stigler
Charpentier's Alabama Battery, Capt. Stephen Charpentier
Company C, 14th Mississippi Artillery Battalion, Capt. J. Culbertson


WALKER'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. William H.T. Walker

Ector's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Matthew D. Ector

9th Texas, Lt. Col. Miles A. Dillard
10th Texas Cavalry (dismounted), Lt. Col. C.R. Earp
14th Texas Cavalry (dismounted), Col. John L. Camp
32d Texas Cavalry (dismounted), Col. Julius A. Andrews
Battalion, 43d Mississippi, Capt. M. Pounds
Battalion, 40th Alabama, Maj. Thomas O. Stone
McNally's Arkansas Battery, Lt. F.A. Moore

Gregg's Brigade
Brig. Gen. John Gregg

3d Tennessee, Col. Calvin H. Walker
10th Tennessee, Lt. Col. William Grace
30th Tennessee, Col. Randall MacGavock (k), Lt. Col. James .J. Turner
41st Tennessee, Col. Robert Farquharson
50th Tennessee, Lt. Col. Thomas W. Beaumont (w), Col. Cyrus A. Sugg
1st Tennessee Infantry Battalion, Maj. Stephen H. Colms
7th Texas, Col. Hiram B. Granbury
Bledsoe's Missouri Battery, Capt. Hiram M. Bledsoe

Gist's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Gist

46th Georgia, Col. Peyton H. Colquitt
8th Georgia, Capt. Zachariah L. Watters
16th South Carolina, Col. James McCullough
24th South Carolina, Col. C.H. Stevens
Ferguson's South Carolina Battery, Capt. T.B. Ferguson

Wilson's Brigade
Col. Claudius C. Wilson

25th Georgia, Lt. Col. Andrew J. Williams
29th Georgia, Col. William J. Young
30th Georgia, Col. T.W. Mangham
1st Georgia Sharpshooter Battalion, Maj. Arthur Shaaff
4th Louisiana Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. John McEnery
Martin's Georgia Battery, Lt. Evan P. Howell


CAVALRY DIVISION

Brig. Gen. William H. Jackson

1st Brigade
Brig. Gen. George B. Cosby

1st Mississippi Cavalry, Col. R.A. Pinson
4th Mississippi Cavalry, Col. James Gordon, Maj. J.L. Harris
28th Mississippi Cavalry, Col. Peter B. Starke
Wirt Adams' Mississippi Cavalry, Col. William Wirt Adams
Ballentine's Mississippi Cavalry, Lt. Col. William L. Maxwell
17th Mississippi Cavalry Battalion (State Troops), Maj. Abner C. Steede
Clark's Missouri Battery, Capt. Houston King

2d Brigade
Brig. Gen. John W. Whitfield

3d Texas Cavalry, Col. Giles S. Boggess
6th Texas Cavalry, Col. Lawrence S. Ross, Maj. Jack Wharton
9th Texas Cavalry, Col. Dudley W. Jones
27th Texas Cavalry (also called 1st Texas Legion), Lt. Col. John H. Broocks
Bridge's Arkansas Cavalry Battalion, Maj. H.W. Bridges

Escorts and Guards

Company A, 7th Tennessee Cavalry, Capt. W.F. Taylor
Independent Company Louisiana Cavalry, Capt. J.Y. Webb
Provost Guard (Company D 4th Mississippi Cavalry), Capt. James Ruffin

Reserve Artillery
Maj. W.C. Preston

Columbus Georgia Battery, Capt. Edward Croft
Durrive's Louisana Battery, Capt. E. Durrive, Jr.
Battery B, Palmetto South Carolina Artillery, Capt. J. Wates


TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT

Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith

DISTRICT OF WESTERN LOUISIANA

Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor

WALKER'S DIVISION

Maj. Gen. John G. Walker
McCulloch's Brigade
Brig. Gen. Henry E. McCulloch

16th Texas, Col. George Flournoy
17th Texas, Col. R.T.P. Allen
19th Texas, Col. Richard Waterhouse
16th Texas Cavalry (dismounted), Lt. Col. E.P. Gregg (w), Maj. W.W. Diamond (w), Capt. J.D. Woods
Edgar's Battery, Capt. William Edgar

Hawes' Brigade
Brig. Gen. James M. Hawes

13th Texas Cavalry (dismounted), Lt. Col. A.F. Crawford
12th Texas, Col. O. Young
18th Texas, Lt. Col. D.B. Culbertson
22d Texas, Col. R. Hubbard
Halderman's Battery, Capt. Horace Halderman

Randall's Brigade
Col. Horace Randal

11th Texas, Col. O.M. Roberts
14th Texas, Col. E. Clark
28th Texas Cavalry (dismounted), Col. E.H. Baxter
6th Texas Cavalry Battalion (dismounted), Maj. R.S. Gould
Daniels' Battery, Capt. J.M. Daniels

Tappan's Brigade
Brig. Gen. James C. Tappan

27th Arkansas, Col. J.R. Shaler
33d Arkansas, Col. H.L. Grinsted
38th Arkansas, Col. R.G. Shaver

Cavalry (not brigaded)

13th Louisiana Cavalry Battalion, Col. Frank A. Bartlett
15th Louisiana Cavalry Battalion, Lt. Col. Isaac F. Harrison

Parson's Cavalry Brigade
Col. William H. Parsons

12th Texas Cavalry, Lt. Col. A.B. Burleson
21st Texas Cavalry, Col. B.W. Carter
Pratt's Texas Battery, Capt. J.H. Pratt

Legend:
 
w = wounded
k = killed
c = captured

Sources: Vicksburg National Military Park; Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies

Recommended Reading: Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River (Great Campaigns of the Civil War). Description: The struggle for control of the Mississippi River was the longest and most complex campaign of the Civil War. It was marked by an extraordinary diversity of military and naval operations, including fleet engagements, cavalry raids, amphibious landings, pitched battles, and the two longest sieges in American history. Every existing type of naval vessel, from sailing ship to armored ram, played a role, and military engineers practiced their art on a scale never before witnessed in modern warfare. Continued below.

Union commanders such as Grant, Sherman, Farragut, and Porter demonstrated the skills that would take them to the highest levels of command. When the immense contest finally reached its climax at Vicksburg and Port Hudson in the summer of 1863, the Confederacy suffered a blow from which it never recovered. Here was the true turning point of the Civil War. This fast-paced, gripping narrative of the Civil War struggle for the Mississippi River is the first comprehensive single-volume account to appear in over a century. Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River tells the story of the series of campaigns the Union conducted on land and water to conquer Vicksburg and of the many efforts by the Confederates to break the siege of the fortress. William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel present the unfolding drama of the campaign in a clear and readable style, correct historic myths along the way, and examine the profound strategic effects of the eventual Union victory.

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Recommended Reading: Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi (Civil War America). Description: When Confederate troops surrendered Vicksburg on July 4, 1863--the day after the Union victory at Gettysburg--a crucial port and rail depot for the South was lost. The Union gained control of the Mississippi River, and the Confederate territory was split in two. In a thorough yet concise study of the longest single military campaign of the Civil War, Michael B. Ballard brings new depth to our understanding of the Vicksburg campaign by considering its human as well as its military aspects. Continued below.

Ballard examines soldiers' attitudes, guerrilla warfare, and the effects of the campaign and siege on civilians in and around Vicksburg. He also analyzes the leadership and interaction of such key figures as U.S. Grant, William T. Sherman, John Pemberton, and Joseph E. Johnston, among others. Blending strategy and tactics with the human element, Ballard reminds us that while Gettysburg has become the focal point of the history and memory of the Civil War, the outcome at Vicksburg was met with as much celebration and relief in the North as was the Gettysburg victory, and he argues that it should be viewed as equally important today.

 

Recommended Reading: TRIUMPH AND DEFEAT: The Vicksburg Campaign, Volume 2 (Hardcover). Description: The study of the Civil War in the Western Theater is more popular now than ever, and the center of that interest is the months-long Vicksburg Campaign, which is the subject of National Park Historian Terrence J. Winschel's new book Triumph and Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign, Vol 2. Following the popular success of his earlier book of the same name, Winschel offers ten new chapters of insights into what has been declared by many to have been the most decisive campaign of the Civil War. Designed to appeal to both general readers and serious students, Winschel's essays cover a wide range of topics, including military operations, naval engagements, leading personalities, and even a specific family caught up in the nightmarish 47-day siege that nearly cost them their lives. Continued below.

Smoothly written and deeply researched, these fresh chapters offer balanced and comprehensive analysis written with the authority that only someone who has served as Vicksburg's Chief Historian since 1978 can produce. Bolstered by photographs, illustrations, and numerous outstanding original maps, this second volume in the Triumph and Defeat series will stand as a lasting contribution to the study of the Civil War. About the author: Winschel is author of many books, including Triumph and Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign (1998, 2004), Vicksburg is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River (2003), Vicksburg: Fall of the Confederate Gibraltar (1999), and The Civil War Diary of a Common Soldier (2000). Terry is also a popular speaker on the Civil War Round Table circuit and has made frequent appearances on the History Channel. He lives in Vicksburg, where he works as the battlefield's chief historian.

 

Recommended Reading: Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg. Description: The Battle of Champion Hill was the decisive land engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign. The May 16, 1863, fighting took place just 20 miles east of the river city, where the advance of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Federal army attacked Gen. John C. Pemberton's hastily gathered Confederates. Continued below.

The bloody fighting seesawed back and forth until superior Union leadership broke apart the Southern line, sending Pemberton's army into headlong retreat. The victory on Mississippi's wooded hills sealed the fate of both Vicksburg and her large field army, propelled Grant into the national spotlight, and earned him the command of the entire U.S. armed forces. Timothy Smith, who holds a Ph.D. from Mississippi State and works as a historian for the National Park Service, has written the definitive account of this long overlooked battle. His vivid prose is grounded upon years of primary research and is rich in analysis, strategic and tactical action, and character development. Champion Hill will become a classic Civil War battle study.

 

Recommended Reading: Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862. Review: The bloody and decisive two-day battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862) changed the entire course of the American Civil War. The stunning Northern victory thrust Union commander Ulysses S. Grant into the national spotlight, claimed the life of Confederate commander Albert S. Johnston, and forever buried the notion that the Civil War would be a short conflict. The conflagration at Shiloh had its roots in the strong Union advance during the winter of 1861-1862 that resulted in the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. Continued below.

The offensive collapsed General Albert S. Johnston advanced line in Kentucky and forced him to withdraw all the way to northern Mississippi. Anxious to attack the enemy, Johnston began concentrating Southern forces at Corinth, a major railroad center just below the Tennessee border. His bold plan called for his Army of the Mississippi to march north and destroy General Grant's Army of the Tennessee before it could link up with another Union army on the way to join him. On the morning of April 6, Johnston boasted to his subordinates, "Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee!" They nearly did so. Johnston's sweeping attack hit the unsuspecting Federal camps at Pittsburg Landing and routed the enemy from position after position as they fell back toward the Tennessee River. Johnston's sudden death in the Peach Orchard, however, coupled with stubborn Federal resistance, widespread confusion, and Grant's dogged determination to hold the field, saved the Union army from destruction. The arrival of General Don C. Buell's reinforcements that night turned the tide of battle. The next day, Grant seized the initiative and attacked the Confederates, driving them from the field. Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war, with nearly 24,000 men killed, wounded, and missing. Edward Cunningham, a young Ph.D. candidate studying under the legendary T. Harry Williams at Louisiana State University, researched and wrote Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 in 1966. Although it remained unpublished, many Shiloh experts and park rangers consider it to be the best overall examination of the battle ever written. Indeed, Shiloh historiography is just now catching up with Cunningham, who was decades ahead of modern scholarship. Western Civil War historians Gary D. Joiner and Timothy B. Smith have resurrected Cunningham's beautifully written and deeply researched manuscript from its undeserved obscurity. Fully edited and richly annotated with updated citations and observations, original maps, and a complete order of battle and table of losses, Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 will be welcomed by everyone who enjoys battle history at its finest. Edward Cunningham, Ph.D., studied under T. Harry Williams at Louisiana State University. He was the author of The Port Hudson Campaign: 1862-1863 (LSU, 1963). Dr. Cunningham died in 1997. Gary D. Joiner, Ph.D. is the author of One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End: The Red River Campaign of 1864, winner of the 2004 Albert Castel Award and the 2005 A. M. Pate, Jr., Award, and Through the Howling Wilderness: The 1864 Red River Campaign and Union Failure in the West. He lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. About the Author: Timothy B. Smith, Ph.D., is author of Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg (winner of the 2004 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Non-fiction Award), The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield, and This Great Battlefield of Shiloh: History, Memory, and the Establishment of a Civil War National Military Park. A former ranger at Shiloh, Tim teaches history at the University of Tennessee.

 

Recommended Reading: Generals in Gray Lives of the Confederate Commander (Hardcover). Description: When Generals in Gray was published in 1959, scholars and critics immediately hailed it as one of the few indispensable books on the American Civil War. Historian Stanley Horn, for example, wrote, "It is difficult for a reviewer to restrain his enthusiasm in recommending a monumental book of this high quality and value." Here at last is the paperback edition of Ezra J. Warner’s magnum opus with its concise, detailed biographical sketches and—in an amazing feat of research—photographs of all 425 Confederate generals. The only exhaustive guide to the South’s command, Generals in Gray belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the Civil War. RATED 5 STARS!

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