September 20, 2007

Gratuitous Civil War Geekery Posting

THOMAS.gif

Today is the anniversary of the last day of major fighting at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, during which Major General George H. Thomas earned for himself the name "Rock of Chickamauga" for his refusal to abandon his position in the face of an onslaught by Longstreet, whilst the rest of the Union army, including its commander William Rosencrans, fled in panic. Thomas' brave stand, supported only by General George Granger acting without orders, checked Longstreet's thrust. Thomas retreated in good order that night, but his valiant delaying action, coupled with the mauling they had received over the previous days' fighting, deterred the Confederates under General Braxton Bragg from following up on their victory and perhaps destroying the Union army in detail.

I readily admit to not knowing half as much about the Western theatre of the war as I do the Eastern (and I suspect this is true of many casual buffs). Shiloh, yes. The Vicksburg Campaign, certainly. But then it gets a bit vague until, say, Atlanta. And yet, these battles across Tennessee - Nashville, Chickamauga, Chattanooga - were just as bloody and desparate as those fought in and around Virginia. I suppose this in in part a function of their perceived remoteness from important strategic landmarks - say, Washington and Richmond in the east, the Mississippi River in the west. I suppose it's also a function of the fact that of the two commanders who have captured the historickal limelight, Lee never fought there and Grant only came in to clean things up at Chattanooga.

Posted by Robert at September 20, 2007 09:49 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Chattanooga is interesting because several months of fighting that took place around there really amounted to what I think was the South's last chance to stop the North. They failed to stop Sherman (and Grant) and when Sherman started up again in the spring, he moved steadily south - through some tough terrain.

He captured Atlanta in time to help get Lincoln reelected. (Can you imagine the world if we had gotten President McClellan?) And set up for the March to the sea the following the election in November of 1864.

Chattanooga is also interesting because on several of the days the South was driven from what should have been very defensible positions. The terrain around Chattanooga is extremely hilly, and they had several good high-ground positions, but were poorly emplaced and the infantry and artillery was poorly coordinated. The final charge up Missionary Ridge on 25 November 1863 was done without orders from any officer.

Posted by: Zendo Deb at September 20, 2007 10:37 AM

Yes, one looks at pictures of places such as Lookout Mountain and wonders how on earth any force in size could have given it up.

James Thurber mentions in his short story "The Dog That Bit People" a great uncle (or some such) who claimed to be the third man up Missionary Ridge. Thurber remarks that had Muggs (the dog) been after him, he'd have been the first one up.

Posted by: Robbo the LB at September 20, 2007 10:43 AM

冷水机 冷水机 密炼机 冷水机 冷水机 冷水机 冷水机 工业冷水机 工业冷水机 工业冷水机 工业冷水机 上海冷水机 上海冷水机 上海冷水机 上海冷水机 昆山冷水机 昆山冷水机 昆山冷水机 昆山冷水机 张家港冷水机 张家港冷水机 张家港冷水机 张家港冷水机 常熟冷水机 常熟冷水机 常熟冷水机 常熟冷水机 吴江冷水机 吴江冷水机 吴江冷水机 吴江冷水机 太仓冷水机 太仓冷水机 太仓冷水机 太仓冷水机 苏州冷水机 苏州冷水机 苏州冷水机 苏州冷水机 无锡冷水机 无锡冷水机 无锡冷水机 无锡冷水机 江阴冷水机 江阴冷水机 江阴冷水机 江阴冷水机 宜兴冷水机 宜兴冷水机 宜兴冷水机 宜兴冷水机 常州冷水机 溧阳冷水机 常州冷水机 溧阳冷水机 常州冷水机 溧阳冷水机 溧阳冷水机 常州冷水机 南京冷水机 南京冷水机 南京冷水机 南京冷水机 杭州冷水机 杭州冷水机 杭州冷水机 杭州冷水机 绍兴冷水机 绍兴冷水机 绍兴冷水机 绍兴冷水机 上虞冷水机 上虞冷水机 上虞冷水机 上虞冷水机 诸暨冷水机 诸暨冷水机 诸暨冷水机 诸暨冷水机 余姚冷水机 余姚冷水机 余姚冷水机 余姚冷水机 慈溪冷水机 慈溪冷水机 慈溪冷水机 慈溪冷水机 宁波冷水机 宁波冷水机 宁波冷水机 宁波冷水机 宁海冷水机 宁海冷水机 宁海冷水机 宁海冷水机 北仑冷水机 北仑冷水机 北仑冷水机 北仑冷水机 温州冷水机 温州冷水机 温州冷水机 温州冷水机 瑞安冷水机 瑞安冷水机 瑞安冷水机 瑞安冷水机 嘉兴冷水机 嘉兴冷水机 嘉兴冷水机 嘉兴冷水机 台州冷水机 台州冷水机 台州冷水机 台州冷水机 青岛冷水机 青岛冷水机 青岛冷水机 青岛冷水机 合肥冷水机 合肥冷水机 合肥冷水机 合肥冷水机 模温机 模温机 模温机 模温机 模温机 上海模温机 上海模温机 上海模温机 上海模温机 昆山模温机 昆山模温机 昆山模温机 昆山模温机 张家港模温机 张家港模温机 张家港模温机 张家港模温机 吴江模温机 吴江模温机 吴江模温机 吴江模温机 常熟模温机 常熟模温机 常熟模温机 常熟模温机 太仓模温机 太仓模温机 太仓模温机 太仓模温机 苏州模温机 苏州模温机 苏州模温机 苏州模温机 模温机 上海模温机 昆山模温机 苏州模温机 南京模温机 模温机 上海模温机 昆山模温机 张家港模温机 常熟模温机 太仓模温机 吴江模温机 苏州模温机 无锡模温机 江阴模温机 宜兴模温机 常州模温机 溧阳模温机 镇江模温机 扬州模温机 南京模温机 江苏模温机 南通模温机 浙江模温机 杭州模温机 绍兴模温机 诸暨模温机 上虞模温机 余姚模温机 慈溪模温机 宁海模温机 北仑模温机 宁波模温机 温州模温机 瑞安模温机 乐清模温机 台州模温机 嘉兴模温机 海宁模温机 金华模温机 义乌模温机 哈尔滨模温机 长春模温机 沈阳模温机 大连模温机 北京模温机 天津模温机 石家庄模温机 郑州模温机 济南模温机 青岛模温机 福州模温机 厦门模温机 武汉模温机 长沙模温机 南昌模温机 太原模温机 西安模温机 合肥模温机 芜湖模温机 马鞍山模温机 油温机 上海水温机 水温机 上海油温机 苏州油温机 苏州水温机 无锡水温机 无锡油温机 常州水温机 常州油温机 南京水温机 南京油温机 杭州水温机 杭州油温机 绍兴水温机 绍兴油温机 宁波水温机 宁波油温机 温州水温机 温州油温机 嘉兴水温机 嘉兴油温机 台州水温机 台州油温机

Posted by: njracks at July 6, 2008 09:45 PM