Category: Military History
-
Consequences of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid
What were the consequences of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid? In operational terms, not much. Casualties were minimal and the raid accomplished little. The indirect consequences, however, were important. For one, it convinced the Confederates to strengthen Richmond’s defenses and move their POWs away from the capital, thus removing a tempting target for raids. The biggest fallout […]
-
Short Takes
Following up on my post about the recent Dahlgren bio, an excellent dissection on HistoryNet about the authenticity of the papers found on that officer’s body: It can be accepted then that the authenticity of the Dahlgren papers is established beyond a doubt. There is not the least scrap of credible evidence for their forgery. […]
-
Review: Like a Meteor Blazing Brightly: The Short but Controversial Life of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren
Like a Meteor Blazing Brightly: The Short but Controversial Life of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren by Eric Wittenberg Edinborough Press, Roseville, MN ISBN-10: 1889020338 ISBN-13: 978-1889020334 August 1, 2009 Hardcover, 6×9”, 288 pages, $29.95 The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren cavalry raid, aimed at Richmond in the early months of 1864, continues to fascinate historians and provoke controversy. Although ostensibly […]
-
Second Bull Run
Second Bull Run By James W. Durney After the battle of Brawner’s Farm or Groveton, Pope had “bagged” Jackson and all he needed to do was beat him in battle. Pope possessed unlimited confidence in his ability to do this with his army of 63,000 assembled from multiple independent sources. Franz Sigel commands the I […]
-
Thirty Years War
I’m going a bit afield here to look at a war most people have never heard of—the Thirty Years War. Bear with me, because I’m going to tie it in with the Civil War. Right now I’m working on reviews of several books dealing with guerilla warfare and the treatment of civilians, and as we’ll […]
-
Gary Yee’s Sharpshooter Book
Generalissimo Gary Yee has informed me that his long-awaited book Sharpshooters (1750-1900), The Men, Their Guns, Their Story will be out shortly. Can’t tell you much more than that since the web site isn’t up yet, but it promises to be the most complete work on the subject yet. I’ve never met Gary but we’ve […]
-
Mr. Lincoln’s Forts reissue & signing
Frank Cooling and Wally Owen’s book on the ring of forts around Washington has been reissued. At $75 for the hardback the price is steep but it’s the definitive reference work on the 68 forts that protected the capitol during the war. If you’re DC area on the evening of Nov. 14 (between 6-8pm) you […]