Forgotten Battles...

5fish

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Here is a list of forgotten battles... There are some I have never heard before... Like Morgan's defeat even thou he out numbered the Yankees 5 to 1...

 

diane

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Some of these are very well known, but the little fights and skirmishes are what I call 'lynch pin' battles. Without them, the big famous battles could not have taken place. These are the ones where forgotten generals become critical in the war's outcome.
 

jgoodguy

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Some of these are very well known, but the little fights and skirmishes are what I call 'lynch pin' battles. Without them, the big famous battles could not have taken place. These are the ones where forgotten generals become critical in the war's outcome.
But not profitable for historians to write about.
 

diane

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One of these would be Forrest's West Tennessee Raid, December 10, 1862 to January 3, 1863. Bragg gave three cavalrymen orders to harass the enemy - Earl Van Dorn went into Mississippi, John Hunt Morgan went into Kentucky and part of Ohio, and Forrest went through middle Tennessee. It was a rapid, highly mobile force of 2100 with light artillery - and it was Forrest in his element. Nobody could rip up railroads and communications as thoroughly and efficiently as he could, he captured several important supply depots and achieved his part of the objective when Grant withdrew his base of operations to Memphis. Grant was aiming for Vicksburg but had to delay. Forrest raided from the border of Mississippi through central and northeastern Tennessee. In fact, there was an immense flurry of activity to shore up Union defenses in Cincinnati Ohio with word that Forrest was near. Sherman remarked to Grant, "I can whip their infantry but their cavalry is the very devil." Forrest was promoted to brigadier general after this raid.
 

diane

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Here is a good account of the raid at work in Dresden, TN. Nice pictures and local lore as well but the photos show the type of operation Forrest was conducting and why he was considerably more than a talented raider. Dresden is another overlooked but significant squabble!

 

diane

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Sorry! There seemed to be a fad about naming towns after ones already in Europe. Yes, I should have noted that they apparently wrote the text in invisible ink!
 

rittmeister

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Sorry! There seemed to be a fad about naming towns after ones already in Europe. Yes, I should have noted that they apparently wrote the text in invisible ink!
i really don't understand that lack of fantasy in naming settlements (rome, ia has a whopping 114 inhabitants) - that text is not only difficult to read it isn't all that good either
 
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