Cavalry of the Heartland

Download or read book Cavalry of the Heartland written by Edward G. Longacre and published by Westholme Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia prosecuted the war in the East for the Confederacy, the Army of Tennessee fought in the West, ranging over a tremendous expanse during the course of the Civil War, from southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky all the way to Georgia and the Carolinas. Unlike Lee's army, however, the Army of Tennessee suffered at the hands of a series of uninspired commanders and had fewer impressive victories. It did have, however, arguably the best cavalry of any army in the war in terms of numbers and leadership. Led by some of the most colorful officers of the Civil War-- the brilliant, passionate Nathan Bedford Forrest, the flamboyant but erratic John Hunt Morgan, and the quietly competent "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler-- and grabbing headlines for daring raids, such as Morgan's foray into Ohio, the mounted forces of the Army of Tennessee developed a strategy of a highly mobile fighting unit that could be deployed rapidly in strength to strike deep behind enemy lines and maneuver at a moment's notice during a battle, tactics that were to have the most impact on military operations in the future. The author chronicles in this book the army's top generals failed to recognize the battle-winning potential of their cavalry and instead sent them off on sideshow operations rather than deploy them consistently to assist the main body's efforts. Based on a wide array of research materials including the unpublished writings of more than 300 officers and enlisted men, this book is the only book-length study of the strategy and tactics of the Army of Tennessee's mounted forces from its inception in the spring of 1861 to its final bow at Bentonville, North Carolina, four years later. Throughout, numerous campaigns and battles are described in full detail, including Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro (Stones River), Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Nashville, and the Carolinas.