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(1 of 86)
Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 2:51 PM
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Everyone list your favorite moments of the war...
This could be a battle, an event or an action during the war.
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Posts:
3,538
From:
Monticello
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1/15/07
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(2 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 5:09 PM
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When Lee and Jackson kicked butt at Fredricksburg, thus proving that a defensive campaign, superior strategy, and home-field advantage could more than make up for inferior resources through advance-setup and ambush. If they had continued this throughtout th war, then it wouldn't have lasted long; no Union general with a brain would have opposed it, and idiots like Grant would rush in where the others feared to tread, and die like rats. The whole war would have looked like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
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(3 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 5:12 PM
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The flanking march by Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville.
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Posts:
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(4 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 5:25 PM
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> The flanking march by Stonewall Jackson at
> Chancellorsville.
This was another defensive-campaign maneuver-- the only possible way to win. With superior knowledge of the terrain, they could set up in ambushes before Yankee advances could get there, and turn it into a bloodbath.
If they offered amnesty for yankee deserters, then the war would have ended faster than Desert Storm.
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Posts:
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From:
Seattle Area
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(5 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 5:48 PM
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"With superior knowledge of the terrain, they could set up in ambushes before Yankee advances could get there, and turn it into a bloodbath"
This assumes the enemy cooperates and attacks where you plan.
Burnside's plan at Fredericksburg should have worked if the pontoon bridges had been on location as anticipated. The delay in waiting for them gave Lee the opportunity to arrive and entrench in advance of the Union assault. Burnside should have cancelled the plan once he saw the ANV in position across the river, but he foolishly sent ahead - again and again. But in his defense, he had always argued that he wasn't competent to lead an army.
At Chancellorsville, Hooker crossed the river well west of Fredericksburg while sending a corps (Sedwicks?) to Fredericksburg to demonstrate across the river and act as a diversion. Hooker hoped the diversion would hold Lee in place at Fredericksburg in time for him to clear the Wilderness and attack Lee on his flank, or at least force him out of his entrenchments for an even fight. But lots of things went wrong for Hooker - he didn't push through quickly enough to clear the wilderness, withdrew back into the wilderness at first contact, left his right flank in the air, was knocked sensless by a near miss by a cannonball, and Sedgewick didn't push across the river aggressivley enough once Lee had moved most of his forces. Hooker then made a mistake by giving up and withdrawing - by then he was well entrenched, and could have held his line indefinately, wearing down Lee as Lee attacked. By all rights, Lee should not have won that battle, but he was extraordinarly lucky, in large part due to his audacity and daring. But as Longstreet mentioned upon observing the carnage of the battlefield, the ANV couldn't afford many more such victories. And wars are made of many such battles, and luck has a habit of switching sides at inconvenient times.
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Posts:
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(6 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 6:16 PM
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December 12 1862, the mighty ironclad warship USS Cairo pictured here [img]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uss_Cairo_h61568.jpg[/img]
was operating in the Yazoo river, Mississippi when suddenly bang the Cairo went straight to the bottom of the river.
The USS Cairo became the first armored warship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine. Set off by Confederate agents hidden on shore.
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Posts:
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(7 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 6:28 PM
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The dark of night Feb 17, 1864 the USS Housatonic sat in blockade position in Charleston harbor SC. Her officer of the deck spotted what appeared to be a plank moving in the water towards the ship. Within minutes the Housatonic sank to the bottom of the harbor.
The CSS Hunley became the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship as she rammed a spar torpedo into the Housatonic.
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(8 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 6:42 PM
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> "With superior knowledge of the terrain, they could
> set up in ambushes before Yankee advances could get
> there, and turn it into a bloodbath"
>
> This assumes the enemy cooperates and attacks where
> you plan.
>
> Burnside's plan at Fredericksburg should have worked
> if the pontoon bridges had been on location as
> anticipated. The delay in waiting for them gave Lee
> the opportunity to arrive and entrench in advance of
> the Union assault. Burnside should have cancelled
> the plan once he saw the ANV in position across the
> river, but he foolishly sent ahead - again and again.
> But in his defense, he had always argued that he
> wasn't competent to lead an army.
>
> At Chancellorsville, Hooker crossed the river well
> west of Fredericksburg while sending a corps
> (Sedwicks?) to Fredericksburg to demonstrate across
> the river and act as a diversion. Hooker hoped the
> diversion would hold Lee in place at Fredericksburg
> in time for him to clear the Wilderness and attack
> Lee on his flank, or at least force him out of his
> entrenchments for an even fight. But lots of things
> went wrong for Hooker - he didn't push through
> quickly enough to clear the wilderness, withdrew back
> into the wilderness at first contact, left his right
> flank in the air, was knocked sensless by a near miss
> by a cannonball, and Sedgewick didn't push across the
> river aggressivley enough once Lee had moved most of
> his forces. Hooker then made a mistake by giving up
> and withdrawing - by then he was well entrenched, and
> could have held his line indefinately, wearing down
> Lee as Lee attacked. By all rights, Lee should not
> have won that battle, but he was extraordinarly
> lucky, in large part due to his audacity and daring.
> But as Longstreet mentioned upon observing the
> e carnage of the battlefield, the ANV couldn't afford
> many more such victories. And wars are made of many
> such battles, and luck has a habit of switching sides
> at inconvenient times.
No one whipped Robert E. Lee's army after all the men the yankees had to try and do that.
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7,583
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MD
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(9 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 6:48 PM
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> The flanking march by Stonewall Jackson at
> Chancellorsville.
Yep, Lee certainly took chances and made good plans. Wonder what else could have been gained if Jackson started out at daybreak, instead of mid morning, as he was ordered, and picked up the very slow speed of the march.
Brgds,
Pat
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Posts:
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(10 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 7:36 PM
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Incredible, The south never lost a battle, and yet they managed to lose the war..
--
Liberty without obedience is confusion, obedience without liberty is slavery
There's never a right time to be in the wrong place"
jasser
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Posts:
7,583
From:
MD
Registered:
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(11 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 7:47 PM
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When the hungry rebels opened the doors to the boxcars at Amelia Station and discovered that their incompetent leadership had sent chassons and ammunition, which they had in abundance, rather than the food they so desperately needed. Lee let over a thousand of his men die in a sop to his pride in a futile retreat before he ran out of options. Grant should have let his troops fire off cannons and celebrate the crushing of the odious rebellion that needlessly sacrificed over 600,000 lives on the altar of Southern arrogant stupidity.
--
Brgds,
Pat
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Posts:
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(12 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 8:02 PM
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> When the hungry rebels opened the doors to the
> boxcars at Amelia Station and discovered that their
> incompetent leadership had sent chassons and
> ammunition, which they had in abundance, rather than
> the food they so desperately needed. Lee let over a
> thousand of his men die in a sop to his pride in a
> futile retreat before he ran out of options. Grant
> should have let his troops fire off cannons and
> celebrate the crushing of the odious rebellion that
> needlessly sacrificed over 600,000 lives on the altar
> of Southern arrogant stupidity.
>
> --
> Brgds,
> Pat
All created by lincoln.
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Posts:
3,288
Registered:
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(13 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 8:10 PM
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Southern arrogant stupidity
All created by lincoln.
Lincoln created Southern arrogant stupidity? Who knew?
What a masterpiece of strategic thinking. Creating the fault in your enemy that caused their demise.
BRILLIANT!
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Posts:
965
From:
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Registered:
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(14 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 8:18 PM
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"needlessly sacrificed over 600,000 lives."
Most of them were Yankees.
Y'all seem to be getting off topic trying to blame the South defending their land from Northern cannon fodder fighting to tyrannize the South.
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Posts:
9,861
Registered:
11/18/04
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(15 of 86)
Re: Your favorite action of the Civil War.
Oct 21, 2009 8:21 PM
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Well stated prroh....
--
Liberty without obedience is confusion, obedience without liberty is slavery
There's never a right time to be in the wrong place"
jasser
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