Susan, Nero, and Aurora join me in wishing each and every one of you happy holidays. Merry Christmas to all, happy Kwanzaa to those to whom it applies, and to the rest, a joyous Festivus.

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Since this is the holiday season, and giving is better than receiving, I thought I would take a moment to pass along a few holiday gift wishes. They are presented in no particular order.

–To the Civil War Preservation Trust, I wish for you unlimited funds for the continuation of the good work that you do.

–To Jenny Goellnitz, I wish for you a lifetime of Hodge-free robust good health. I have many battlefields yet to show you.

–To Michael Aubrecht, I wish for you the joy of nights of sleep uninterrupted by Jackson’s cries.

–To Duane Siskey, I wish for you a lifetime of joy living on the battlefield in Gettysburg.

–To George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, I wish for you the impeachments that you so richly deserve.

–To Dana Shoaf, I wish for you an unlimited supply of great articles for your magazines.

–To Drew Wagenhoffer, I wish for you a huge supply of great Civil War books for your insightful reviews.

–To Mannie Gentile, I wish for you a full-time ranger position. I can’t think of anyone more worthy.

–To Ted Savas, I wish for you another year of great Civil War books marked by record, unprecedented sales.

–To Al Ovies, I wish for you to have ample time to finish your excellent work on Custer and Merritt, which I believe will be a very significant contribution to the body of knowledge.

–To Clark B. “Bud” Hall, I hope that this will be the year when you tell me that your Brandy Station manuscript is done and on its way to me for review and comment.

–To Kevin Levin, I wish for you a year of continued success in fighting the good fight against the neo-Confederates of the world. I can’t fight that fight alone.

–To Steve Basic, I wish for you a great year where you finally get to enjoy life for its own sake and not because you’re too busy taking care of someone else.

–To all U. S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, I wish for you safety and a very quick return home.

–To my brothers in arms J. D. Petruzzi and Mike Nugent, I wish for you the gift of multiple printings of One Continuous Fight.

–To the rest of my fellow Civil War bloggers, I wish for you another year of perseverance and satisfaction in knowing that others care enough about what you might have to say to give their time to read your words.

–To Jim Schmidt, I wish for you the joy of seeing your first book in print.

–To my father, I wish for you a few more good years of happiness and health before you leave us.

–To Ted Alexander, I wish for you continued success at losing weight. You’ve already made great progress, and all of your friends are proud of you.

–To Dimitri Rotov, I wish for you the continued gift of insight and commentary and for you to keep the rest of us honest.

–To Stan O’Donnell, I wish for you to learn that you have some familiar new neighbors in the mansion next door.

–To Brian Downey and Harry Smeltzer, I wish for you continued success with your very ambitious projects to bring quality digital history to the Internet.

–To Tonia “Teej” Smith, I wish for you a year without surgery. ‘Nuff said about that.

–To my much loved and long-suffering wife, Susan, I wish for you a year of stability and happiness after a really crappy 2007.

And to everyone else who gives their time and effort to indulging my rantings each day, I wish for you and yours a wonderful holiday season, no matter which holiday you may celebrate, and a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2008.

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Need I say anything more?

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The Civil War Education Association is putting on some nifty programs this year. I’ve already posted about the cavalry tour I’m leading for CWA next June.

Old friend Bruce Venter, who is probably THE authority on the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid, is leading a really interesting tour for the CWEA. 1864 was a leap year, just as 2008 is, meaning that both years had a February 29. The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid began on February 28 and ended on March 1. Bruce is going to be leading a real-time tour of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid for the CWEA, commencing on the evening of February 28 and ending on the evening of March 1.

Given my interest in the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid, I could not pass up the opportunity to attend this event, so I signed up this morning. The truth is that I’m actually rather looking forward to just being a participant and not having to lead a tour or give a talk. I just get to sit back and enjoy the program.

We have a new airline here in Columbus called Skybus. Skybus specializes in some off-the-beaten path airports, and one of the airports it services is Richmond, Virginia, which is the home base for this program. Skybus is a low cost airline, and I was able to book a round-trip flight to Richmond today for $90.00. When the taxes and fees were added in, the total was $110. The drawback is that there is only one flight per day, and it departs Columbus at 6:00 AM. It arrives in Richmond at 7:15. The program doesn’t begin until 8:00 that evening, so I’m going to have the whole day to kill. I had to rent a car anyway, so I called Bobby Krick today to see whether he might be available to do some battlefield stomping with me, and he is available to do so.

You will recall that earlier this week, I posted about another book idea that I had that will focus on the evolution of cavalry tactics during the latter phases of the Overland Campaign of 1864. I mentioned that I hadn’t seen some of those sites, and that I was going to need to spend some time with Bobby getting the lay of the land. That process will begin in February when I’m in Richmond.

It’s going to be terrific trip. Perhaps some of y’all who find the saga of the Dahlgren Papers interesting might come along, too. If so, see you in Richmond.

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Time for another installment of my infrequent series of profiles of forgotten cavalrymen.

John Baillie McIntosh was born at Tampa Bay, Florida, on June 29, 1829. His father, James S. McIntosh, was a Colonel in the United States army, and a native of Georgia. His mother was Eliza (Shumate) McIntosh. He was the grand-nephew of a Revolutionary War general who killed Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Young John was educated at Nazareth Hall, Pennsylvania, at S. M. Hammill’s School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and at Marlborough Churchill’s Military School at Sing Sing, New York, where he received a good education. Demonstrating an inclination toward the military, his family attempted to obtain an appointment to West Point for him. However, he had a brother who was a cadet there, and due to War Department policy, no two brothers of the same family could attend West Point. Instead, upon completing his studies in 1848, the 19-year-old McIntosh entered the navy as a midshipman.

He served on the U.S.S. Saratoga during the latter phases of the Mexican War. In 1850, after two years of service, he resigned. On October 2, 1850, he married Miss Amelia Short, of New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was engaged in various business ventures with his father-in-law between the years 1850-1861.

Soon after the beginning of hostilities in the Civil War, McIntosh was commissioned a second lieutenant of the Fifth United States cavalry, his commission bearing a date of 8th of June, 1861. His brother James M. McIntosh cast his lot with the Confederacy, was commissioned a brigadier general, and was killed in action while commanding an infantry division at the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862.

On April 27, 1862, he was promoted to first lieutenant, serving with his regiment on the Peninsula during the summer of 1862. As a consequence of his good service, he received a brevet to major for valor during the Battle of White Oak Swamp during the Seven Days. On September 26, 1862, he was appointed colonel of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, which he led during the Maryland Campaign, the Fredericksburg Campaign, and then in the spring of 1863.

During the March 17, 1863 Battle of Kelly’s Ford, McIntosh commanded a brigade in Brig. Gen. William W. Averell’s Division. “To the intrepidity,” wrote General Averell, “promptitude and excellent judgment of McIntosh on that occasion our success was chiefly attributable. Although off duty from illness, he voluntarily joined his brigade in the field and displayed all the vigor of an indomitable soldier.” After the battle of Chancellorsville he assumed permanent command of the First Brigade, Second Division, of the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac.

During the fighting on East Cavalry Field at Gettysburg, McIntosh’s brigade had a major role, with the colonel himself engaging in hand-to-hand combat. After the end of the battle, during the pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, he won for himself an enviable reputation as a leader. When the fighting at Gettysburg ended, McIntosh’s brigade of cavalry and Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Neill’s of infantry were detached to follow up the line of retreat, while the main body of Meade’s army marched down on the south side of the Blue Ridge. On July 10, 1863, McIntosh fell in with the rebel force at old Antietam Forge, where a brisk engagement ensued. In recognition of his services throughout this entire campaign he was brevetted lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army, having been previously brevetted Major, and in December 1863, he was promoted to the Regular Army rank of Captain.

At 6:30 AM on May 5, 1864, he held Parker’s Store with a single regiment of cavalry, and received the first attack of the enemy in the Battle of the Wilderness, when Ewell’s Corps advanced. McIntosh’s lone regiment withstood the onslaught with all the stubbornness and determination of which so small a force was capable, and was finally driven down to near the intersection of the Brock Road, where it was relieved by a division of the Sixth Corps under George W. Getty. On May 8, McIntosh charged into Spotsylvania Court House with his brigade, took the town and captured many prisoners. Moving forward, he attacked the rear of Longstreet’s corps, and only withdrew upon the order of General Sheridan.

Following up on his defeat of W.H.F. Lee’s command at Hanover Court House on May 3, McIntosh then achieved a brilliant success on the following day at Ashland, where, with only three regiments, he withstood for two hours the combined attack of three brigades of rebel cavalry,
and finally retired with the loss of only a few led horses. For his gallantry here, he was brevetted colonel in the regular service and made brigadier general of volunteers.

McIntosh played a significant role during the 1864 Valley Campaign. “Although the main force,” says General Sheridan in his report, “remained without change of position from September 3d to 19th, still the cavalry was employed every day in harassing the enemy, its opponents being principally infantry. In these skirmishes the cavalry was becoming educated to attack infantry lines. On the 13th one of those handsome dashes was made by General McIntosh, of Wilson’s
division, capturing the Eighth South Carolina regiment at Abram’s Creek.” And of the Third Battle of Winchester, fought on September 19, 1864, Sheridan wrote, “Wilson, with McIntosh’s brigade leading, made a gallant charge through the long canon, and, meeting the advance of Ramseur’s rebel infantry division, drove it back and captured the earth-work at the mouth of the canon. This movement was immediately followed up by the Sixth Corps.”

Although the result could not have been better, this victory carried a significant cost for McIntosh. During the heat of battle, he was struck in the leg. The severe wound so mangled his leg that the doctors had to amputate the leg below the knee. “For distinguished gallantry, and good management at the battle of Opequon,” such was the language in which the distinction was conferred, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the Regular Army and major general of volunteers by brevet.

In reviewing his record, Brig. Gen. William W. Averell said: “I beg to remark that there are few subalterns thoroughly capable of leading an advance guard. I do not remember above six in the cavalry, and McIntosh stood at the head of the list. As a brigade commander, either in camp or in action, he had no superior.” And Maj. Gen. George Stoneman said: “His bravery, loyalty, and integrity are equal to his capacity, and all are conspicuous.”

On July 28, 1866, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the newly formed 42 U.S. Infantry, Veteran Reserve Corps, which position he held until the reduction of the army. In the summer of 1870, he was retired with the Regular Army rank of brigadier general. General McIntosh spent the rest of his days in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He died at the age of 59 on June 29, 1888 and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

Although he had no formal military training, John B. McIntosh was a superb natural soldier and as gifted a cavalryman as donned the Union blue during the Civil War. The terrible wound that cost him his leg also cost the United States Army the services of one of the most promising officers to emerge during the Civil War. Hopefully, he is no longer a forgotten cavalryman.

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This past summer, I helped to lead a tour of the Overland Campaign with Gordon Rhea and Bobby Krick. As a consequence of writing my study of Sheridan’s second raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station, I learned a great deal about cavalry operations during the Overland Campaign. I’ve continued to study those actions and to learn more as I go.

While out walking the fields with Gordon and Bobby, and, in particular, while visiting the battlefield at Cold Harbor, I had a bit of a revelation, and that revelation serves as the cornerstone of my book idea. The combination of terrain features and technological advances meant that cavalry tactics had to change dramatically, because the terrain covered by the Overland Campaign most assuredly was not amenable to classic mounted operations. Further, the firepower of the 7-shot Spencer carbine (and the few Henry rifles scattered throughout the Union cavalry) meant that cavalry tactics had to evolve, often on the fly.

Nowhere is that process of evolution more obvious than it was during the period between May 26 and June 3, 1864. The Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps, just back from the May Richmond raid, fought hard, grinding fights almost every day, usually fighting dismounted. This period included the Battles of Haw’s Shop, Old Church, and Matadequin Creek, were later remembered by many veterans as some of the most difficult of the war. The high point of this period occurred on June 1, when Sheridan’s horse soldiers seized and held the critical road junction at Cold Harbor, withstanding heavy attacks by Maj. Gen. Robert Hoke’s Confederate infantry division. The superior firepower of the Spencers made it possible for the outnumbered Federal horsemen to hold that crucial position long enough for reinforcements to come up and relieve them.

This period also marked the ascendance of Wade Hampton to command of the Army of Northern Virginia’s Cavalry Corps. Hampton lacked the sense of fun demonstrated by his late predecessor, Jeb Stuart, but the big South Carolinian was the right man in the right place. Hampton demonstrated tactical genius, as demonstrated by the whipping he administered to Sheridan at Trevilians. I’m not persuaded that Stuart could have made the changes necessary to counter the evolving tactics, whereas Hampton was uniquely qualified for that role, and he filled it very effectively.

I’ve come to the conclusion that a tactical study of these actions will demonstrate the evolution of dismounted cavalry tactics in a way that has never been done previously. Both Gordon and Bobby agreed with me, and I’ve been chewing on doing this as a book length study since. I think i’ve decided to to tackle the project, and will put it on my list. It should be an interesting one. I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Haw’s Shop and Cold Harbor, but I’ve never done anything more than drive by the Matadequin Creek and Old Church battlefields, so I will need to spend some time there. Bobby’s already agreed to show me around, and I will definitely take him up on it.

Stay tuned.

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Rene Tyree has an excellent series of posts on his blog that began about a week ago on the causes of the Civil War. Tonight’s installment is part 8 of the series, and it’s really very well done and very insightful. I highly recommend the entire series to you, and wish that Dixie Dawn would take the time to read these posts, as the series constitutes one of the best and most concise analyses of the causes of the war I have yet seen.

Keep up the very good work, Rene.

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Ted Savas is working on our retreat manuscript, getting it ready for publication. Apparently, superscripts wig out his software. Unfortunately, Word takes things like 2nd and makes the “nd” a superscript. We had to get rid of all of those superscripts for Ted. JD took the first cut at the 1200 or so endnotes and more than 800 entries of the bibliography, and I just finished taking the second run at them. It’s mind-numbing, dull work, but it’s stuff that has to be done. It took me the better part of two hours to get through all of it, but I did.

This is the sort of formatting work that I really and truly hate to do. It’s right up there with doing an index on my list of things I hate to do, but it has to be done, and it had to be done early in order to avoid any delays in what is already a short production timetable to get this book out in May.

The best part about it is that the job is now finished. 🙂

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Having finished the retreat book–I sent the illustrations and some of the maps to Ted Savas on Thursday, and JD sent the rest out the same day–and having finished the Dahlgren book and found a home for it, I’m regularly being asked what next?

I thought I would take a moment to answer the question. First, and foremost, I have a couple of articles to finish up. We’re doing an article on Monterey Pass for next year’s Gettysburg edition of Blue and Gray magazine, and we’re also wrapping up an article on Lt. Col. Benjamin Franklin Carter of the 4th Texas Infantry, who was mortally wounded during the fighting for Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, and who then had quite an ordeal. That article will be submitted to Gettysburg Magazine. Finally, I need to finish the article on Capt. William H. Boyd of the 1st New York (Lincoln) Cavalry for Gettysburg Magazine that I started earlier this year and then set aside to finish up these other projects.

When those are done, which should be shortly, I then have a project under contract with Westholme Publishing for a tactical study of John Hunt Morgan’s great Indiana and Ohio raid of 1863. The research is pretty much done, but I have one more battlefield to visit. I’ve driven the entire Ohio route, and have walked the Buffington Island battlefield several times.

Finally, JD and I have our three-volume study of cavalry operations in the Gettysburg Campaign to assemble.

I’d have to say that that’s enough to keep me busy for a while…..

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Today is a very sad day for the National Pastime. Former Senator George Mitchell’s 408 page report on the use of steroids in Major League Baseball was released today. The entire report can be downloaded for free in any number of places.

Some of the game’s biggest names were implicated in the report. 85 players were named, including MVP’s, 31 All Stars, Cy Young Award winners, and, most interestingly, 16 members of the New York Yankees. Sadly, the most famous name (beside Barry Bonds, that is) is that of the Rocket–yes, Roger Clemens himself. Clemens, with 7 Cy Young Awards, more than 350 victories, and often considered to be THE greatest pitcher of the modern era, has long been a favorite of mine. I can no longer root for him, even though his lawyer has loudly protested his innocence and has proclaimed how unfair the whole thing is.

I always knew that the Yankees were the best team that money could buy. Now, it appears that they were also the best team dope could build. If Bud Selig has any guts–and I can only hope he does–he will strip the Yankees of any World Series championships during the pertinent period of time, including making the dope fiends turn in their championship rings. Perhaps then, and only then, will these cheaters learn that there is a serious price to be paid for their cheating.

Unless Selig is willing to do something that serious, it will come across as a slap on the wrist, and it will also come across as an unwillingness to take steps to restore integrity to the game.

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