You’re obviously entitled to your opinion, which is fine.

However, what you don’t get to do is insult me on my own web site.

Your comment has been deleted until you learn how to behave.

The Management

I disagree completely. Neither Wheeler or Forrest kept Bragg informed of Rosecrans movements. Indeed the entire Federal Army was across the Tennessee River and in Bragg’s rear before Bragg learned about it, and then that was from civilians. Wheeler had one regiment charged with covering fifty miles of river front and it numbered slightly over 200 men. Wheeler had the bulk of his cavalry encamped down near Rome, GA and Oxford, AL, too far away from the front.
Forrest gave bad info to Bragg as well, in regards to the Union forces leaving Chattanooga, they werent, and indeed a few hours later he runs into strong Federal resistance at Rossville Gap, where Thomas was firmly entrenched. Thats why Bragg didnt follow up on Forrest’s info.
Also as the Battle began Forrest was supposed to cover the CS advance to the LaFayette Road, not done, he actually followed behind the infantry and encamped on the night of Sept 18. Finally, in one of the fabled Forrest tales on the 19th, he sends Ectors infantry brigade into action, without having gotten permission, Ector then sent word back that he was worried about his left flank and Forrest responded he would look after his left, then Ector sent back word that he was worried about his right, and Forrest roared that he was there and he would take care of both Ector’s right and left, does anyone know what happened to Ector? His right flank was torn apart, Ector’s command was so shot up that it was held out of action on Sept 20, having lost almost every field grade officer in the brigade, Ector being wounded himself.

Lee

I recently purchased a couple of your books and look forward to reading them. This portion of your blog relating to confederate cavalary has raised my interest in other lesser know leaders. I agree with your opinions about Thomas Munford and enjoyed reading them. I wanted to see if you were going to post some others. What do you think about the following:
Laurence Baker
Lunsford Lomax
James B. Gordon
John Chambliss
Pierce M.B. Young

I realize Young and Gordon have had biographies done on them(unsure of the quality). Wondered if you thought any of the others might be good subjects. One other book I have in my collection that I’ve not gotten to is THE LITTLE JEFF- Hopkins. Hopefully, will provide some good reading.
Regards
Don

General Lee also allowed a fair amount of independence to Stuart, i.e., Stuart’s fairly useless “rides around the entire Union Army”.

At Ft. Donelson, Forrest was not only allowed to leave with his command, he was also allowed to extract many other men that did not desire to surrender, Generals Floyd and Pillow left with him. Obviously, his point was well taken. Yes, they left by stealth, as leaving before the surrender instrument was signed was against protocol.

Actually, Forrest “bought and paid for” two commands, and a significant part of a third. The first two were taken from him and given to Wheeler by Bragg…a man that Bragg well knew that Forrest despised. Of course, we don’t know if Bragg did it malitiously, or out of operational necessity. The third was when he was given command of the poorly equipped States’ Troops, local militias, and former partisan rangers in Jan 64.

Nowhere that I am aware of, was Forrest ever accused of failing to obey orders, only that he allegedly voiced his displeasure of them…at Ft. Donelson, and after Chattanooga. The alleged confrontation with Hood was not over orders, but over the needless deaths of Forrest’s soldiers at Franklin.

Lee, actually, both Forrest and Wheeler performed well at Chickamauga, both in the cavarly roles they were in prior to the battle, and in the infantry roles they performed during the battle. Additionally, Forrest notified Bragg that the Union army was retreating to Chattanooga and advised him to attack, both allegedly in person, and officially. (OR, XXX, XVII, Part IV, Page 681)

Whether the confrontation between Forrest and Bragg after Chickamauga actually took place, who knows, you either believe Dr. Cowan or not, and he waited until both Bragg and Forrest had passed on before telling the tale.

Regardless, a few months later, President Davis gave Forrest a lateral promotion, with even more independence than he previously had. (he was given command of all cavalry forces in north Mississippi, excepting those directly under the command of Gen Stephen D. Lee, and had operational control of at least two of Lee’s cavalry regiments for most of the remainder of the war)

As well, Forrest bought and paid for his command and, I guess, believed that he was the final arbiter of their destiny – which, in fact, he proved to be after the surrender of the Confederacy. In the same way, Mosby created his command – a much smaller one than Forrest’s – and so chose after Appomattox to disband rather than surrender the 43rd Battalion. However, Mosby never failed to obey orders given to him by his recognized superiors – Stuart and Lee – and, unlike Forrest, was a commensurate commander of cavalry in the role of scouting, raiding and intelligence gathering.

Both Forrest and Mosby saw a role for the cavalry that ‘went against the grain’ of the more accepted military ideals. The thing is, they went in different directions: Forrest went to a larger role – a sort of ‘mounted infantry’ as Mr. Wittenberg notes – while Mosby went for a smaller role – what we now call, Special Forces operations.

However, I don’t think that any evaluation of Forrest is really complete without taking into account how very badly W.T. Sherman wanted him exterminated even to bankrupting the national Treasury. Whether Forrest was cavalry or mounted infantry, apparently to Sherman he was a colossal pain in the nether region and – like Mosby – remained so until the end of the war.

V.P.

Lee