Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Union Cavalry Comes of Age: Hartwood Church to Brandy Station, 1863
    Unavailable
    The Union Cavalry Comes of Age: Hartwood Church to Brandy Station, 1863
    Unavailable
    The Union Cavalry Comes of Age: Hartwood Church to Brandy Station, 1863
    Ebook710 pages6 hours

    The Union Cavalry Comes of Age: Hartwood Church to Brandy Station, 1863

    By Eric J. Wittenberg

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The Army of the Potomac's mounted units suffered early in the Civil War at the hands of the horsemen of the South. However, by 1863, the Federal cavalry had evolved into a fighting machine. Despite the numerous challenges occupying officers and politicians, as well as the harrowing existence of troopers in the field, the Northern cavalry helped turn the tide of war much earlier than is generally acknowledged. It became the largest, best-mounted, and best-equipped force of horse soldiers the world had ever seen. Further, the 1863 consolidation of numerous scattered Federal units created a force to be reckoned with--a single corps ten thousand strong. Award-winning cavalry historian Eric J. Wittenberg chronicles this story, debunking persistent myths that have elevated the Confederate "cavaliers" over their Union counterparts.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe History Press
    Release dateJan 9, 2017
    ISBN9781439660072
    Unavailable
    The Union Cavalry Comes of Age: Hartwood Church to Brandy Station, 1863
    Author

    Eric J. Wittenberg

    Eric J. Wittenberg is an Ohio attorney, accomplished Civil War cavalry historian, and award-winning author. He has penned more than a dozen books, including Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions, which won the 1998 Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award, and The Devil’s to Pay: John Buford at Gettysburg, which won the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable’s 2015 Book Award.

    Read more from Eric J. Wittenberg

    Related to The Union Cavalry Comes of Age

    Related ebooks

    United States History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Saving Sherman

      Jan 18, 2022

      Saving Sherman
      5 min read

    • Article

      Haunted

      Dec 24, 2019

      Haunted
      13 min read

    • Article

      Grant’s Vicksburg Game Changer

      Feb 26, 2019

      Grant’s Vicksburg Game Changer
      10 min read

    • Article

      ‘True To Their Country’

      Aug 18, 2020

      ‘True To Their Country’
      15 min read

    • Article

      Culture Clash

      Feb 9, 2021

      Culture Clash
      11 min read

    • Article

      Grant’s Holy Grail

      Dec 24, 2019

      Grant’s Holy Grail
      2 min read

    • Article

      The War On The Net

      Sep 25, 2018

      altchive.org/private-voices In January 1862, a scuffle broke out in the camp of the 6th North Carolina Infantry, which was part of the Confederacy’s blockade of the Potomac River. The Carolinians had been skirmishing with Federal defenders on the Mar

      1 min read

    • Article

      What’s In A Name?

      Jun 29, 2021

      What’s In A Name?
      1 min read

    • Article

      Regimental Newspaper

      Feb 14, 2023

      Regimental Newspaper
      1 min read

    • Article

      Honoring the USCT

      Sep 21, 2021

      Honoring the USCT
      1 min read

    • Article

      Kith & Kin

      Sep 21, 2021

      In the spring of 1862, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s 48-day Shenandoah Valley Campaign sought to retain control of the heart of the Confederacy. “If the Valley is lost, Virginia is lost,” he claimed, and many in the South believed if Virginia was lost

      4 min read

    • Article

      Marketing Lincoln

      Apr 6, 2021

      Marketing Lincoln
      5 min read

    • Article

      Hunted Down After Gettysburg

      Jul 24, 2018

      Hunted Down After Gettysburg
      14 min read

    • Article

      Formidable Royals

      Aug 12, 2021

      A claimant to the English throne during the Anarchy, a civil war between England and Normandy, Empress Matilda almost became England’s first female ruler. She was the daughter and heir of King Henry I, but after his death the throne was seized by her

      1 min read

    • Article

      Heart Of A Regiment

      Aug 24, 2021

      This is the story of the 107th Ohio Infantry, just more than a thousand men in an army of just over two million, and mainly composed of ethnic Germans from northeast Ohio. It’s the story of fear, perseverance, and dedication to duty. Brian Jordan cra

      2 min read

    • Article

      Four Hills At Gettysburg

      Nov 26, 2019

      Four Hills At Gettysburg
      7 min read

    • Article

      By The Book

      Oct 20, 2020

      By The Book
      15 min read

    • Article

      America’s Civil War Online

      Oct 20, 2020

      America’s Civil War Online
      1 min read

    • Article

      Eyewitness To Carnage

      Jan 18, 2022

      Eyewitness To Carnage
      15 min read

    • Article

      Civil War Times Online

      Aug 24, 2021

      Civil War Times Online
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Death Of A Deserter

      Jul 5, 2022

      The Death Of A Deserter
      2 min read

    • Article

      America’s Civil War

      Sep 21, 2021

      Michael A. Reinstein Chairman & Publisher David Steinhafel Publisher Alex Neill Editor in Chief Chris K. Howland Editor Jerry Morelock Senior Editor Sarah Richardson Senior Editor Nancy Tappan Senior Editor Dana B. Shoaf Consulting Editor Stephen Kam

      1 min read

    • Article

      ‘Valiant Val’ Reexamined

      Nov 16, 2021

      ‘Valiant Val’ Reexamined
      4 min read

    • Article

      ‘Have We Come To This?’

      Jan 17, 2023

      ‘Have We Come To This?’
      5 min read

    • Article

      Men And Nature Ablaze

      Dec 14, 2021

      Men And Nature Ablaze
      2 min read

    • Article

      Making Strides

      Nov 16, 2021

      Making Strides
      4 min read

    Reviews for The Union Cavalry Comes of Age

    4/5

    8 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      At times brilliant and other times mediocre, this study of the evolution of the Union Cavalry Corps in the first half of 1863 is a fine addition to the growing body of cavalry-oriented literature that tries to explain the puzzling weakness of Union cavalry in the first war years.Wittenberg sees the Chancellorsville campaign and its sandwiching battles of Kelly's Ford and Brandy Station as the turning point of the Union cavalry. He argues that organizational change (creation of a dedicated cavalry corps), training by George Stoneman, and William Averell, and a newly found spirit of giving cavalry combat missions at army command level (Alfred Pleasonton, Joe Hooker) as the principal reasons for the emergence.While these are all worthy reasons, the actual performance of the Union cavalry in the battles up to Gettysburg showed a continuing stream of failures and missed chances. The key difference to earlier events, however, was that now these failures were the sole responsibility of the cavalry corps and, especially if not mostly, its leadership. At last, the pruning of inept and over-cautious leadership (which started in the infantry in 1861) could begin in the cavalry branch too. Only after the battle of Brandy Station and its resulting purge was the Union cavalry directed by aggressive and (mostly) capable generals. Thus, the turning point is less the extended Chancellorsville campaign but the changes undertaken at its end.The book presents a good narrative on a strategic level. The battle descriptions lack clarity. Rapid movements and the flow of cavalry engagements are difficult to render in text and need visual support the included maps do not provide. Maps appear much too late in the text (eg the map on Brandy Station is found on the tenth page of an eleven page battle description) and cover brigades whereas the narrative focusses on regiments. As brigades had mostly three to six regiments, the largely empty maps could easily have been enriched by regimental positions and tracings of the attack and retreat paths. The conclusion deals with the careers of individual cavalry officers and neglects to summarize the findings of the study. Overall, a mixed recommendation: great topic, flawed execution.