Tag Archives: William T. Sherman

DEFT OF HAND AND A KEG OF WHISKEY: MAGIC AT CUMBERLAND GAP – JOHN DE COURCY IN AMERICA

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Drawing by a Union soldier of Federal camps at Cumberland Gap after its capture in 1864.
1864 Drawing by a Union soldier of Federal camps at Cumberland Gap after its capture by John De Courcy.

I knew before that a certain Captain George Pickett, a thirty-four-year-old veteran of the Mexican War and graduate of West Point – albeit, last in his class – served on San Juan Island in the Puget Sound just before the American Civil War.  What I did not know, was one of his opposites in the whole Pig War ordeal in 1859 was an Anglo-Irish peer by the name of John De Courcy.  Like Pickett, De Courcy would figure in the next war, as well.  Pickett’s role would be bigger and better known, but De Courcy’s role was big enough for someone involved in command. And not even as a citizen of either side.

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KENNESAW MOUNTAIN – A MORNING DASH IN GEORGIA

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Cannon sits in an emplacement atop Big Kennesaw Mountain.
Cannon sits in an emplacement atop Big Kennesaw Mountain.

Kennesaw Mountain saw the third time during the American Civil War in which William T. Sherman employed a direct assault upon entrenched Confederate positions.  The attack failed as much as his previous two attempts.  All through the Atlanta campaign, Sherman had gotten around the Confederate positions set out by Joseph E. Johnston through flanking maneuvers.  Sherman wrote to Washington, “The whole country is one vast fort, and Johnston must have at least 50 miles (80 km) of connected trenches with abatis and finished batteries. We gain ground daily, fighting all the time. … Our lines are now in close contact and the fighting incessant, with a good deal of artillery. As fast as we gain one position the enemy has another all ready. … Kennesaw … is the key to the whole country.”  For the key, Sherman decided to open it with a direct frontal assault.

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RESACA – FLANKING THE DEVIL OUT OF HELL, PHASE ONE

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James Walker's painting of the Battle of Resaca from the viewpoint of General Butterfield's perspective.
James Walker’s painting of the Battle of Resaca from the viewpoint of General Butterfield’s perspective.

Of the many battles of the American Civil War, Resaca remains one of those little-known today.  The battle accounted for the second highest casualty number during the entire Atlanta Campaign – May-September 1864.  The 5,500 number, only surpassed by the Battle of Atlanta – 20 July, rated significantly higher than Kennesaw Mountain, the only Federally protected site of the entire campaign.  Resaca was the only time in the entire campaign, also, where the full complement of Federal and Confederate units faced off and took part in the fighting during the campaign.

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ROCKY FACE START ON THE WAY TO ATLANTA

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Looking down the west slopes of Rocky Race Mountain at Dug Gap.
Looking down the west slopes of Rocky Face Mountain at Dug Gap.

1863 saw decisions made in the West and East, decisions eventually proving decisive though at the time, an end to the war still lay deep ahead, hidden in the fogbank of the future.  Federal armies in Virginia started the new year approximately where they had the previous year.  In the West, the Mississippi River returned to Federal control with the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.  Further east, near Chattanooga on the Tennessee-Georgia border, the Confederate Army of Tennessee hung on after their serious setback on Missionary Ridge negated their victory earlier at Chickamauga.  Under General Joseph E. Johnston’s new command, the Confederates dug in atop nearby Rocky Face Mountain barring the way for the soon-to-come Federal push towards Atlanta.

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DROPPING THROUGH HISTORY IN THE FORESTED SLOPES OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN

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Monument to the 111th Pennsylvania Regiment's fight on the upper slopes of Lookout Mountain. The monument - as with the 29th Pennsylvania - is in place on the cliffs below Och's Observatory.
Monument to the 111th Pennsylvania Regiment’s fight on the upper slopes of Lookout Mountain. The monument – as with the 29th Pennsylvania – is in place on the cliffs below Och’s Observatory.

Lookout Mountain is an amazing place to discover nature, history and enjoy vistas reaching out to a claimed seven states.  The Mountain is best explored on foot along its myriad of trails traversing the dense forest slopes of this quintessential Appalachian prominence.  Surrounded to the north, east and on top by urbanity, it is easy to forget you are never far from civilization if not for the subtle roar of traffic on Interstate 24 far below.

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