Suggested Reading

[Philip cav]

Re: Suggested Reading

Yeah and one nice thing about Si Klegg and His Pard is that it is on Google Books for free. So if you can't find it in paper form, that's an option. Oh and Happy New Year.

[The Egyptian Homeguard]

Re: Suggested Reading

Opps, got excited about talking books , missed that the Camp Instruction was Cavalry , well at least one of my suggestions fits.

My apologies

Kyle, A good 1st hand account is a source of information no matter which branch! I liked HT&C and Co. Aytch both. The story about the officers horse that sat like a dog was great! No ones excluded from joining or learning here! No apologies needed here... Z

[Ken Knopp]

Re: Suggested Reading

I had forgotten about this until just now but if you want a thoroughly entertaining, enlightening and educational but short, easy winter time read I strongly recommend the following.....

Fort, Clinton Dewitt, The Wartime ordeal of Captain Dewitt Clinton Fort of Fort’s Scouts company CSA, 1861-1865. A 195 page manuscript written by Fort will imprisoned during 1866 awaiting his trial for conspiracy to assassinate Tennessee Gov. Brownlow and for the murder of Thomas Koen of Mississippi. Fort was once a member of Co. G, 2nd Missouri Cavalry but most of his service was in scouting operations. Early in the war he was recognized for his daring and asked to form his own company of scouts. Fort received his A.B. degree from Centre College, Danville, Kentucky in 1850 and practiced law in Mississippi and in Texas. He was elected to serve in the Eighth Texas Legislature (1859-1861) and the special "Adjourned Session" of March and April 1861. Fort closed his Austin County, Texas law office for the duration of the war in June 1861 and paid his own travel expenses to join J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry in Virginia for the First Battle of Manassas. He was captured in Tennessee following the Battle of Farmington in May 1862, but escaped by leaping from a Union prison steamboat into the Mississippi River. Later, he created "Fort's Scouts," a small unit of Confederate Cavalry, acting in concert with General Nathan Bedford Forrest. By the end of the war he had served with the Confederate units in Texas, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri. He was wounded during the closing weeks of the war and surrendered about one month after General Lee's surrender. Fort was "clubfooted" and badly crippled from birth and unsuitable for military service. However, by the time he surrendered, his small band had closed down the Memphis & Charleston Railroad to Union military travel and only large Union cavalry patrols would venture outside the Union military headquarters at Memphis, TN. Operating largely in north Mississippi and west Tennessee he became invaluable to Confederate operations there including routinely providing considerable military information to N.B Forrest. Fort was a man of legendary proportions but sadly now largely forgotten. His apparently true exploits, raids, skirmishes and escapes written immediately following the war while in prison where he expected to be hanged are the stuff of dime novels. Fort was widely respected and admired where he operated and was known to carry a huge double barrel shotgun that he often used with effect in his close encounters with Federal troops who at times had a price on his head. A wonderful and entertaining read it also provides a glimpse of the guerilla warfare, deprevations upon civilians and scouting operations that made up life in the no-mans land between Federal occupation headquarters in Memphis and Forrest’s cavalry operations of north Mississippi. One of the best “reads” I can recommend, his autobiography, courtesy of Laurier B McDonald is available online at http://books.google.com/books?id=ReJ...page&q&f=false

If you will read this I assure that you will like it. Like a good movie I don't want to spoil the ending but Fort's life is utterly fascinating.

Ken R Knopp

https://www.confederatesaddles.com

[Mike Ventura]

Re: Suggested Reading

Mark C --

I have a FIRST EDITION of Jordan & Pryor's "The Campaigns of Gen'l N.B. Forrest..." that belonged to one of Forrest's men with his (the trooper, not Forrest) signature and the date on the fly leaf.

Must reads:

1) Sherman's Horsemen - David Evans

2) Yankee Blitzkrieg - Wilson's Raid Through Alabama and Georgia - James Pickett

[Mark Choate]

Re: Suggested Reading

Mike,

Now, THAT is a cool thing to own! My curiosity meter is pegged on where you got that, but I won't ask you to divulge. However, I would like to ask you the name of the trooper who signed it and the date? Could you share that with us??

thanks,
Mark

[Tom Craig]

Re: Suggested Reading

Since all the suggestions have had a western flavor, and most have been CS in orientation, I'll throw in a few others, that I think really are a MUST read for anyone who wants to understand CW cavalry.

1) It's already been mentioned, but Stephen Starr's 3 volume history of the Federal cavalry. Volume one is the best, volume 2+3 are tactical histories (2 east and 3 west) filled with great info.

2) Common Soldier, Uncommon War by Sidney Morris Davis-perhaps the best individual trooper's account that I had read.

3) Poinsett's 1841 cavalry manual, all 3 volumes. I know most of you guys are westerners, but you ought to see where the tactics evolved from.

4) Congdon's Cavalry Compendium-fantastic source of "how to" sort of stuff published in war time.

5) 1st Maine Regimental history -over 600 pages filled with awesome photos, and incredible tidbits of what it was like to be a trooper

6) 1st Massachusetts Regimental history - smaller than the 1st ME, but an excellent read, again filled with tons of anectdotes and stories.

Of course there are too many others to mention, including diaries etc. Order and Record books of ANY federal regiment are also a fascinating read!

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[Philip cav]

Re: Suggested Reading

I have reprinted diary from an Illinois infantry man who was at the battle of Shiloh. The best item in the book, is he describes what his unit was eating for rations before the battle. This shows me what rations to take with me.

[Mike Ventura]

Re: Suggested Reading

Mark C --

Here are some scans of my 1st Edition, "The Campaigns of Lieut.-Gen. N. B. Forrest And Of Forrest's Cavalry," by General Thomas Jordan and N.B. Pryor, Blelock & Company, 1868, New Orleans, Memphis and New York.

Some history: I bought this for $5 at an estate sale in North Georgia about 2001. I immediately knew what it was, but acted cool so as to not lose the opportunity to purchase it. As you can see, the flyleaf is signed "W Lindsay, June 15th, 1868." The first edition was published in 1868, so this was signed not too long after the publication date. Perhaps one of Forrest's men anxious to get a copy?

After I paid for it, I casually asked if anyone could tell me anything about "this old book." The matriarch of the family, whose estate was being sold, said that the book had belonged to her "Me-Maw," who was present at the sale. I asked if it would be possible to speak to her. Her daughter said "yes," but with the caveat that Me-Maw was "...hard of hearing and that her mind didn't work too well, sometimes." "Me Maw" told me that the book had belonged to her grandfather "Captain Lindsay," who "fought in the war on Gen'l Forrest's staff." She told me that her family was originally from Kentucky, but had moved to Georgia about 1900. That's all that I could get from any of the family.

I can find no "Captain Lindsay" on Gen'l Forrest's staff. The only name reasonably close is Captain W. LindsEy ("Lindsey" with an "E") who was the AQM of the 7th KY Cavalry. That places him as a staff officer on one of Forrest's subordinate commands. Who knows how oral history changes reality? There are many instances of names with common misspellings during this period. But, I have no proof that this is indeed "W Lindsay." There were some "Lindsays" - with an "A" in the First Mississippi Cavalry, but the only officer I find is A.J. Lindsay, who was killed early in the war. Online searches have been unsuccessful.

Photos below:

1. Leather, pebble grained cover in good condition. Book measures approx. 8 5/8 x 6 in.

2. Title page and opposite - note how the image of Gen'l Forrest has bled onto the title page over the years. Note the "1868" publication date at the bottom of the page. You can also detect some bleed-through of the signature on the fly leaf behind Gen'l Forrest's picture.

3. Flyleaf signed: "W Lindsay June 15th 1868"

4. Appendix 1 - showing officers and staff of 7th KY Cavalry (lower 1/3 of page) and listing a "Captain W. Lindsey" on the staff of Col. Ed. Crossland, commanding Kentucky Brigade, Buford's Division, Forrest's Cavalry, May 1864 (This was a little hard to scan without breaking the spine of the book, so it's a little fuzzy). Lindsey is the 3rd name down in the last left hand box on the page.

5. Appendix 2 - showing Field and Staff officers of the Seventh Kentucky Cavalry. Lindsey is the second name in the middle column in the "Field and Staff Officers" section right under "Seventh Kentucky Cavalry" at the bottom of the page.

[Mark Choate]

Re: Suggested Reading

Mike,

That is a cool story, indeed.

If you haven't already, the exchange between you and "Me-Maw" should be typed or written out and kept with the book. It adds value to the lore.

I would suggest that it is possible that the Capt Lindsey with an "e" is likely to be the same as with an "a". Rolls, musters and census reports of the day (especially in the west) were recorded phonetically in many cases and as they sounded and Lindsey is not far off at all from Lindsay.

I checked some records that I have of KY cav units and men that were drawn out of the boundaries of northern Tennessee and while I did find a W. Lindsay in the cavalry, he was a private and with the 19th cav.

Anyway, thank you for sharing that as it really makes the book personal and increases the value dramatically.

regards,
Mark