GDG- Re: Guns captured by Wright have been Identified.

[Laurence D. Schiller]

I was going to mention Buford as well, but thought I'd give another 
example. I figured you or Eric would do it better!

Laurie


>Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>
>
>Laurie,
>
>Great example regarding Minty - which is one of the great all-time examples
>of cavalry delaying actions during the war...
>
>Which reminds of the example of Buford vs. Heth on day one.  On the
>Confederate side, one mostly finds the description of Buford's delay as
>simple cavalry skirmishing action of little consequence.  On the Federal
>side, of course, one often reads the troopers' descriptions of how staunch
>the resistance was and what it ultimately accomplished.  Go deeper into
>Buford's tactic, and you find that it was an SOP defensive action that had
>been taught at West Point, for example, for decades, and precisely
>delineated in the cavalry tactic manuals of the period.
>
>As with Johnston's example, Heth not only had nothing to gain by lauding
>Buford's efforts (emphasized by the fact that it began the battle that was
>ultimately lost) but for about 20 years after the war he steadfastly
>maintained that he never faced any Federal cavalry whatsoever on July 1.
>Read only Confederate accounts, and the first two hours aren't even a blip
>on the screen.  Take it all of both sides in context, and you find out the
>importance it had and what it meant to the subsequent battle.  If you don't
>have an appreciation for the first couple hours of the fight, IMHO, you will
>have a difficult time understanding why the rest of the battle happened as
>it did.
>
>J.D.
>
>
>>>Precisely, J.D. - as I have said before, the historian must not only
>collect all the data he/she can but also be prepared to sift it,
>consider the broader context, and finally what is likely. Dave's
>comments about the 'capture' of the Confederate guns is a wonderful
>case in point. The observer clearly thought that, but put into
>context with everything else, it becomes clear that he was mistaken.
>Another case in point is the point of view of the observer. At Reed's
>Bridge, for example, on the first day of Chickamauga, Minty's cavalry
>brigade held up Bushrod Johnston's infantry brigade for 8 hours, thus
>blunting Bragg's attempt to flank the Union left. Federal accounts
>are justly proud and detailed about it. Confederate accounts suggest
>the cavalry was a minor annoyance and the OR is brief to say the
>least. How do we decide which is more accurate - we have to look at
>everything including context and come up with a reasonable theory
>that takes it all into account, including the fact that Johnston
>really has no stake in describing how he was made to look foolish for
>8 hours. Serious research takes a long time and is always being
>challenged - which is a good thing.
>
>Best,
>
>Laurie Schiller>>
>
>
> 
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-- 
Dr. Laurence Dana Schiller
Maitre d'Armes
Head Fencing Coach
Department of History
Northwestern University
Commissioner, Midwest Fencing Conference
Midwest VP, US Fencing Coaches' Association
Vice-Chair USFA Illinois Division
Lds307 at northwestern.edu
847-491-4654
FAX 847-467-1406
Official Sports site: http://nusports.ocsn.com/
Student web site: http://groups.northwestern.edu/fencing/