#cavalry raid

Journal of a Cavalry Bugler B&N http://goo.gl/670Nqn Apple http://bit.ly/1iMsohP Amazon http://amzn.to/1lVBYmD Google http://goo.gl/mHCe2V Kobo https://goo.gl/MhIiAw Smashwords: https://goo.gl/DTPYCE Colonel Grierson was ordered to create a cavalry diversion. He and three regiments of Union cavalry, 1,700 men, plunged south through a gap in rebel lines, rampaging the heart of Mississippi, ripping up rails and tearing down telegraph lines. Their purpose—make Confederates wrestle with all sorts of dire possibilities. How well they disguised Grant’s intentions could make or break the Vicksburg offensive. They made a forced march for seven hours over roads bogged down by heavy rains, caught the rebels on Big Creek, routed them and destroyed the Confederate camp, stores, trains, ammunition and records. The papers included the names of citizens engaged in smuggling and valuable maps of the countryside.

Colonel Benjamin Grierson ...feared horses. One had kicked Grierson as a child, temporarily blinding him and scarring his face for life. After that, he avoided horses. Unfortunately, when he volunteered for service in 1861, they put the horse-hater in the cavalry. He requested a transfer to infantry, but General Henry Halleck refused because Grierson looked “wiry enough to make a good cavalryman.” His full beard disguised the scar the horse left on his face, but any other duty suited Grierson much better than riding. He loved music and had taught himself how to play seven instruments.

However, they gave Colonel Grierson orders to create a cavalry diversion. He and three regiments of cavalry, 1,700 men, plunged south through a gap in rebel lines, rampaging the heart of Mississippi, ripping up rails and tearing down telegraph lines. Their purpose—make Confederates wrestle with all sorts of dire possibilities. How well they disguised Grant’s intentions could make or break the Vicksburg offensive.

They made a forced march for seven hours over roads bogged down by heavy rains, caught the rebels on Big Creek, routed them and destroyed the Confederate camp, stores, trains, ammunition and records. The papers included the names of citizens engaged in smuggling and valuable maps of the countryside. Grierson then scoured the country southeast, losing none killed or wounded while leaving rebels well scared.