Preservation Opportunity from ABT…
“Civil War soldiers were so stupid.” I have heard this statement muttered on battlefields for decades. And the words are usually said by someone who is certain that if only they were alive at the time, that they would have come up with a better way to outflank and defeat the enemy. Well, it wasn’t that easy. You see, defenders didn’t want to be outflanked and defeated, so they came up with ways to prevent those possibilities.
As most of you know, soldiers didn’t just stand up in a random field and start shooting. They marched and fought with purpose as laid out by their commanders, usually to accomplish some tactical or strategic good for their army. Of course, some situations required blunt frontal assaults or flanking maneuvers. Sometimes one or both of were successful, and sometimes neither.
Today, I am hoping you will join me to preserve 42 acres at two battles that saw unconventional attacks that succeeded—at Chattanooga’s Missionary Ridge (November 1863) and at Brice’s Cross Roads (June 1864) in Mississippi. Let me tell you more about the fascinating turn of events that took place at these two western battlefields.
At Missionary Ridge, the Union first attacked the wrong hill (the main body of Confederate soldiers were actually on another hill). When they advanced anew, legendary Confederate General Patrick Cleburne’s troops held firm on the north end of Missionary Ridge. That’s when things got strange—a Union diversionary attack went off course and turned from a diversion into the real deal attack as decided by Union General George Thomas’s troops themselves. Pushing Confederate troops up the hill, they raced up behind the retreating Southerners, all the way to the crest. After purposeful (and very real!) attacks on one part of the ridge failed, the “fake” attack on the other succeeded. The Southerners were swept off the ridge, out of Chattanooga, and back into Georgia whence they came.
The unconventional attack at Brice’s Cross Roads was more… expected to succeed. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest faced a larger force under General Samuel Sturgis. Undeterred, Forrest opened a fight with Sturgis to lure in and tire the Union infantry. Forrest then pounded the Union center with artillery while moving around the Yankee flanks with fast-moving cavalry, threatening the Union’s route of retreat. The Union had lost by then, but had to keep fighting just to be able to retreat, suffering some five times the casualties as Forrest’s men.
So, you see, attacks came in many shapes and sizes and sometimes the blunt tool worked best, while others required a sharper approach. The diversity in approaches also speaks to our need to preserve these places so that current and future generations can walk the hallowed ground and find as much fascination and wonder as you and I do.
The 42 acres at stake include core battlefield land at Missionary Ridge, key area along Tishomingo Creek at Brice’s Cross Roads as well as a small but crucial tract in the heart of the battlefield.
By joining this effort, you will help to add to the 1,459 acres you have already saved at Brice’s Cross Roads and substantially complete the preservation puzzle we have been working on for years at this battlefield.
In total, we will be able to cover the costs for 80% of this land. We need your help to raise the remaining $56,659, at a $5.17-to-$1 match of your donation dollar!
Please read more about this land on our website and make your most generous gift today to preserve this fascinating history, forever ‘Til The Battle is Won,
Jim Lighthizer
President
American Battlefield Trust
P.S. Two battles. Two unconventional attacks that worked. Two preservation opportunities. Your support is needed to help us raise the final funds needed to save 42 acres at Missionary Ridge and Brice’s Cross Roads today.