Kill Jeff Davis, Volume 51: The Union Raid on Richmond, 1864 (Campaigns and Commanders, 51, Band 51) - Hardcover

Venter, Bruce M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0806151536 ISBN 13: 9780806151533

Verlag: ARTHUR H CLARK CO, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

 

The ostensible goal of the controversial Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid on Richmond (February 28–March 3, 1864) was to free some 13,000 Union prisoners of war held in the Confederate capital. But orders found on the dead body of the raid’s subordinate commander, Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, point instead to a plot to capture or kill Confederate president Jefferson Davis and set Richmond ablaze. What really happened, and how and why, are debated to this day. Kill Jeff Davis offers a fresh look at the failed raid and mines newly discovered documents and little-known sources to provide definitive answers.

In this detailed and deeply researched account of the most famous cavalry raid of the Civil War, author Bruce M. Venter describes an expedition that was carefully planned but poorly executed. A host of factors foiled the raid: bad weather, poor logistics, inadequate command and control, ignorance of the terrain, the failures of supporting forces, and the leaders’ personal and professional shortcomings. Venter delves into the background and consequences of the debacle, beginning with the political maneuvering orchestrated by commanding brigadier general Judson Kilpatrick to persuade President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to approve the raid. Venter’s examination of the relationship between Kilpatrick and Brigadier General George A. Custer illuminates the reasons why the flamboyant Custer was excluded from the Richmond raid.

In a lively narrative describing the multiple problems that beset the raiders, Kill Jeff Davis uncovers new details about the African American guide whom Dahlgren ordered hanged; the defenders of the Confederate capital, who were not just the “old men and young boys” of popular lore; and General Benjamin F. Butler’s expedition to capture Davis, as well as Custer’s diversionary raid on Charlottesville.

Venter’s thoughtful reinterpretations and well-reasoned observations put to rest many myths and misperceptions. He tells, at last, the full story of this hotly contested moment in Civil War history.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Bruce M. Venter is an independent historian and the author of The Battle of Hubbardton: The Rear Guard Action That Saved America.

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Kill Jeff Davis

The Union Raid on Richmond, 1864

By Bruce M. Venter

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS

Copyright © 2016 University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8061-5153-3

Contents

List of Illustrations, 
Preface, 
Acknowledgments, 
1. Little Kil Departs, 
2. "Nothing So Delights a Cavalryman As ... a Raid", 
3. Butler's Raid to Grab Jeff Davis, 
4. The Winter Encampment, 
5. Kilpatrick's Raid Begins, 
6. Custer's Side Show, 
7. Riding to Richmond, 
8. Dahlgren Invades Goochland County, 
9. The Mystery of Dahlgren's Guide, 
10. Kilpatrick Attacks Richmond, 
11. Richmond's Local Defense Troops Answer the Call, 
12. Kilpatrick on the Move, 
13. Dahlgren Attempts an Escape, 
14. Unintended Consequences, 
15. Aftermath, 
16. The Dahlgren Papers Reconsidered, 
Appendix: The Dahlgren Papers, 
Notes, 
Bibliography, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

LITTLE KIL DEPARTS

A column of blue-coated horsemen trotted down a sloppy road in Culpeper County, Virginia, the horses' hooves splashing mud on every animal's belly and each rider's stirrups, boots, and uniform trousers. Several score in number, they were mostly officers with the Army of the Potomac's Third Cavalry Division.

Sunday morning, April 17, 1864, was a rather "cold and unpleasant day," especially for the staff officers in the vanguard. Severe rain the previous evening had left the region's narrow country lanes in wretched shape, worsening conditions brought on by two weeks of miserable weather. But the young aides were unsettled less by the weather than by the reason for the ride. The men were making their way a brief distance — four and a half miles — along the Carolina Road, traveling between the outlying hamlet of Stevensburg and Brandy Station, the nearest stop on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Circumstances and emotions made it seem a much longer trip to the depot, where they would give a handshake and one final salute to a man they had come to admire.

At the head of the column was a diminutive figure in officer's livery who bore himself with assurance beyond his twenty-six years, though he felt only despair now. He had led the Third Cavalry Division in "many a hard fight" the last eleven months and, as one trooper put it, "for dash his equal is not in this army." But as the winter was ending, Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick's storied career had lurched to an abrupt halt. His failed raid on Richmond had placed any idea of promotion on the backburner for another year.

Kilpatrick's musings as he rode to the train depot went unrecorded, but perhaps he reflected on his army career in a war that had seemed tailor made for a dashing cavalry officer and aspiring politician. Back in New Jersey as a youth, he had stumped for his local congressman, who handily won the election. The grateful politician returned the favor by providing an appointment for the young man to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. It was here that "Little Kil," the nickname his classmates bestowed on him, developed his oratorical skills, giving his class's valedictory address on graduation day in May 1861. His eloquence with words, so essential for nineteenth-century politicians, would serve him well in the army. As one officer recalled, Kilpatrick was "a ready and fluent speaker — an orator, in fact — and had the gift of charming an audience with his insinuating tongue." No doubt Lincoln appreciated the young officer's talent at turning a phrase when the

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: ARTHUR H CLARK CO
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0806151536
• ISBN 13: 9780806151533
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 384
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar