Wackmole9 | 27 May 2016 6:23 a.m. PST |
Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg: The Battles for Brinkerhoff's Ridge and East Cavalry Field, July 2-4, 1863 by Eric J. Wittenberg. "The Devil's to Pay": John Buford at Gettysburg. A History and Walking Tour. by Eric J. Wittenberg. Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg by Eric J. Wittenberg. The Cavalry at Gettysburg: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations during the Civil War's Pivotal Campaign, 9 June-14 July 1863 by Edward G. Longacre Sorry didn't read the pamplet note |
15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 27 May 2016 6:49 a.m. PST |
I'm all for ACW Union Cavalry being ultramodern. |
Legion 4 | 27 May 2016 6:53 a.m. PST |
|
Legion 4 | 27 May 2016 7:38 a.m. PST |
So you are referring to modern US Cav ? Like both Armored and Air Cav. The mission of the US Cav has generally remained similar to those of the past. link IIRC from my training a long time ago. The Cav's mission is recon, screening, exploitation and pursuit. But not with horses of course. But as you noted with AFVs, helicopters, etc. |
Great War Ace | 27 May 2016 7:42 a.m. PST |
Mechanized, with longer ranging weaponry, with eyes "up" as well as all around. That is the significant comparison to 1860…. |
Legion 4 | 27 May 2016 7:44 a.m. PST |
Oh … and note … I may be "old" … but I was not at Gettysburg … |
Syr Hobbs Wargames | 27 May 2016 7:49 a.m. PST |
I was fooled too. And wackmole9 I appreciate the info on Gettysburg. |
Bangorstu | 27 May 2016 7:58 a.m. PST |
Legion – what about Vicksburg? |
Legion 4 | 27 May 2016 8:03 a.m. PST |
I just missed Vicksburg too … |
15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 27 May 2016 10:09 a.m. PST |
|
Dye4minis | 27 May 2016 11:01 a.m. PST |
Have you checked in with TRADOC's Doctrine department for suitable materials located at Leavenworth? They have some pretty esoteric subject support and I bet you could obtain copies for free or at a low cost to support your staff ride. Just suggesting not to ignore such a viable reference. v/r Tom |
Legion 4 | 27 May 2016 2:44 p.m. PST |
Nice one 28 !!!! |
John Thomas8 | 27 May 2016 7:19 p.m. PST |
I have several books by Eric Wittenberg. They're extremely well researched and written. |
Milhouse | 27 May 2016 9:25 p.m. PST |
In my mind Eric is one the leading authorities on Civil War cavalry. His books are really well done. |
donlowry | 21 Jun 2016 4:17 p.m. PST |
The Cavalry at Gettysburg by Edward G. Longacre. You can get used copies cheap. link |
Legion 4 | 22 Jun 2016 7:44 a.m. PST |
As far as "Union Cav" today. Most/many US Cav units tend to wear blue Stetsons and spurs. When in Dress uniforms. And I've even seen in pics from Vietnam and Iraq. When off the front line they wear the Stetson as well. I remember seeing a news story during GWI or II. Where a Cav unit, IIRC the 9th, had Bill Hickok's great, great, great, great(?) grandson who went by the same name. Serving with that unit as an LT, and in the rear areas they were sporting that iconic Stetson. |
Billy Yank | 22 Jun 2016 3:13 p.m. PST |
Hi Queen Catherine, It's not exactly what you want, but this might be a place to start, and they are free. They cover organization and give a good overview of the battle, which will be helpful for your purposes. The FIRST BULL RUN booklet gives a nice overview of cavalry doctrine, so I would have them read the relevant portion of that as well. You can find the command reports on the OR, which is what they will be most interested in for the command decisions. If you have never led a staff ride before you might also want to check out the official Army staff ride book, which you can also get from this site. I used to run staff rides to Gettysburg all the time for West Point, so let me know if there is anything else I might be able to help with. Hope this helps! history.army.mil/staffRides BY |
John Simmons | 03 Jul 2016 5:06 a.m. PST |
Greetings Queen Catherine, A thousand books on Gettysburg but nothing fits what your needs are! I would recommend another book by Eric Wittenberg, "Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions". This is available currently from HamiltonBooks.com, overstocks etc. for $6.95 USD, a very good price. The book has short chapters on the three major actions that took place on July 3rd, Farnsworth's charge, South Cavalry Field, and The Battle of Fairfield. Farnsworth's charge is an example of a Flank support attack to the main forces on the Round Tops – one of the lessons is the role of terrain with mobile forces. South Cavalry Field is the area to the west of the Farnsworth Brigade area, reaching west of Emmitsburg Road. Here was the battle ground were Merritt moved not to attack the flank but to turn the position to reach the rear of the rebel army (he came very close to success). The Battle of Fairfield is on the road out of Gettysburg that lead thru Fairfield and over South Mountain, the line of retreat for Gen. Lee's army. Here Merritt sent one Union Regiment to probe, they ran into the Rebel Brigade of Grumble Jones, three regiments strong. Example of deep recon, not in force. Gen. Merritt did two good actions but split his force and failed in both attempts, interesting key Cav actions. The book is an easy read, the chapters on each action are detailed with tactics used and excellent maps. |