President’s message: Review of book of the Battle of Stones River

Tags

Battle of Stones River, Braxton Bragg, Jim Lewis, Larry Daniel

Thank you to everyone who attended the November meeting to hear Ed Bearss speak on “Custer at the Little Big Horn.” There were 63 diners, ten who were non-members. Also attending were an additional 22 members and nine non-members to hear the presentation. Total attendance for the lecture was 94. Thank you once again for your outstanding support and interest in the Round Table.

Remember to make your dinner reservation by 11 a.m. December 12th to hear Jim Ogden speak on “The Great Locomotive Chase.” Don’t forget to bring a dessert to share for the “dessert social” after the speaker’s presentation.

The Battle of Stones River / Murfreesboro

I re-read Larry J. Daniel’s book entitled “Battle of Stones River: The Forgotten Conflict between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland”. The Confederacy referred to it as the Battle of Murfreesboro. This battle was of great importance to both sides and its Generals – Rosecrans for the Union and Bragg for the Confederacy. Rosecrans needed a victory to undermine the growing antiwar movement and regain the northern army’s morale after the loss at Fredericksburg. Bragg, who was defeated in Kentucky, needed to reclaim Middle Tennessee and his reputation. So at the end of December 1862 both armies are on the move in horrific conditions of severe rain and cold, lack of food and supplies, and mud ankle deep to secure Middle Tennessee. 100,000 men fought in deadly battle for three days starting December 31st, 1862 and resulted in 23,000 casualties by the two armies.

In reading Daniel’s book it is hard to understand why this battle is referred to the forgotten battle. Bragg withdrew his army from the field because he did not have the supplies or the reinforcements to continue the fight. I believe that Bragg and his army acquitted themselves well at Stones River but none the less it is considered a Union victory and another loss for Bragg.

The Battle of Stones River

The Union did hold Middle Tennessee and Rosecrans’s star was on the rise. Let us not forget that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect January 1, 1863 with the support of a win at Stones River. Lincoln would write to Rosecrans: “I can never forget, whilst I remember anything, that about the end of last year and the beginning of this, you gave us a hard earned victory, which had there been a defeat instead, the nation could scarcely have lived over.” Lincoln certainly understood the importance of this battle to his cause to continue the war. This may be the best book on this battle and I would encourage you to read it. Maybe you will be able to answer the question of why this has become the forgotten battle.

In January Jim Lewis, Historian Stone’s River NMP, will do a presentation entitled

“Hell’s Half Acre” at the Round Table’s monthly meeting January 10, 2017. Lewis’ thoughts and insights on this battle.

John Stegner, President

Sources

The Battle of Stones River – Larry J. Daniel
Battle of Stones River Illustration – Kutz and Allison

Map – Hal Jespersen

Map of the Battle of Stones River

Richard McMurry tells KWCRT Joseph Johnston gets ‘too much credit’ for transforming the Army of Tennessee

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Army of Tennessee, Braxton Bragg, Chattanooga, Civil War, Joseph Johnston, Richard McMurry

Historian Richard McMurry told the August meeting of the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable that Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston gets too much credit for being a “miracle worker” in November 1863 when he too command of the Army of Tennessee south of Chattanooga.

Most of the things that happened to change the army during that winter, McMurry said, “would have happened anyway no matter who was the commander.”

Here’s a video excerpt of McMurry’s talk:

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KCWRT-McMurry from Jim Stovall on Vimeo.

Historian Richard McMurry discusses the undue credit that Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston receives for “turning the Army of Tennessee around” in the winter of 1863-64 when he took command. Many of the things that happened to re-invigorate the army would have taken place no matter who was in command. The speech was given on August 9, 2016, to the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable.

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Johnston took over the Army of Tennessee in November 1863 when it was demoralized and in disarray. McMurry listed some of the things that Johnston did to get the army ready for its spring battles:

• He reorganized the command and thus restored its morale.
• He made useful suggestions for transporting food more efficiently.
• The men built relatively comfortable shelters for the winter.
• More railroad cars became available and thus more food, clothing and supplies were shipped tot he army.
• Johnston reduced the number of mouths the army had to feed by granting furloughs.

Many of these things would have happened anyway, McMurry said, but Johnston gets credit for them. The reputation of Braxton Bragg, one of the army’s previous commanders, has suffered because these things had not happened on his watch.

James Longstreet

Tags

Ambrose Burnside, Battle of the Wilderness, Braxton Bragg, Centreville, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Civil War in East Tennessee, Civil War in Knoxville, Fredericksburg, Ft. Sanders, George McClellan, Gettysburg, James Longstreet, Jefferson Davis, Joseph Hooker, Manassas Junction, Robert E. Lee. George Pickett, Rutherford B. Hayes, T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, United States Military Academy, West Point

By J. C. Tumblin, O.D., Past President, Knoxville Civil War Roundtable

Copyright 1998 by J. C. Tumlbin All rights reserved.

James Longstreet

CHILDHOOD, YOUTH, AND WEST POINT YEARS (1821- 1842)

James Longstreet was born the fifth child of James and Mary Ann Dent Longstreet, on January 8, 1821, in the Edgefield District of South Carolina. His mother had traveled to her mother-in-law’s home for his birth. Both of his parents, owners of a cotton plantation near present-day Gainesville in the Piedmont section of northeastern Georgia, were descendants of families dating to the colonial period — James born in New Jersey, Mary Ann in Maryland. The future general always regarded Georgia as his home, as he came there within weeks of his birth and spent the first nine years of his life there. It had required hard physical labor and resilience to carve a farm out of the forest and wilderness that had been the frontier only a few years previous. Under the tutelage of his older brother and sister, William and Anna, young James rode horseback, hunted, fished, and developed the strong physique that would characterize him throughout life. He also developed self-confidence, self-reliance, and a work ethic.