[legendsport]

excerpted from the memoirs of General John C. Pemberton, CSA (retired), published 1873 by Confederate Military Press, Lexington, Virginia.

I've often wondered about the outcome of the struggles around Vicksburg in the spring and summer of 1863. What happened is well known: Union Major General William T. Sherman made an ill-advised frontal assault on the defenses I had arrayed around the city of Vicksburg, suffered appalling losses and was forced to retreat. When the Army of Mississippi under my command caught up to his forces on July 4, 1863, we decisively defeated him and ended the threat of Union control of the Mississippi River.

But what most don't consider is the fate of Sherman's predecessor as the commander of the Army of the Tennessee. That man's name was Ulysses S. Grant and I served with him in the Mexican-American War some twenty years earlier. The Grant I knew was a shrewd fellow, and though he had obtained a reputation, as it were, I firmly believe he would not have assaulted the city without installing a siege. He had learned from Winfield Scott - as had I - that a siege can be present a garrison with rather compelling reasons for surrender. It is not fast, nor is it glorious, but victory is victory.

But Sam Grant was killed when he was thrown from his horse, which proceeded to fall upon him, crushing him. And Sherman, who had never had full command of an army before, earned a reputation as a reckless butcher by pushing his men against the batteries at Vicksburg, assuring our victory and earning him a ignoble name in the North.

excerpted from "Look Away! Dixie Land - A Confederate History Primer" by Charles S. Deegan, published 1933 by Educational Press, Atlanta, Georgia.


pg. 211: THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

General Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac into Maryland on June 26, 1863 to begin his invasion of the North. With gentlemanly consideration, Lee ordered his men to minimize the negative impact on the civilian population as his army crossed Maryland and entered Pennsylvania.

The Army of Northern Virginia met the Army of the Potomac at the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 1st and the three-day battle which ensued all but assured the ultimate independence of the South....

.... Brigadier General Henry L. Benning's "Brigade of Georgia" became the stuff of legend when they followed the 15th and 47th Alabama Infantry up the slopes of the hill that became known as Big Round Top, where they defeated the 20th Maine Infantry. The Union troops fought desperately and well, and it was only through sheer decimation of their ranks that the Confederate forces gained the summit of Big Round Top...

... after consolidating their hold on Big Round Top, Hood's Corps rolled up the flank of the Union Army which broke and retreated in disarray...

from the New York Evening Herald, July 10, 1863:

DISASTER!

With telegraph wires down, a horse-borne dispatch rider arrived in Trenton, New Jersey late yesterday to report that the worst has happened: the Army of the Potomac, the Grand Army of the Republic, has been decisively defeated by rebel forces near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. With telegraph lines cut by rebel cavalry, it is unknown where the Army of Northern Virginia is now, or where it is headed. The city of Philadelphia is in panic, while rumors from Washington City are that Mr. Lincoln is considering evacuating the city.