Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Battle of Chickamauga blog
Among the many neglected items of this blog is the blogroll, which I will endeavor to have cleaned up by the weekend. One of the links I erroneously thought had been posted is Dave Powell's excellent, Battle of Chickamauga blog. Dave is the expert on this battle, and is doing a great job with the blog. I'm looking forward to a great deal of education and enjoyment from this one.
Time Flies
Wow! I had no idea it had been nearly three weeks since my last post. I will refrain from making any comments about being back in the saddle, since the post of the same name is still drawing daily comments from some Asian-language porn site.
I'm back, and finally willing and able to post again. The master's degree is at long last complete, papers and classes complete, and attention can be turned to family and more enjoyable things than school. I still hope to complete a second master's in history, but plan to take a few months in the interim to relax a bit.
My efforts to elicit commentary from anyone from or related to Norwich have been unsuccessful, so I suppose AMU wins that discussion by default....
Book draft two finally continues updates and editing. Several new sources popped up in the interim thanks to Dr. Rick Sauers, so more research is required. And I'm still working on a few things like the rest of the brief 3rd Cavalry history started before everything went awry a few months back. I've also been poking around a bit about Benjamin S. Roberts and William P. Sanders, and should have posts on them here in the near future. Not to mention the Kelly's Ford blog I've so neglected in the interim.
I haven't had a great deal of time for leisure reading, but am in the midst of two interesting books related to the war. The first is Jeffry Wert's excellent Cavalryman of the Lost Cause (found on Amazon here), which will likely prove the definitive biography on Jeb Stuart for years to come. Indeed, it was an anecdote from this book that lead me back to studying Sanders. The second book is The War Department in 1861 - A Study in Mobilization and Administration by A. Howard Meneely. A reprint of a book originally published in 1928, this has been a very informative work. Meneely provides a very even-handed look at the War Department at the beginning of the war, maintaining an objective view of the people and the situation without jumping to conclusions to demonize or seek scapegoats.
More posts soon!
I'm back, and finally willing and able to post again. The master's degree is at long last complete, papers and classes complete, and attention can be turned to family and more enjoyable things than school. I still hope to complete a second master's in history, but plan to take a few months in the interim to relax a bit.
My efforts to elicit commentary from anyone from or related to Norwich have been unsuccessful, so I suppose AMU wins that discussion by default....
Book draft two finally continues updates and editing. Several new sources popped up in the interim thanks to Dr. Rick Sauers, so more research is required. And I'm still working on a few things like the rest of the brief 3rd Cavalry history started before everything went awry a few months back. I've also been poking around a bit about Benjamin S. Roberts and William P. Sanders, and should have posts on them here in the near future. Not to mention the Kelly's Ford blog I've so neglected in the interim.
I haven't had a great deal of time for leisure reading, but am in the midst of two interesting books related to the war. The first is Jeffry Wert's excellent Cavalryman of the Lost Cause (found on Amazon here), which will likely prove the definitive biography on Jeb Stuart for years to come. Indeed, it was an anecdote from this book that lead me back to studying Sanders. The second book is The War Department in 1861 - A Study in Mobilization and Administration by A. Howard Meneely. A reprint of a book originally published in 1928, this has been a very informative work. Meneely provides a very even-handed look at the War Department at the beginning of the war, maintaining an objective view of the people and the situation without jumping to conclusions to demonize or seek scapegoats.
More posts soon!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Any Norwich MMH students or alumni out there?
The discussion I started here a while back about graduate degrees in military history has resulted in a good bit of discussion over time. Several valid points and concerns have been raised, but the input has been very one-sided. American Military University students and alumni appear to be very content with their programs, while there has been litle to no input from either current students or slumni of the Norwich program. I would greatly prefer to have inputs from both sides, is there anyone out there willing to speak up?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fiddler's Green: William W. Loring
I generally don't feature Confederate cavalry leaders, but in this individual's case, he relates to the current thread of posts on the Regiment of Mounted Rifles/ 3rd U.S. Cavalry and had a very colorful career, so I decided to make an exception.
William Wing Loring was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on December 4, 1818. The family moved to St Augustine, Florida when he was four, and he spent the rest of his childhood in that state.
His military service started at the tender age of fourteen, when he enlisted in the Florida militia to fight against the Seminole Indians at the beginning of the Seminole Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of second lieutenant in the militia. He attempted to run away to fight in the Texas War for Independence as a seventeen year old, but was prevented by his father.
After attending a boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia for his secondary education, William attended Georgetown University before going on to study law. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1842. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1843, and unsuccessfully ran for the Florida Senate in 1845.
The outbreak of the Mexican War rejuvenated Loring's fortunes. He joined a newly formed regiment, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, as a captain, receiving his appointment on May 27, 1846. Originally organized to protect the Oregon Territory, the regiment was diverted for service in the Mexican War. Loring's prior military service apparently served him well, as he was promoted to major on February 16, 1847, prior to the regiment seeing its first combat. His regiment fought in most of the battles of the war, and Major Loring was wounded three times. His third wound came at the head of his regiment leading the charge into Mexico City, and resulted in the amputation of his arm. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel on August 20, 1847 for gallant and meritorious service in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, and colonel on September 13, 1847 for similar service at the battle of Chapultepec.
After the war, Loring commanded the Oregon territory for two years during the California Gold Rush. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 15, 1848. His next assignment was to the frontier of Texas and New Mexico Territory, where he served for five years against the Comanche, Apache and Kiowa Indians. At the time he was promoted to colonel on December 30, 1856 at age 38, he was the youngest full colonel in the Army.
In 1859, Colonel Loring was sent to Europe to study the military tactics of foreign armies and lessons learned from the Crimean War. He visited 10 different countries, including Turkey and Egypt.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Loring decided his loyalties lay with the South. He resigned his commission on May 13, 1861, and volunteered for service in the Confederate Army. He was commissioned as a brigadier general almost immediately and assigned to command the "Army of the Northwest" in western Virginia. His first campaign was against Major General George McClellan's forces invading from Ohio. After this campaign, General Loring and his men served in the western theater of the war. During the Vicksburg campaign, his forces were cut off from the rest of the Confederate army at the battle of Champion Hill. He marched south and joined his troops to the forces under General Joseph E. Johnston. He served in the corps of General Leonidas Polk afterwards, and commanded the corps briefly after Polk was killed at the battle of Pine Mountain. Wounded a fourth time during fighting at Ezra Church, General Loring did not return to action until after the Atlanta campaign. Upon his return, he fought first with General Hood at Franklin and Nashville, then joined Johnston's forces in the Carolinas.
After the war, Loring tried his fortunes overseas. He was one of fifty Civil war veterans recommended by General Sherman to the Khedive of Egypt to modernize his army. General Loring initially served as the army's Inspector General, and later commanded the country's coastal defenses. In 1875, he served as the chief of staff for an Egyptian pasha during an invasion of Abyssinia. When the invasion failed, the Americans were blamed for the failure. The American officers were dismissed in 1878, but not before Loring had attained the rank of Fereek Pasha, the equivalent of Major General in the U.S. Army.
Returning to the United States, Loring ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Florida. After his defeat he moved to New York City, where he wrote a book on his experiences in Egypt which was published in 1884.
William W. Loring died on December 30, 1886, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, St. Augustine, Florida
William Wing Loring was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on December 4, 1818. The family moved to St Augustine, Florida when he was four, and he spent the rest of his childhood in that state.
His military service started at the tender age of fourteen, when he enlisted in the Florida militia to fight against the Seminole Indians at the beginning of the Seminole Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of second lieutenant in the militia. He attempted to run away to fight in the Texas War for Independence as a seventeen year old, but was prevented by his father.
After attending a boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia for his secondary education, William attended Georgetown University before going on to study law. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1842. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1843, and unsuccessfully ran for the Florida Senate in 1845.
The outbreak of the Mexican War rejuvenated Loring's fortunes. He joined a newly formed regiment, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, as a captain, receiving his appointment on May 27, 1846. Originally organized to protect the Oregon Territory, the regiment was diverted for service in the Mexican War. Loring's prior military service apparently served him well, as he was promoted to major on February 16, 1847, prior to the regiment seeing its first combat. His regiment fought in most of the battles of the war, and Major Loring was wounded three times. His third wound came at the head of his regiment leading the charge into Mexico City, and resulted in the amputation of his arm. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel on August 20, 1847 for gallant and meritorious service in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, and colonel on September 13, 1847 for similar service at the battle of Chapultepec.
After the war, Loring commanded the Oregon territory for two years during the California Gold Rush. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 15, 1848. His next assignment was to the frontier of Texas and New Mexico Territory, where he served for five years against the Comanche, Apache and Kiowa Indians. At the time he was promoted to colonel on December 30, 1856 at age 38, he was the youngest full colonel in the Army.
In 1859, Colonel Loring was sent to Europe to study the military tactics of foreign armies and lessons learned from the Crimean War. He visited 10 different countries, including Turkey and Egypt.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Loring decided his loyalties lay with the South. He resigned his commission on May 13, 1861, and volunteered for service in the Confederate Army. He was commissioned as a brigadier general almost immediately and assigned to command the "Army of the Northwest" in western Virginia. His first campaign was against Major General George McClellan's forces invading from Ohio. After this campaign, General Loring and his men served in the western theater of the war. During the Vicksburg campaign, his forces were cut off from the rest of the Confederate army at the battle of Champion Hill. He marched south and joined his troops to the forces under General Joseph E. Johnston. He served in the corps of General Leonidas Polk afterwards, and commanded the corps briefly after Polk was killed at the battle of Pine Mountain. Wounded a fourth time during fighting at Ezra Church, General Loring did not return to action until after the Atlanta campaign. Upon his return, he fought first with General Hood at Franklin and Nashville, then joined Johnston's forces in the Carolinas.
After the war, Loring tried his fortunes overseas. He was one of fifty Civil war veterans recommended by General Sherman to the Khedive of Egypt to modernize his army. General Loring initially served as the army's Inspector General, and later commanded the country's coastal defenses. In 1875, he served as the chief of staff for an Egyptian pasha during an invasion of Abyssinia. When the invasion failed, the Americans were blamed for the failure. The American officers were dismissed in 1878, but not before Loring had attained the rank of Fereek Pasha, the equivalent of Major General in the U.S. Army.
Returning to the United States, Loring ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Florida. After his defeat he moved to New York City, where he wrote a book on his experiences in Egypt which was published in 1884.
William W. Loring died on December 30, 1886, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, St. Augustine, Florida
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Short Takes
Some weeks are longer than others, apparently, as it's been rather more than 7 days since my last post. At any rate....
Thank you very much to those who sent their condolences here and elsewhere on the passing of my mother. I took your thoughts and prayers to heart during this difficult time. There are a lot of great folks in the blogosphere, and it shows during difficult times.
What I'm reading: 1861: A Study in Unpreparedness (or something similar, I don't have it in front of me). Very interesting, though I haven't had much time to devote to it.
You wouldn't think there would be a Civil War link to a small town in the far northwest of California, but I managed. Camp Lincoln was established on June 13, 1862 near Crescent City, California by Company G, 2nd Regiment, California Volunteers. It wasn't intended to defend against Confederates, of course, but was established to protect settlers from Indians because all of the regulars had been sent east to fight in the Civil War. It was abandoned in 1869.
Thank you very much to those who sent their condolences here and elsewhere on the passing of my mother. I took your thoughts and prayers to heart during this difficult time. There are a lot of great folks in the blogosphere, and it shows during difficult times.
What I'm reading: 1861: A Study in Unpreparedness (or something similar, I don't have it in front of me). Very interesting, though I haven't had much time to devote to it.
You wouldn't think there would be a Civil War link to a small town in the far northwest of California, but I managed. Camp Lincoln was established on June 13, 1862 near Crescent City, California by Company G, 2nd Regiment, California Volunteers. It wasn't intended to defend against Confederates, of course, but was established to protect settlers from Indians because all of the regulars had been sent east to fight in the Civil War. It was abandoned in 1869.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
No Posts for a Week
Found out last night that my mother passed unexpectedly, and am on the way home to rural northern California to sort things out. There will be no new posts here for at least a week.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Chickamauga Blog
Chickamauga expert Dave Powell has entered the blogosphere with this site dedicated to chronicling one of the most significant battles of the Western theater of the war. His blog can be found in the blog listings at the left as well as right here. Welcome to the blogosphere, Dave, I'm really looking forward to reading more!
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