The Poison Spring Massacre (April 18, 1864) part 1

 

On April 18, 1864, the 1^st Kansas Colored Regiment faced its worst day. A foraging expedition turned into a desperate battle, and the battle concluded with their heaviest losses. While many of the former slaves and their white officers fell in combat, the worst came after the battle had been lost. The wounded were targeted for a racial and revenge-motivated killing spree at the hands of the victors. The Battle of Poison Spring was not the largest battle of General Frederick Steele’s Camden Expedition in Arkansas, but it gained an infamous place in Civil War history. Arkansas citizens in the area did not call it a battle, but the Poison Spring Massacre. It helped usher in 1864 as perhaps the cruelest year of the Civil War.

The Northern Hook

The Camden Expedition was in fact part of the Red River Campaign. Major-General Henry W. Halleck, Chief-of-Staff of the Army, was determined to see the conquest of Texas and its cotton bundles. General Ulysses Grant, recently promoted to Lieutenant-General over all Federal forces, had wanted Major-General Nathaniel Banks (one of several notoriously incompetent political generals), to descend upon Mobile, Alabama, one of the last functioning major ports in the South. Halleck, however, won his case for Banks to advance on Texas instead. There were legitimate military objectives. Texas, largely untouched beyond its Gulf coastline, contained vast amounts of cattle and other supplies that it could still slip east past the Union-occupied Mississippi River. Also, the Lincoln Administration still feared that the French, waging their war in Mexico just to the south, might still potentially form an alliance with the Confederacy. A large Federal presence in Texas could dissuade this. More controversially there were political and economic motives as well. Lincoln hoped to install a pro-Union government in conquered Texan territory that would of course in turn hold pro-Lincoln voters. Above all the Federals coveted Texas’ vast amounts of cotton. Since Texas had a land border with Mexico, it could bypass the Union naval blockade and send cotton directly to French and Mexican middlemen.

 

Hippensteel, Scott. Myths of the Civil War: The Fact, Fiction, and Science behind the Civil War’s Most-Told Stories. Lanham: Stackpole Books, 2021.

Scott Hippensteel is an associate professor of earth sciences at the University of North Carolina. If one wonders why a scientist wrote a book on the Civil War, it should be noted that his specialties include geoarchaeology and micropaleontology. Hippensteel himself is a Civil War buff and has sought to apply his specific field to this historical era. Myths of the Civil War does not deal with social issues like slavery’s importance or strategic ones like who was really responsible for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg, but primarily with how historians and others who present the Civil War have uncritically accepted soldiers’ metaphors as literal fact or the objectivity of early photojournalism. Injecting his short book with bits of humor, Hippensteel is able to scientifically challenge claims about the Civil War in an engaging and entertaining fashion.

The first myth he challenges is that of the Civil War sniper, that thanks to advances in weapon technology, crack shots were able to hit generals like Sedgwick at Spotsylvania and Reynolds at Gettysburg with pinpoint accuracy. Studying physics and the capabilities of firearms at the time, Hippensteel convincingly argues that Civil War sharpshooters were not the equivalent of snipers and would either target clusters of men or work in teams to fill a general area with bullets.

8 Inaccuracies in the Movie Gettysburg (1993)

 Ted Turner’s Gettysburg is the 1993 film (with a successful mini-series performance on TNT) that got me interested in the Civil War. It’s my favorite Civil War movie period, even if technically there are better entries on the subject. While it will always hold a special place in my heart, I have noticed, through the observations of others and my own expanding knowledge of history that there are a few inaccuracies. Some are carried over from Michael Shaara’s Killer Angels, the historical novel on which the movie is based on. Others were mistakes or intentional cinematic choices on the part of the filmmakers. This is not a heavy criticism, as the inaccuracies are for the most part harmless and in a couple cases help make a better viewing experience. I will not list the soldiers’ well-fed and often older appearance, as the movie’s budget required the voluntary efforts of reenactors rather than meticulously selected extras or hired soldiers to fill out the battle scenes. Let’s start with a couple light ones.

#1. The 14th Brooklyn is at the Wrong Place

When General John Reynolds falls to a sharpshooter’s bullet, a regiment wearing red kepi hats and trousers stops to gather around him. Several units in the Army of the Potomac had colorful uniforms, but none were present for the first day’s battle around McPherson’s Ridge. The 14th Brooklyn, actually part of the 84th New York, was part of Reynold’s Corps, but fought at the Railroad Cut to the north. They were popularly known as the “red-legged devils” and were known to be Abolitionist in their politics. They were originally supposed to be off in the distance to show some scale to the battle scenes. Director Ron Maxwell, however, tired of shooting a sea of blue uniforms, decided to have them front and center for a big scene.

The Battle of Hanover (June 30, 1863)

 On June 30, the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, three brigades of cavalry under the famed General J.E.B. Stuart clashed with a division of Union counterparts under General Judson Kilpatrick at the town of Hanover, Pennsylvania. This was one of many cavalry clashes on the way to the fateful battle of Gettysburg, but is worth some study for two reasons.

1.      First, this battle came about as Stuart, separated from the main body of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, tried to reconnect his three cavalry brigades. The Federals at Hanover stood in his way of getting to Gettysburg, where he thought he might find Lee. If he had plowed through Kilpatrick’s rear guard or been fortunate enough to arrive there after the Federals were gone, he would have gotten to Gettysburg at least on July 1, seriously altering the course of events.

2.     Secondly, it was the first battle where George Armstrong Custer, one of the most famous cavalrymen in US history, held field command. He had so far spent most of the war as a capable staff officer. This was his first serious test.

 

Donald Frazier's Louisiana Quadrille

  Frazier, Donald. Fire in the Cane Field: The Federal Invasion of Louisiana and Texas, January 1861-January 1863. State House Press, 2009.

-        Thunder Across the Swamp: The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February 1863-May 1863. State House Press, 2011.
-          Blood on the Bayou: Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and the Trans-Mississippi. State House Press, 2015.
-          Tempest over Texas: The Fall and Winter Campaigns of 1863-1864. State House Press, 2020.

 

Those looking for an extensive history of Civil War Louisiana might be interested to know that there is a highly readable four-volume series on the subject. Donald Frazier’s Louisiana Quadrille (he actually chose to expand it to five books so it’s really a Pendadrille) covers the Trans-Mississippi theatre in East Texas and Louisiana from the secession crisis to right before the more widely known and infamous Red River Campaign of spring 1864. Frazier’s work here comes out of Blood & Treasure, the story of the Sibley Brigade’s attempt to conquer the Far West. Looking further into this unit’s history, he came upon a series of little known battles. As a native Texan, Frazier was inspired to dig deeper. He has brought to light a heavily overlooked part of the Civil War. Frazier covers a wide area of the war, but shows a particular interest in the fields and swamps of western Louisiana.

Taken together the books look like heavy reading (Thunder in the Swamp runs well over 500 pages). However the text is not all that thick and there are plenty of illustrations and maps. The latter shows the author’s exhaustive searches for visual sources to enhance his narrative. The one main gripe has nothing to do with Frazier’s investigation and presentation of information. He displays a surprising amount of grammatical errors, moreso in his first volume. I myself am guilty of having typos and errors in my blog posts (even after reading through what I wrote). Still it’s a bit surprising for a professionally published book. Perhaps he attempted to edit the whole thing himself. This is forgivable, however, in light of the value of his research. He really digs into primary sources and many of the figures, especially the soldiers of the rank-and-file, come alive with extensive quotes and references from their letters and journals.

The Battle of Honey Springs (July 17, 1863)

Honey Springs is the third significant battle of the 1^st Kansas Colored Regiment. It was a direct and much larger follow-up to the Battle at Cabin Creek. In fact it has gone down in history as the largest battle in Indian Territory with at least 6,000 participants. Some have also called it the “Gettysburg of Indian Territory.” Not only did it take place shortly after that famed battle, it effectively ended any Confederate dominance in the region, save for a few major raids in the future. Finally the battle has been noted for its ethnic diversity. In addition to the black troops in the 1^st Kansas both sides sported various Indian units. It was truly a polyglot fight in which whites fought for the future of the American vision, blacks fought for freedom and equality, and Indians fought for self-determination.

Quick Action Required

The 1^st Kansas’ entry into Indian Territory at the Battle of Cabin Creek gave them ample opportunities to prove themselves in further battle. However, Indian Territory was rarely covered in the wider national press, so their contributions would go unnoticed by most Northerners. Also, despite having fought in two sizeable engagements since their inception, they still drew the racial prejudice of their fellow white soldiers. Captain Nicholas Earle of Company F remembered that the 2^nd Colorado Infantry, made up of rough-hewn white westerners, “treated us with contempt.”[1]

James G. Blunt

Major General James Blunt, recently arrived in Indian Territory, began his campaign with a halved department. Major General John M. Schofield, his superior, placed his eastern half along the Missouri border under General Thomas Ewing. Blunt and his Kansan political ally James Lane were angry and saw the need to boost the former’s standing with a quick victory. As luck would have it, military events necessitated speedy action. William Phillips’ scouts (from his Union Indian Brigade) saw that Confederate General William Cabell, having missed his rendezvous with Brigadier General Douglas Cooper for the Battle of Cabin Creek, was still approaching with 3,000 troops from Arkansas. Cherokee women came to Fort Gibson on ponies and passed on further observations about the movements and size of the Arkansan force.[2]

Cyrus the Great: A Short Bio (part 2 of 2)

 

An Enemy and an Ally

 The fledgling Persian Empire was to face its first serious challenge. The Lydian kingdom, situated in western Anatolia, contained extensive gold fields, so much so that the name of its ruler King Croesus remains heavily associated with wealth. As with the Persians, knowledge of the Lydians has been almost exclusively channeled through Greek sources, to the point that they can be confused with Greeks themselves. Over 35 years earlier, the Lydians and Medes were embroiled in a massive war. On May 28 in 585 BC, a solar eclipse suddenly came and frightened the two sides into a truce, with Astyages marrying the daughter of the Lydian king. Now, with Astyages dead and the Medes subsumed into a new empire, Croesus saw an opportunity to finish the war that the gods had seemingly put to an end (Herodotus makes the alternate claim that he sought to avenge Astyages, who was his brother-in-law). He believed that Cyrus would not be ready to repel a Lydian invasion, and was emboldened in his plans by the Oracles of Apollo. These prophets had divined that he would destroy an empire.

Golden coin of Croesus.

Though seemingly encouraged by the gods, Croesus bettered his odds through alliances with his neighbors. He gained the support of Babylon, Egypt, and Sparta, a grand alliance that threatened to destroy the new Persian Empire. These were defensive alliances, meaning they would not march into Persian territory with him, but they would come to his aid if the roles of attacker and defender were reversed. Croesus struck for Pteria, a city near the Black Sea. Cyrus responded quickly and effectively. To ensure that his army was well supplied, he purchased thousands of camels from the Arabs and gave each regiment of men its own baggage train.