GTIC FiLE COPY 6 CONFEDERATE CAVALRY AT CHI CKAMAUGA-- WHAT WENT WRONG? 00o a) 0 A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE by LAWYN C. EDWARDS, MAd, USA B.S., United States Military Academy,. 1975 M.S., Air Force Institute of Technology, 1987 0 IC Fort Leavenworth, Kansas EB0OI- Approved for public release: distribution is unlimited 9004622 •Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 07040188 P~bh( ronm b,.0dem 10111 %tr'Icecllm Of *,fo..,jt~omt.% el-s to Ia..aQe Io.-owt Delo. the tn, for C.ee-mg ',t'I.CI,o. sesChIFg e.'sung OtIJ vo ;athe, m-9I'd -na -mg,'~the Iat& tefCCrdedvd Z~'oe g &a e-e-~nq t" coilec,'.1f MfO't41,m Semd tOntnerotj le.dt h h'etet~aC r.t te tPtIo '0le'ct~n jf fcy0 raort m<, , q 9 37"'o" fC' ' e.1v(crj It, b...dem to rqtr att s e 'kn~e Ortct1rlt of F ntatOrr Ote.~ tArd Fteoorls )2 1t' a I.,tr-r,..ay. Svte 1204. ArtflgOn VA 22202-4302 ard to the o0fice of Mjfnien-,eM 61d 8InIdget. Pape oO.o Re~duclon Ptoje. (07OA-0 81.),Alshirton. DC 20SO] 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVErE " 1 J"N 1990 Master's Thesis,Aug b9 to Jun 90 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE s. FUNDING NUMBERS Confederate Cavaly at Chickamauga - What Went Wrong? 6. AUTHOR(S) Major Lawyn C..Edwards 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION U.S. Army Command and General Staff College REPORT NUMBER ATTN: ATZL-SWD-GD Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-6900 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12a. DISTRIBUTION /AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; Distribution is A unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) - itis study investigates General Braxton Bragg's use of cavalry during the pivotal Tullahoma and Chickamauga Campaigns. As army commander, Bragg was responsible for organizing units, selecting commanders, and assigning missions. His decisions had significant impact upon the tactical and operational fortunes of the Army of Tennessee and on Confederate strategy. First, this investigation defines the unique heritage of American cavalry. Second, it addresses the actuaL_ emplovmv--. P cavalry in the United States of America.- Did these- roles cor,:idu with those of European cavalry? D'd available army and cavalry leadership play a crucial part in the successes and failures of Confederate plans? Do the careers of Generals Bragg, Wheeler1 and. Forrest offer clues to their efforts at Chickamauga? Also,'.how did the elements of national power (political, military, economit, geographic, and national will), contribute to Contederate cavalry perfcirmnance? This study concludes that blame is to be shared between the commanders involved and the system within which they fought. This study presents an in depth view of the performance of Confederate cavalry in this "victory" at the "River of Death". k--,L 1, 14. SUBJECT TERMSrAmerlcan Civil War, Battle of Chickamauga , 15. NUMStR OF PAGES Confederate Cavalry, Civil War Cavalry Doctrine,' . 206 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unclass ified Unclassified Unclassi fied UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev 2-89) Pr.,,irbe by ANSI St 13q'18 / CONFEDERATE CAVALRY AT CHICKAMAUGA-- WHAT WENT WRONG? A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment o+ the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE by LAWYN C. EDWARDS, MAJ, USA B.S., United States Military Academy, 1975 M.S., Air Force Institute of Technology, 1987 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 1990 Approved for public release: distribution is unlimited 9004622 MASTERS OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Name of candidate: MAJ Lawyn C. Edwards Title of Thesis: Confederate Cavalry at Chickamaug __-- What Went Wrona? Approved by: ....- , Thesis Committee Chairman William G. Robertson, Ph.D. _ . , Member, Graduate Faculty MAJ George E. <naup, MA Accepted this 1st day of June 1990 by: ..........- , Director, Graduate Degree Philip J. Brookes, Ph.D. Programs The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student author and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to this study should include the foregoing statement.) ii ABSTRACT CONFEDERATE CAVALRY AT CHICKAMAUGA - WHAT WENT WRONG? by MAJ Lawyn C. Edwards, USA, 206 pages. This study investigates General Braxton Bragg's use of cavalry during the pivotal Tullahoma and Chickamauga Campaigns. As army commander, Bragg was responsible for organizing units, selecting commanders, and assigning missions. His decisions had significant impact upon the tactical and operational fortunes of the Army of Tennessee and on Confederate strategy. First, this investigation defines the unique heritage of American cavalry. Second, it addresses the actual employment of cavalry in the United States of America. Did these roles coincide with those of European cavalry? Did available army and cavalry leadership play a crucial part in the successes and failures of Confederate plans? Do the careers of Generals Bragg, Wheeler, and Forrest offer clu.s to their efforts at Chickamauga? Also, how did the elements of national power (political, military, economic, geographic, and national will), contribute to Confederate cavalry performance? This study concludes that blame is to be shared between the commanders involved and the system within which they fought. This study presents an in depth view of the performance of Confederate cavalry in this "victory" at the "River of Death". SAooselon For NTIS MIU&I DT6DTIC TAB Unannounced 13 ceV Justification 6 Distribution/ Avellabillty Codes ~Avail and/or Diit Specli 1&ii i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Title Page ................................ i Thesis Approval Page ........................ ii Abstract ..............me........a....... i Table of Contents ........... .............. iv List of Maps ...... ................................ v List of Tables .............................. vi List of Figures ... e................. vij Dedication .......................... viii Introduction ................... .. ...... •.... a............. I Chapter 1 -- American Cavalry Tradition and Tactics ....... 8 Chapter 2 -- Confederate Cavalry ........................29 Chapter 3 -- Tullahoma Campaign .......................... 69 Chapter 4 -- Chickamauga Campaign ........................ 99 Chapter 5 -- Battle of Chickamauga .... **mos....... ... 140 Chapter 6 -- Conclusions .............. ................ 167 Appendix A -- Summary of Principal Events, Tullahoma .... 194 Appendix B -- Summary of Principal Events, Chickamauga .. 196 Bibliography ............................................. 200 Initial Distribution List ............ o.................... 206 iv LIST OF MAPS Page Map 1. Theater of Operations ............................. 40 Map 2. Area of Interest .................................. 75 Map 3. ChickamaUga Campaign ............................. 101 Map 4. Battle of Chi=kamauga ............................ 142 SOURCES Map 3: H.V. Boynton, The National Military__a_Er.. Chickamauga-Chattanoogga. An Historical Guide (Cincinnatti: Robert Clarke Co., 1895), p. 22. V LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Abstract from Return of Army of Tennessee, 10 June 1863 .................................. 74 Table 2. Abstract from Return of Army of Tennessee, 20 July 1863 ................................. 102 Table 3. Abstract from Return of Army of Tennessee, 31 July 1863 ................................. It Table 4. Confederate Cavalry Order of Battle, 31 July 1863, Army of Tennessee ...................... III Table 5. Abstract from Return and Cavalry Order of Battle, 31 July 1863, Department of East Tennessee...112 Table 6. Abstract from Return of Army of Tennessee and Department of East Tennessee, 10 August 1863.114 Table 7. Confederate Cavalry Order of Battle, 10 August 1863, Army of Tennessee ...................... 115 Table 8. Abstract from Return of Army of Tennessee, 20 August 1863 ............................... 116 Table 9. Confederate Army of Tennessee Order of Battle, 19-20 September 1863 ..................... 143-150 SOURCES The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Offici.l R qprds of_the Union_ and Confederate_Armies. 128 vols. Washington, DC: War Department, 1880-1901. vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Regimental Armored Cavalry Squadrons ............ 187 Figure 2. Divisional Cavalry Squadrons .................... 188 SOURCES U.S. Army, FM 17-95, CaQvalryOperations (Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1986) vii DEDICATION I am dedicating this work to the American soldier. Not only to the soldier of today, or the blue or the gray, but to all of them. My final conclusion in this work does not lay any guilt upon the private soldier of the Army of Tennessee. I truly believe it is up to the leadership to assist and allow the American fighting man to win this nation's wars. As a member of that leadership element, I am always reminded of a quote from a past president of Washington College, R.E. Lee. He said, "Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less." I also will allow myself the belief that the armies of the United States and the Confederate