The Battle of Gaines’s Mill

As I suspect most of you know, I do not feature much in the way of infantry content here. I have nothing against the infantry, but I am a student of the cavalry. Still, from time to time, an infantry study or a battle study comes along that is simply too good to ignore. Such…

Weapons in 5th Virginia Cavalry

During the last few years, I have made several references to the logistical problems in the Union Cavalry Corps, created by the different models and caliber of carbines carried by the men. I have also, especially recently, referenced what I term ‘the mythical horn of plenty’ within the Cavalry Corps. In doing so, I do…

A Book Review from Arnold Blumberg

Robert E. Lee’s Reluctant Warrior: The Life of Cavalry Commander and Railroad Businessman Brigadier General Williams Carter Wickham. By Sheridan R. Barringer. ISBN 978-1-945602-25-2. Columbia, SC: Fox Run Publishing, 2024. Maps. Images. Bibliography. Index. Pp. 255. $32.95 (hardback). By the late afternoon of September 22, 1864, the Confederate Valley Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Jubal…

Major John Eells, 5th Virginia Cavalry

I truly appreciate the feedback I receive from you, and I especially appreciate hearing from readers familiar with a home I have written about or who are descendants of a soldier I have written of. I believe Maj. John Eells, 5th Virginia Cavalry, may have been the last trooper, North or South, killed in action…

A Subject Long Avoided – Stuart’s Ride to Gettysburg

For more than 161 years, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s ‘Ride to Gettysburg’ has proved fertile ground for debate and controversy, and for more than 30 years I have tried to avoid such discussions. Confusing orders, missing orders, problematic decisions, and Stuart’s motivations are just a few of the unknowable or unsolvable factors that fuel the…