I will be speaking on Sunday, June 18 at 2 p.m., at Buchanan Hall in Upperville, Virginia. My presentation is part of a weekend of events marking the 160th anniversary of the cavalry battles at Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. Saturday’s events include an all-day tour of the battlefields, led by Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Historian…

I have spoken of Col. Benjamin ‘Grimes’ Davis several times in the past, including here and here. A Southerner, born in Alabama and raised in Mississippi, Benjamin Franklin Davis had been graduated from West Point in 1854 and received a commission in the 1st United States Dragoons. With the outbreak of the Civil War in…

Part 2 Last month I posted a slightly expanded version of the final appendix that did not appear in Small but Important Riots. This month I look specifically at the Alfred Duffié question. I ended last month’s post, having briefly examined Alfred Pleasonton’s June 11 reorganization of his corps and the mistaken notion that he…

Today I offer the last of the several appendices that did not appear in Small but Important Riots. I have decided to expand the narrative, which covers several related themes, into a two-part story. Here, in Part 1, I address Alfred Pleasonton’s oft-cited June 23 letter to Congressman John Farnsworth. In Part 2, I will…

I would first like to thank everyone who has purchased a copy of Small but Important Riots, and I also thank those readers who have passed along their thoughts regarding the new book. Many professional reviewers hesitate to offer an in-depth review of the book, as they see it as a simple revised edition. Beyond…

With Small but Important Riots now available, I plan to include here material that had to be cut from the finished product. Working with the staff at the University of Nebraska Press and the Potomac Books imprint has been a pleasure in every respect and I am very happy with the finished product. That said,…

I now have plenty of copies of the book for anyone wishing to purchase a copy from me. With thanks to information provided by readers, I know the book is also available from all other outlets. Anyone wishing to purchase the book from me may contact me via this site. The purchase price is $36.95…

And just in time for Christmas I received several copies on Wednesday and will order more this week. I know some readers of this blog who pre-ordered from the publisher have received their copies. I do not know what the status is with Amazon. I will have a for-sale link up when the books arrive.

At the beginning of May, the Cavalry Corps numbered 12,386 men, and employed 313 wagons, or one wagon for every 40 men. In addition to the wagons needed for personal gear, rations for the men, medical equipment, grain and forage for the horses, and other sundry materiel, the command needed wagons for ammunition. The following…

On June 10, one day after the fight at Brandy Station, General Pleasonton issued two orders to his horse artillery commanders, telling them to “send in their requisitions for ammunition, ordinance stores and horses and take every other means in their power to put their batteries [in] condition to take the field, thoroughly equipped on…