Before Gettysburg came the preparation of the route north.

After the win at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee decided to move north to secure provisions for his increasingly ragged troops. As well as this practical matter, Lee hoped the move would encourage the peace activists of the north by threatening, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia from the west. Whilst encamped in Culpeper, Virginia with his infantry (Ewell's and Longstreet's two Corps), Lee's cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart met a large Federal Cavalry force led by Alfred Pleasanton near Brandy Station on 9 June 1863. This ended up being the largest cavalry battle of the entire war. It ended in a tactical draw, but had two significant outcomes. First, Stuart was successful in screening Lee's force in Culpeper and the Union left the field not knowing where Lee was, but suspected he was amassing a large army on its doorstep. Second, the aggressive fighting of the Federal cavalry marked the end of Stuart's domination of the cavalry field in the eastern theatre. The legend of the southern cavalry had been broken by names such as John Buford. Regardless of who won at Brandy Station, Lee's army was still in Northern Virginia and on the move northward with extreme prejudice.

Lee sent Ewell's II Corps to clear the Winchester area of the Shenandoah Valley of known Union emplacements there. This was to be the route north and Lee wanted nothing slowing him down when he began his big gamble. The Union forces at Winchester were commanded by Robert Milroy and were significantly less than Ewell's numbers. The emplacements were made up of the the "Star" fort to the west of Winchester and the main fort in the town itself. Because of the general havoc created by the advancing Confederates and the Union's shallow numbers, Milroy had been ordered to withdrawal from Winchester to Harpers Ferry. However, after skirmishing all around Winchester on the 13th, Milroy decided to try to hold the town. This decision would later get him relieved of command, but the Confederates would relieve him of many of this troops before then.

On the 14th of June, Ewell began in earnest by sending Jubal Early's Division to take the Star Fort during the day and increasing pressure on the main fort into the evening. As the Confederates closed on Winchester, Milroy was starting to think better of his option of withdrawal. After as quick counsel of war, he decided to retreat to the north. However, Ewell had anticipated this and sent Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's division to cut him off. Johnson's forces met Milroy's retreat in the early morning hours of the 15th at Stephenson's Depot on the Harpers Ferry road to the north of Winchester. Johnson created havoc around the Federals and the Milroy's command collapsed in panic. Milroy and some of his cavalry got away, but virtually all of the remaining infantry were killed or captured along with a great number of artillery, horses and supplies. By the morning of the 15th, all was left was to mop up the stragglers.

The road was now clear from Lee to march northward with the mountains and Stuart's cavalry as a screen. Gettysburg and destiny awaited.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

I'm writing about the Second Battle of Winchester, because I never miss a chance to recommend a ride in the Shenandoah Valley, especially any part of the Skyline Drive. I've also included some lesser known roads in West Virginia that are worth the ride. The Skyline Drive ends near Front Royal which is where Ewell staged from before attacking Winchester.

Book Recommendation: The Gateway to Gettysburg: The Second Battle of Winchester from Amazon.com

Map Recommendation: Virginia & West Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer 2006 from Amazon.com

Accor Hotels in the Winchester, Virginia area

By early 1915, the lines in northern France had become static and the trench warfare that WWI is known for had commenced. Many soldiers and officers found themselves not only green, but found their senior leadership green in the tactics of the trench as well. New ideas had to be considered and new tactics developed to break the enemy lines for any offensive to succeed. The British First Army, under the command of the often maligned General Douglas Haig, was given the task of taking the immediate German positions, Neuve Chapelle and finally Aubers ridge. The First Army was made up of British, Canadians and Indians.

Although the battle is not often associated with the major battles of the First World War, it is highly significant in the analysis of the planning, technology and tactical advances of the time. The battle exhibited major breakthroughs in four key areas.

• The German lines were mapped extensively by aerial reconnaissance by a British air arm that was in its infancy. This allowed;
• Detailed maps to be distributed to the ground forces which contained phase lines and timed intervals for movements which were co-ordinated with;
• Air support in the attack and;
• Heavy artillery preparation of targets in advance with the lifting and shifting of fires in time with infantry movements. More rounds were sent skyward in the battle than in all of the Boer War.

These innovations paid off at first with Haig taking the immediate objective of the German line salient and then the village of Neuve Chapelle. However, the attack bogged down soon thereafter, well before reaching the final objective of the Aubers ridge. A competent German counter-attack was partly the casue, but unforced errors also came into play. There were several tactical explanations for the halt that are common to many battlefields;

• Poor weather on the second day limited aerial observation and support which contributed to;
• Poor communications that kept the leadership from knowing where things were progressing properly and where they weren't which led to;
• Bad tactical intelligence that led some areas to be allotted more troops than needed and others less than needed which led to;
• The fog of war where things tend to freeze on the senior decision level, but local fighting goes on, but is uncoordinated with the larger picture.

The battle was a limited tactical win for the Brits, but at a heavy cost of approximately 12,000 casualties. In the longer term Neuve Chapelle became the professional template for a new set of tactics that would become prevalent for the rest of the war.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

This is a great ride when you are going somewhere else in France. It is only 60 miles from Calais and can be seen on the way to the south of France, Paris or Belgium with only a minor detour. From Calais, head to Neuve Chapelle, then take the following circular ride of the area. This is not a spectacularly scenic ride, but you get to ride along the British front line from Neuve Chapelle to Fleurbaix (with a British Cemetary in Fauquissart), then see the Aubers ridge objective, then down to the pivot point in the line at La Bassee.

Book Recommendation: The Battle of Neuve Chapelle - French Flanders from AbeBooks.co.uk

Map Recommendation: Michelin Map No. 236 Nord de la France from AbeBooks.co.uk

Accor Hotels in the Lille area

On 13 February 1862, Union commanding General U.S. Grant's positioning was complete and the time had come to attack Fort Donelson. The Union forces had spent the 12th of February closing in from Fort Henry and exchanging picket fire with the Confederates manning the earthen works of Fort Donelson. The gunboats had also spent the 12th testing the river batteries and found them tough, but assumed they could be taken as Fort Henry's had been.

On the morning of 13 February 1862, Grant meant to have a simultaneous push along the right and left, but General John A. McClernand had jumped the gun and got manhandled by the Confederates, led by General Gideon Pillow. A push on the other side by General C.F. Smith was more disciplined and originally successful, but met with the same fate at the hands of General Simon Bolivar Buckner's troops. Overnight, a snow and ice storm befell the area and the lines woke on the 14th to a white landscape, ice laden trees and wounded who had died from exposure overnight.

On 14 February 1862, Foote was to unleash his gunboats on the Fort Donelson river batteries just like he had at Fort Henry. However, Donelson was not Henry. Fort Donelson's batteries were on tiered bluffs overlooking the Cumberland River, which gave them great range and an enviable angle of fire up close. This was to prove decisive. Foote was to preclude the ground assault with a show of force and hopefully take out the batteries. Foote came on and made considerable progress, until the flotilla got close enough for the Confederate gunners to zero in. When very close, the Donelson guns were firing right down on the Yankee ships, delivering devastating blows. Virtually the entire flotilla lost navigation capabilities due to direct hits and were floating helplessly down stream. Foote was seriously injured and many were dead. Donelson would not be another Henry. The overall Rebel commander, General John B. Floyd, was ecstatic, because his original mission was to slow down the Yankee advance long enough to let Rebel troops in Bowling Green, Kentucky retreat to Nashville unhindered and this he had accomplished. His follow-on mission would drive the course of the battle, though.

Grant now had to face the very real possibility that his confidence in taking Donelson was misplaced. The next day would be critical, but not in the way Grant expected. On 15 December 1862, Grant had to go meet Foote as the Navy man was too injured to travel to Grant. As Grant left, he left explicit instructions not to engage with the Confederates in the belief that the Confederates would not dream of attacking. Grant met with Foote and asked for whatever force Foote could give the following day to keep the batteries busy, whilst he attacked on land. As Grant rode back on the icy roads, he got news that McClernand was under pressure on the right. The fight was on, but not at Grant's bidding.
The Confederate leadership of Floyd, Buckner and Pillow had querulously decided to attempt a breakout around Dover. Buckner was to provide a rear guard, Pillow, with the help of Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry, would push McClernand out of the way, then Floyd would lead the vanguard to Nashville. Pillow and Buckner would then retreat under fire and provide cover for Floyd.

Pillow's and Forrest's push on McClernand was what the reports Grant was receiving were all about. Grant made his way forward and heard that the Rebels were carrying 3 days of rations on them. This told him that they were trying to breakout. Grant immediately ordered re-enforcements to McClernand and also told Smith to attack Buckner's rear guard with force. Smith put such pressure on Buckner that Pillow had to send some help to stave off a collapse of the rear. Pillow thought this was OK, because he and Forrest had opend the road near Dover for a retreat. However, as the Rebels settled back into their positions after opening the road, a stasis developed. As the intitative ebbed away, Floyd, Pillow and Buckner traded turns in being optimistic, pessimistic and openly hostile to each other.

Floyd was a deer in the headlights now. Finally, Pillow wanted to hold the position and Buckner wanted to ram the forces through the hole created during the day. Floyd lost nerve and decided to hold the position. The day ended in much the same position as it had began with the notable exception of some of Smith's unit occupying some of the ridge line near the fort, putting artillery in range of the main fort. It might have continued that way had Pillow and Floyd stuck around, but both were former Federal officials and feared being tried for treason if caught. So, under the cover of darkness, they caught the first thing steaming to Nashville. A small number of Confederate troops also got up river that night. Forrest, who was disgusted by the trio of Generals, stomped out and took his cavalry command across a swollen stream and into the Tennessee darkness. Buckner was left in charge and immediately drafted a request for terms to send to his old friend, Grant. Buckner was probably hoping for some leniency based on his previous relationship with Grant.

The request reached Grant in the early morning and he responded with what was to make him famous, "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." Buckner called him "unchivalrous," but accepted the terms anyway.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

This is my home ride and I recommend it as one of the most beautiful rides anywhere. It splits the the Land Between the Lakes from North to South.

Book Recommendation: Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862 from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

Map Recommendation: Tennessee Atlas and Gazetteer 2006 from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

Accor Hotels in the western Tennessee area

By the end of 1864, the Confederacy had only one major port remaining to run goods in and out to the Bahamas, Bermuda and Nova Scotia for much needed supplies. That port was Wilmington, North Carolina and it was protected by Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher sat at the mouth of the Cape Fear River's entrance into the Atlantic. Fort Fisher was a formidable obstacle, not just for its position, but for the extended earthen works as well. Such was its strength that it was often referred to as the "Gibralter of the South." Naturally, it became a prime objective for the North as they tried to choke of the remaining supply lines to the South.

On Christmas Day 1864, General Benjamin Butler and Admiral David Porter led a combined force that was to attempt an amphibious assault on Fort Fisher. Porter played his part with one of the fiercest bombardments that the Union Navy had conducted to date. However, Butler lost his nerve after his initial attack was rebuffed and cancelled the ground attack and departed. Porter and Union commander, U.S. Grant were disgusted with the lack of Butler's resolve. Grant relieved Butler, replacing him with Alfred H. Terry (who was later to become one of the best known Indian fighters of the West). Porter was to give a reprise of his successful bombardment. Terry had previously been in charge of the Siege of Charleston and knew that he had to co-ordinate heavily with Porter for the complex mission to succeed.

On January 13th, 1865, under covering fire by Porter, Terry landed a force up river from the fort to block a Confederate re-enforcement of the fort once the amphibious assault began. Union forces probed the fort's defenses and Terry decided that the fort was vulnerable from the river side. In the mean time, Porter continued his bombardment and prepared an amphibious assault of sailors and marines on the ocean side. With the fort now cut off from land side support and no naval protection to speak of, the Confederate forces, under General Whiting and Colonel Lamb, hunkered down under a remorseless bombardment by Porter over the next two days. The damage to the earthen works could not be repaired due to the ceaseless nature of the fire.

The stage was now set for the final assault on the 15th of January.

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

Start in Southport, North Carolina on the south side of the Cape Fear. Take the ferry to Fort Fisher. Then follow the coast from Fort Fisher to Camp Lejeune, NC. Check out Fort Fisher, NC Historic Site and the Camp Lejeune self guided tour on the other end.

Maps

On 13 December 1939, the first significant naval engagement of World War II occured near the mouth of the River Plate (Rio Plata), near Argentina and Uruguay. The Brits caught the German ship Admiral Graf Spee and a major battle ensued with the Royal ships, Exeter, Ajax and Achilles. After being seriously damaged, the Admiral Graf Spee limped into Montevideo and called home. Their instructions were to sink her in the River Plate, where she remains today, although attempts in recent years to re-float her are underway.

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

When you take that lifleong dream ride through South America, take the ferry between Buenos aires and Montevideo to travle across the Rio de la Plata, (River Plate)