Lucky over at the Great Motorcycle Pizza Tour list the things he carries when he rides. Good list. I think a lot about what I carry when I go on long trips, but not so much when riding around home. Lucky makes me think twice about that.
Go over for the list, stay for the pizza reviews.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War

The 22nd edition of the Military History Carnival is up at Thompson Werk.
Many thanks to Rob for a great job.
H-War and The Edge of the American West will host the April version of the Military History Carnival, so feel free to mail submissions hwar $at$ comcast $dot$ net

Technorati Tags: American Civil War

The BBC reports, "Nearly 15,000 motorcyclists are due to converge on Wootton Bassett to honour the people of the Wiltshire town - and the soldiers killed in Afghanistan."
It is good to see this type of biker coalition form in the UK. The Patriot Guard Riders in the USA have been doing it for a while. Estimates are of £75,000 being raised for Afghan Heroes.
Even if you can't make the ride, consider donating to Afghan Heroes, here.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War

David Silbey will be hosting the rejuvenated Military History Carnival at the Edge of the American West blog.

You can submit entries here.

Please help us rejuvenate the MHC in 2010 by passing this notice around to the history aggregators and anyone else who will help drum up support.

Also, if anyone else would like to host an edition, please let me know.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War miltary history carnival

Once again, England is brought low by snow (or a few inches of rain, or wind, or leaves on the line, geesh)
Here in North Hampshire, we received the better part of an inch. I wonder how places that get snow more frequently deal with these problems? Judicious use of salt? England can't even buy that stuff without creating a market shamble of it.
With this kind of government incompetence on transportation at every level, I'm sceptical of the UK being able to help other countries deal with the extremes of climate change.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War

Here's a story of how a family that lost a son and a brother spent time together building a custom motorcycle to remember him. SPC T.J. Barbieri was killed in Iraq in August 2006, at the age of 24. SPC Barbieri served with the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. SPC Barbieri was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for his valor.

"When you lose someone, you always want to tell their story," Barbieri's father said. "When people see the bike, they start asking questions and I get to tell them about T.J."

T.J. Barbieri, a grateful nation says thanks to you and to your father and brothers in helping us remember who you were and what you did.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War

I hope so. This article makes a pretty good case for it. It quotes Wayne Lee at UNC-CH, one of my PhD supervisors. John Lynn makes the case that the sheer nastinest of the present war situation has made many wake up and take notice to the world we live in and maybe Military History has something to say about it.

Technorati Tags: academia American Civil War higher education military history universities war

The good folks of Harley-Davidson of Central Mississippi are putting on the seventh annual Trail of Honor in Jackson, Mississippi this weekend, 16 and 17 May 2009. There will be "real-life heroes, including former POWs, Medal of Honor recipients, Navajo Code Talkers and Tuskegee Airmen."

The Tuskegee Airmen should be a real draw. "Three of the famous African-American pilots will participate in a flyover by four T-6 training aircraft and a P-51 Mustang, the type of plane flown by the Airmen in World War II."

If I was anywhere near Mississippi, I'd be there this weekend. Sadly, I'm in Estonia right now sans bike.

Good riding to those of you who make it. Shake a few veterans hands for me if you get the chance.

More detail here.

Technorati Tags: 1700s 1800s 1900s American Civil War American Revolution American Revolutionary War Creek War Indian Wars Before American Revolution Mississippi Seminole Indian Wars US Civil War Vietnam War War of 1812 World War 1 World War 2 World War I World War II WW1 WW2 WWI WWII military history touring trail of honor mississippi

Jennie at the American President's Blog has just posted the renewed Military History Carnival. Check it out here.
Thanks, Jennie

Technorati Tags: American Civil War military history carnival

The Military History carnival is alive and kicking. The next edition will be at the American President's Blog on 15 March 2009. Please submit your submissions here.

For reasons not entirely clear to me, Blog Carnival would not allow the old Military History Carnival to change the host from Gavin to me. Therefore, I have created a new carnival innovatively called the "Military History" carnival, rather than the old, "Military History Carnival." Meet the new carnival, same as the old carnival.

Let's call it a re-launch and get some posts up there.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War military history carnival military history motorcycles battlefield touring

As you may have read at Gavin's place or here, Battlefield Biker is the new home for the Military History Carnival.

I will attempt to get a January Edition up here, but I am in search of a February host. Please let me know by dropping me a line here.

The Basics can be found here. Guidance for Hosts can be found here.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War military history carnival military history motorcycles battlefield touring

Notes for Hosts

How to become a host

If you’d like to host the Military History Carnival, just leave a comment or e-mail me. The only requirement is that you have a blog and know how to use it. It doesn’t have to be about military history, and you don’t need any experience of hosting a carnival. This page should tell you everything you need to know. If it doesn’t just ask me.

The carnival takes place around the middle of every month, but the exact date depends on what is most convenient for you. The date needs to be fixed before the previous carnival is posted, so that the host can give full details of the next edition. You will also need to give me an e-mail address which you want submissions sent to. This doesn’t have to be the same as your normal e-mail address. It can be a good idea to set up a temporary address just for carnival submissions.

Calls for posts

You should post calls for submission on your own blog a week or two before the carnival, and a reminder a few days before. The exact number and timing is up to you. I will also post calls for posts on the History Carnivals Aggregator and here at Investigations of a Dog. Other bloggers might post calls, but you can’t necessarily rely on it.

You need to give the date of the carnival, the e-mail address for submissions, and a link to the submission form. The address is:

http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_6584.html

This address always stays the same, and the page will automatically update itself when the host changes, so you don’t have to do anything there.

You should also make the date limits clear: the carnival covers the 20th century and everything earlier. Posts which are only or mainly about events after 1st January 2001 are not eligible. Posts should be recent, preferably posted since the previous edition of the carnival.

As well as the basic information, it helps to say something about how inclusive the carnival aims to be and how broad our definition of “military history” is. Some people who have written interesting and relevant posts might not think of themselves as military historians and might not realise that their posts can be included. We need to encourage as many people as possible to get involved.

Receiving submissions

Once the deadline for the previous carnival has passed (usually the day before it’s published) the submission form will start forwarding new submissions to the address that you specified. The e-mails will all be titled:

BlogCarnival submission - “military history”

You should set up a rule/filter to move them into their own folder so it’s easier to keep track of them. It’s also a good idea to keep a copy of the information somewhere else. I usually set up a draft post in Wordpress and copy the links into it as soon as I get them. The e-mails which come via the submission form will contain all the links and other information you need, including a block of HTML code which you can copy and paste into your blog. Although I’d recommend changing the wording of the links in the final version (otherwise the carnival won’t be very interesting to read!), this code is useful for making a draft copy of carnival submissions.

Some people will send submissions direct to your e-mail address. These might contain less information, but all you really need is the permalink to the post. Make sure you have a permalink which points directly to the post in question, not the link to the blog’s main page.

You don’t need to acknowledge receipt of submissions. It’s waste of your time, and most people don’t expect a reply. They will know that their post has been included once the carnival is posted. If you find that you have to reject a submission, it’s best to avoid entering into correspondence with the person in question. Nobody has an automatic right to be included, and as host your decision is final. If anybody tries to argue about it, just ignore them.

Most carnival submissions come in the last week, so don’t worry too much if you don’t get any for a while. I will also submit some of my own picks, but you don’t have to use them.

Finding more posts

Don’t rely on getting enough submissions to make a whole carnival edition. You will probably have to look for some more posts yourself. The Cliopatria blogroll is the best place to find history blogs. Don’t limit yourself to the “Wars and Warriors” category. There will be many relevant posts in blogs under other categories. You might know of some other places to find good blogs. Use your imagination. We don’t want the carnival to always include the same blogs, so it would be good if you can come up with anything different.

Selecting posts

As host you have the responsibility for deciding which posts to include in the carnival. You don’t have to include every submission you get if you don’t want to, but it’s usually best to include everything you get unless it’s ineligible - we don’t want to discourage people from submitting. You should be prepared to include posts whose points of view you don’t agree with. This carnival aims to be as inclusive as possible.

It’s usually best to pick only one post per blog unless someone has written some really outstanding posts. A mulit-part series of closely related posts on the same topic can be counted as one post.

Posts should have been posted since the previous edition of the carnival, unless they’re outstandingly good and have been missed before.

You should reject any post which doesn’t meet the criteria for inclusion. You don’t have to explain rejection to anyone. It’s best to avoid entering into correspondence with people who submit unsuitable posts. If you ignore them they’ll go away. If they provoke a reaction it only encourages them.

Remember that this carnival defines history as everything up to the end of the 20th century. Posts which are wholly or mainly about events which happened after 1st January 2001 should not be included. In practice you won’t be able to avoid posts which mention current events, but they should be mostly about something historical. The date limit doesn’t include publication of books, discovery of new evidence, memorialisation and anniversaries of past events etc.

Military is defined as broadly as possible. Tenuous links are fine (for example see some of the posts I included in the first edition), but posts which have absolutely nothing to do with war or armed forces should be rejected.

Posts should meet some basic standards of proof and objectivity. Do not include posts which contain serious factual errors, blatant lies, unfounded conspiracy theories, or extremist propaganda. How to define this is up to you, but you can always ask me for advice if you’re not sure about a particular post.

Putting the carnival together

About 15 posts is enough for a carnival, but you can include more than that if you want to.

You can divide the posts up however you want, for example by period, geographic area, theme, or anything else. Or they don’t necessarily have to be in any particular order at all. Just do whatever you think looks right.

The carnival should be accessible to everyone with an interest in military history, not just academics, or hobbyists, or other specialists. Try to keep the style of your writing informal but don’t be too flippant. Treat all the bloggers included with respect, and don’t make any condescending remarks about posts you’ve included, even if you disagree with their points of view.

Use the permalinks that have been submitted (or that you’ve collected) to link directly to the posts. There’s no need to link to the main page of the blog as well as the post - it creates extra work for you and can get confusing for readers. You should also include the name of the blog and/or the blogger.

The carnival should be more than a collection of links. Try to say something about each post and why it’s interesting. This only needs to be one sentence, but try to grab the reader’s attention and draw them in. You can look at other blog carnivals for inspiration.

At the end of the carnival you should give the date of the next edition, a link to the host blog, a link to the submission form, and the e-mail address that the next host has specified for submissions. I will give you this information before the carnival date.

Posting the carnival

You should post the carnival edition on your blog on the agreed date. There isn’t any particular time when you have to publish by, and as bloggers are scattered through different time zones, dates are fuzzy around the edges. You should aim to post the edition by the end of the day in your time zone. If you’re really organized you could even put it together the day before and set the timestamp so that it appears at midnight, but you don’t have to.

Once the carnival is posted you should e-mail me to let me know, or leave a comment on the Military History Carnival main page giving the permalink to the edition. Your work is done, and you can relax. I will take care of posting on the History Carnivals Aggregator and updating Blog Carnival.

If you host your own blog and bandwidth is an issue, you should be aware that hosting the carnival is likely to bring in between 100 and 200 extra visitors per day for a few days.

If there’s some emergency and you can’t get the carnival posted on the agreed date, let me know as soon as possible so that we can postpone it or get a subsitute host.

[Please only comment on this page if you are volunteering to host, or if you have a question which isn't answered above]

Technorati Tags: American Civil War military history carnival military history motorcycles battlefield touring

Welcome to the new home of the Military History Carnival

This is the main page for the Military History carnival, a monthly blog carnival which rounds up the best blog posts on the history of war, armed forces, and related topics, from ancient history up to the end of the 20th century. Our aim is neither to glorify nor condemn war, but to see it as an integral part of history which needs to be better understood.

Current edition: Military History and Warfare, 14th December.

Next edition: Host needed urgently - if you want to do it please get in touch. You can still submit posts using the submission form.

Hosts needed for: April 2009 onwards.

Blog Carnival page

What is a blog carnival?

A blog carnival is a collection of links to posts at other blogs, usually on a certain theme. It happens at a different blog every month (or whenever) and the owner of that blog acts as host, selecting posts to be included and putting it all together. Other people can suggest posts to be included, either their own or other people’s. It’s a good way of cross-promoting blogs, creating a sense of community in the blogosphere, and collecting the best posts on a particular topic.
What is the Military History Carnival all about?

“Military history” suggests different things to different people, but this carnival aims to be as inclusive as possible.

Military is defined very broadly. It includes all levels of armed conflict — there will be no rigid definition of what is and isn’t a war — and all military experiences during peacetime. At the risk of offending latin purists, it includes navies and air forces as well as armies. Weapons, tactics, strategy, uniforms, insignia, equipment etc are all interesting and important, and so are relationships between war and society, culture, race, gender, sexuality, disability, and the non-human. Preparations for and aftermaths of wars are as significant as the wars themselves. Opposition to war needs to be considered alongside the conduct of war. Representations of war in literature, films, TV, games etc are just as valid objects of study as empirical evidence of reality (although fictional representations should be related to the real world — no fictional universes please).

History is defined as the 20th century and earlier. This is an arbitrary limit intended to keep out polemic about current affairs. There are plenty of other places where you can argue about Iraq. Posts about events which happened after 1st January 2001 will not be included in any edition of this carnival. This restriction does not apply to historiography — posts about books published after that date are welcome, as long as the book itself is not about the 21st century. Posts on current or recent stories about things like memorialisation of past conflicts or treatment of veterans can also be included.

There will be no distinction between academic and non-academic, amateur and professional, or traditional and new. As long as your post is interesting, accessible, and within the scope of the carnival it will be considered.

Although you don’t have to be a qualified historian to be involved in the carnival, please make sure your posts meet some basic standards of proof. Arguments need to be backed up by evidence. This doesn’t mean that traditional methodology is privileged. If you’re capable of mounting a theoretically sophisticated challenge to the epistemological foundations of the empirical paradigm, you’re welcome. If you don’t know what that means, then just stick to the facts and you’ll be fine.
Can I get one of my posts included in it?

Yes, as long as it fits in and the host thinks it’s good enough. You can submit your own posts or posts by other people, but please don’t submit more than one post from the same blog by the same author. Posts must be within the scope described above and have been posted since the last edition of the carnival. You can submit links by e-mailing the host of the next edition, or by using the submission form. Hosts and dates of the next and previous editions are shown near the top of this page.

Posts should be more recent than the last edition of the carnival, as the idea is to showcase the best recent posts.

No more than 25% of the posts in one edition of the carnival should be about the same war. So far this limit hasn’t been reached so although there are lots of American Civil War blogs, we’d like to encourage more ACW bloggers to submit posts.
Can I host it?

Yes. As the carnival is hosted at a different blog every month, we always need more hosts to keep the carnival going. You don’t need advanced technical skills to be a host: as long as you know how to use e-mail and write a blog post you’ll be fine. Hosting a carnival is a good way to bring more readers into your blog. Host blogs don’t have to be exclusively or mainly about military history. Anyone who’s interested and committed can have a go. If you’d like to host, just leave a comment on this page, or e-mail me. Carnivals take place around the middle of the month, but the exact date is negotiable. Guidance notes for hosts are available here.

Host blogs must be written in English but posts in other languages can be considered at the host’s discretion.

Please only leave comments on this page if you’re offering to host, or if you’re the current host and you’re letting us know that you’ve posted the carnival.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War military history carnival military history motorcycles battlefield touring

Kevin Levin at Civil War Memory has an interesting discussion on how hard it is to write about the tactical aspects of Military History.

I agree that it takes a great imagination. It is hard to put incredibly difficult situations like battles into human terms. The noise, the fear, the confusion & the uncertainty of what is actually happening can contrive to rob any person of their senses. So, how does a writer of history capture that fact along with a smooth narrative? With great difficulty.

Technorati Tags: American Civil War motorcycle touring motorcycles motorcycle-touring battlefields military history military-history historiography

The new World Military History Blog has a concise history of the US Berlin Brigade.

Technorati Tags: 1900s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s American Civil War Berlin Cold War germany military history NATO USAREUR motorcycle touring motorcycles motorcycle-touring battlefields military history military-history

In mid May, General William Tecumseh Sherman was picking his way down North Georgia. His counterpart, General Joseph E. Johnston had just reluctantly retreated from Cassville, Georgia to the Allatoona Gorge in the hopes of luring Sherman into a tight killing zone. Johnston's only worry was that the position at Allatoona was too good. Unbeknownst to Johnston, Sherman knew the position was too strong to attack head on. Sherman had spent a lot of time in the area as a young officer and had spent much time around the Etowah Indian burial mounds nearby. Sherman decided to swing west and go directly after the strategic crossroads around Dallas, Georgia.

After a few days rest, the Union forces moved south. General Joseph Hooker was in th van of the middle column and began a pursuit of a small band of Confederate cavalry which was acting as a screen for Johnston's forces to the south. "Fighting Joe" Hooker lived up to his name and went fast and hard at the Confederates under General John Bell Hood. Hooker had hoped to catch the Rebels off guard and press home and advantage. Hood had other ideas. Taking his cue from his cavalry screen, Hood had begun entrenchments and selecting defensive positions. The first of Hooker's assaults led by Brigadier General John W. Geary was thrown back when it encountered an undetected enfilade Confederate position which hit them hard. Hooker persisted with two more Divisions and the battle was enjoined.

Hood's middle was held by Major General Alexander P Stewart's Division and they bore the brunt of Hooker's onslaught for several hours in the afternoon. The battle raged with such ferocity that Johnston became worried that Stewart might relinquish the position. Stewart, a Tennessean, held firm even though some of Hooker's men got close. With a fierce thunderstorm brewing and setting in, Hooker made one last throw of the dice and pulled Geary out of reserve through dense wood to push through a perceived advantage. Stewart's artillery which had been so effective now opened up with even more canister rounds and caused the veteran Geary to claim that it was the hottest he had experienced with his command. The Union forces were praised for the courage and coolness, but the day was no to be theirs. With the drenching from the rain and the gloom of the stormy evening setting in, the Union forces settled down in their positions and awaited daylight. The battle has been called New Hope Church, but the soldiers knew it by "Hell's Hole."

The next day would bring probing for weakness all along the line, two days later, the fighting would continue near Pickett's Mill.

Ride Suggestion

Next time you are buzzing down I-75 from Chattanooga to Atlanta, jump off at Cartersville for a great little circular ride that takes in Allatoona Lake, The New Hope and Pickett's Mill Battlefields and a couple of mountainous switchback roads near Dallas, Georgia.

View Larger Map

Sources and Book Recommendations

Technorati Tags: 1800s 1860s 25 25th Allatoona American Civil War Dallas Georga Georgia Hood Hooker I-75 Johnston May 1864 Sherman USA motorcycle touring motorcycles motorcycle-touring battlefields military history military-history

The battlefields of KwaZulu Natal is a ride I can't wait to do. Here is a little article about the amenities around the area.
Finally, here is a list of the sub routes of the self ride/drive tours.

Technorati Tags: 11 11th 1800s 1870s 1879 1900 22 22nd 23 23rd 24 24th American Civil War Isandlwanda January Ladysmith Rorke's Drift South Africa Spionkop Zulu motorcycle touring motorcycles motorcycle-touring battlefields military history military-history

The Fayetteville Observer has a good article on the swamps of Robeson County, North Carolina (County seat, Lumberton. Its reminder that "Sherman's March to the Sea" was not easy on Sherman's troops, either.

Technorati Tags: 1600s 1700s 1800s American Civil War American Revolution American Revolutionary War deserters Indian Wars Before American Revolution Loyalists Lumbee Patriots Swamp Thomas Robeson Tuscarora US Civil War William Tecumseh Sherman

On November 19, 1863, a little over 4 months after the battle, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at what today is the cemetery across from the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.

The Kentucky monument to its native son's address at the cemetery at Gettysburg NMP

In my mind, this is still the most eloquent and forceful dedication to a cause that a leader has yet to deliver. Unbelievably, Lincoln left Gettysburg with the impression that the address had been a miserable failure and he had not risen to the occasion. Showing signs of his self-doubt that plagued him at times, Lincoln reminds us that brevity and directness, though seemingly incongruent with enormous endeavors, is often what history demands of its giants.

Ride Recommendation

The official GNMP map is the only resource you really need for a great day-long tour by motorcycle. If you want an end of day jaunt to loosen up the bike and your mind, head west up the Lincoln Highway to Tuscarora Summit.

View Larger Map

Book and Map Recommendations

Technorati Tags: 1800s 1860s 1863 19 19th American Civil War Chambersburg Fayetteville Franklin Gettysburg Lincoln Mcconnellsburg November PA Pennsyvlania St Thomas Tuscarora Summit US Civil War US-30

Nice post on the Civil War era Columbus, Kentucky chain across the Mississippi River by marvinsc over on the Open Road Journey Forum. Lots of good pictures.

Technorati Tags: 1800s 1860s American Civil War Chain Columbus confederate Kentucky Mississippi River US Civil War motorcycle motorcycle-touring motorcycle touring military history military-history battlefields

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

Technorati Tags: 13 13th 14 14th 15 15th 1800s 1860s 1863 American Civil War Early Ewell Gettysburg Campaign Hancock Johnson June Lee Milroy Shenandoah Skyline Drive US Civil War US-211 US-340 US-522 VA-SR-55 Virginia West Virginia Wincehster WV-SR-251 WV-SR-55 motorcycle motorcycle-touring motorcycle touring military history military-history battlefields

Sorry for being sparse with new rides lately, but I'm back. Work and a mammoth ride in the American northeast has precluded much writing. The ride included 7 states, 1 Canadian province, 4 wars, 7 forts, 10 battles and 2,350 miles on my new (to me) 2003 Triumph Tiger. New posts are on the way.

Check out the whole ride to get a feel for what's coming.

Below is a picture of the Tiger at the William Wells monument at Gettysburg.

Technorati Tags: 1700s 1755 1759 1778 1800s 1812 1813 1814 1863 American Civil War American Northeast ride American Revolution American Revolutionary War French and Indian War Seven Years War US Civil War War of 1812

By the end of 1861, the Union forces had secured Missouri by routing the Missouri militia that favored secession. In early 1862, the Union commander, General Samuel Curtis moved his Army of the Southwest into northwest Arkansas to take the fight to the Confedrates and secure Missouri from Rebel cross border incursions.

Newly appointed Confederate Army of the West commander, General Earl Van Dorn decided to take his numerically superior, but logistically inferior forces to the northwest of Arkansas and push the Union back onto the back foot in both Arkansas and Missouri.

After several skirmishes in February and early March, 1862, Curtis settled on favorable ground to the east of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Van Dorn knew it was a good position, so decided to split his forces in an attempt to draw Curtis into a weaker position.

On day one of the battle, Curtis took the north and west of the position by heading off a flanking movement. The day was carried by the quick movement of the Union forces, the loss of two Confedrate Genrals and the capture of a Colonel. Van Dorn led the other Confederate column to take the south and east near Elkhorn Tavern. On day two, Curtis regrouped and attacked Elkhorn tavern with heavy artillery support. Van Dorn held the position but at a tremendous cost in casualties and ammunition and eventually had to retreat and leave the position to Curtis.

The Union continued to hold the area and the strategically important state of Missouri for most of the rest of the war.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

Begin or end your ride with the tour of the battlefield(also available as an online tour). Outside of the Pea Ridge Battlefield National Military Parkpark take a through the loop ride through the Hobbs State Park and around Beaver Lake.

Book Recommendation: Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

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

Accor Hotels in the Rogers area

Technorati Tags: 1800s 1860s 1862 6 6th 7 7th 8 8th American Civil War AR-SR-12 AR-SR-23 Arkansas Earl Van Dorn Eureka Springs March Missouri Rogers Samuel Curtis US Civil War US-62 west motorcycle motorcycle-touring motorcycle touring military history military-history battlefields

By early 1864, Lincoln was despairing that he could find no General to prosecute the Union's war against the South in the eastern theatre. All of his leaders around the Potomac seemed to be frozen with indecision and a fear of failure. Much to his delight, a plan from a junior Cavalry General, H. Judson Kilpatrick, came into his view through Secretary of War Stanton. Kilpatrick knew that his immediate superiors would either poo-poo the idea or steal it as their own, so he approached Lincoln's adminstration directly through back channels. Kilpatrick was proposing a daring raid into the mouth of the lion to snatch Federal prisoners held in deplorable conditions in Confederate held Richmond. Kilpatrick's plan suggested more as well. Stanton and Lincoln were attracted by the idea that a raid into Richmond, apart from freeing prisoners, would also serve as a huge propaganda victory. Kilpatrick was summoned to Washington for a private meeting with Stanton and given the go ahead. Kilpatrick's superior's were not amused, although had no choice but to support him as he had the direct support of Lincoln.

Kilpatrick, like many Cavalry officers from the North and South, had dreams of great daring-do, but was known to some peers and subordinates as "KillCavalry" for his reckless behaviour. However, many, including Lincoln, believed that more of this type of risk taking was necessary to dislodge a stubborn foe in Virginia. Kilpatrick had no problem attracting another officer of similar ideals, named Colonel Ulric Dahlgren. Dahlgren, the son of a Union Admiral, had made his name in previous engagements, including chasing Lee's forces out of Maryland after Gettysburg, and lost a leg for his work. Having recovered and sporting a prosthetic, Dahlgren was ready for more grandiose riding.

The operation started just before midnight on the night of the 28th of February 1864. They were aided by a diversionary attack further west by General Sedgewick and a Cavalry Brigade commander by the name of George Armstrong Custer. The diversion drew the Rebels west and cleared a path for Kilpatrick and Dahlgren. Custer was especially effective in drawing the Confederates on a wild goose chase as far away as Charlottesville. Leaving Elys Ford at the Rapidan River, north of Chancellorsville, Kilpatrick and Dahlgren set out at a good cavalry pace and reached Spotsylvania courthouse by leap day, 1864. Here, they split forces with Kilpatrick heading straight into Richmond from the north with 7/8ths of the force. Dahlgren took a wide, westerly path to enter Richmond from the southwest with a force of apprximately 500. The idea was to give the impression that the city was being attacked from multiple sides and cause panic long enough to get the prisoners out. If they could destroy a few things in Richmond, all the better.

Kilpatrick continued well through appalling weather of sleet and high winds. Dahlgren met a slave boy to guide him over a ford-able point on the James River and was on time, so was feeling pretty high at this point. Kilpatrick fired flares to see if Dahlgen would respond, but the weather was so bad that the flares could only be seen locally. Both drove on, but Dahlgren soon came to grief as the guide led him to a point at the rain swollen James that they could not ford. Dahlgren was thrown off track and was furious. The boy probably just did not know that the river was that high, but this did not appease Dahlgren. In a fit of rage, Dahlgren hung the boy for treachery. Unable to find a fording point, Dahlgren was stuck and could not complete his mission. Kilpatrick had entered north Richmond by now and encountered a force of old men and clerks, but misread the situation as regular troops. In an uncharacteristic delay, Kilpatrick hesitated whilst he waited for the signal from Dahlgren that the southwest attack was on. The "Dad's Army" force held on well and long enough for re-enforcements to arrive and drive Kilpatrick off. Kilpatrick now decided to avoid the fate of the prisoners he had come to save, but left Dahlgren in a bind by pulling back. Kilpatrick was harried all the way back to Union lines, but Dahlgren and many of his 500 were to die trying to elude the Confederates.

The mission was a failure on the tactical as well as strategic front, but it was to get worse. The Rebels searched Dahlgren's body and allegedly found orders to destroy Richmond and kill Jefferson Davis and his cabinet. The Union denied the existence of such orders, but the outrage in the South had the opposite effect of the propaganda coup Lincoln had hoped for.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

I call this ride the "Rapidan Return." It covers the path Kilpatrick took to Richmond and then passes over the James River near Goochland where Dalgren had hoped to cross. It continues on the beautiful VA state routes 6 and 20 to Charlottesville where Custer worked the area. the ride finishes near the battlefield parks of Wilderness, Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania.

Book Recommendation: The Dahlgren Affair from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

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

Accor Hotels in the Richmond area

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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

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On 6 February 1862, Union forces descended on the hapless Forts Heiman and Henry on the Tennessee River near the Kentucky / Tennessee border. If there was the one action that precipitated the fall of the Confederacy militarily, this was it. With control of the Tennessee River from Illinois through western Kentucky and western Tennessee all the way down to North Alabama, the Union changed the war with one stroke.

Fort Henry was under the Confederate command of General Lloyd Tilghman, but little could any general do about a poor position and a rising river. If Grant and Foote had not taken him, the river would have. Torrential rains had made the fort almost untenable for river guns. The heights across the river at Fort Heiman were to have been improved and might have made a difference, but the lack of men and equipment meant that the construction was not complete.

A few days previous, Tilghman actually thought the Rebels might inflict a terrible loss on the Yankees, if reserves could be brought down from Columbus and over from Bowling Green. In the end, Tilghman saw he had a losing hand when no re-enforcements came to his call. Tilghman decided to save the infantry and personally join a small artillery detachment to hold off the Yankees long enough to let the infantry escape to Fort Donelson. He succeeded and surrendered to Foote on a gunboat at the entrance to the fort. Grant's infantry divisions were bogged down in mud on either side of the river after alighting from Foote's troop transports, so they didn't even get in place before the surrender.

Commodore Foote's ironclads had taken a significant beating in the battle with the Confederate river guns, but Foote had a few fast timberclads continue up the Tennessee River to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to wreak havoc with Confederate shipping and railway river bridges.

An excellent anecdote from Shelby Foote's The Civil War: Fort Sumter to Perryville pages, 184-185;
"At fifty-six he [Foote] had spent forty years as a career officer fighting two things he hated most, slavery and whiskey. It was perhaps a quirk of fate to have placed him thus alongside Grant, who could scarcely be said to have shown an aversion for either." But both men got along, because they both believed in combined operations fervently. Foote was quoted as saying the Army and Navy "were like blades of shears--united, invincible; separated, almost useless."



with kind permission from
Hal Jespersen's Wikipedia Civil War Maps.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

If you're in Memphis, try this ride through beautiful far west Tennessee going through the Reelfoot Lake State Park area and on to the Fort Henry area in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

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

Technorati Tags: 1800s 1860s 1862 6 6th Alabama American Civil War February Foote Grant Kentucky KY-SR-94 Land Between the Lakes Reelfoot Lake Tennessee Tilghman TN-SR-125 TN-SR-22 TN-SR-54 TN-SR-78 TN-SR-79 US Civil War US-51 motorcycle motorcycle-touring motorcycle touring military history military-history battlefields

On 5 February 1865, the Union Army moved on the Confederate line at Petersburg. After 3 days of vicious fighting, no one had won, but the Union had succeeded in stretching the already overstretched Rebel line. The battle has been called the Battle of Hatcher's Run / Dabney's Mill / Armstrong's Mill / Rowanty Creek / Vaughan Road / Boydton Plank Road. Each name had a significance in the battle.

Background

By early February 1865, General Grant had besieged Petersburg for 8 months. Further south, Sherman had completed his march to the sea and was now heading north. Schofield was moving inland from Fort Fisher. Lee knew that Grant would not wait for a full encirclement. Grant wanted to prove he could take Lee without help. The actions from 5-7 Febuary 1865 were the opening moves to make Lee's hold on Petersburg unsustainable.

The Battle

Grant was trying to cut what he thought was Lee's primary supply route into Petersburg. To this end, Grant sent General David Gregg's cavalry division to conduct the operation on Boydton Plank Road to Burgess Mill, near where it crossed the Hatcher's Run (creek). In support, he sent two divisions each of General G.K. Warren's V Corps and General A.A. Humphreys' II Corps. Warren set up a blocking position for Gregg on the Confederate side of Hatcher's Run and Humphreys protected Warren's flank.
As the action commenced on a cold morning, Gregg seized little in the way of supplies on the Boydton Plank Road. Lee was not using it heavily for supplies, partly because he suspected such an attack and partly because little supply was reaching his bedraggled troops anyway. Warren and Humphreys dug in for protection from long range artillery. Late in the day, the General John Gordon's Rebels tried an attack on Humphreys, but it didn't amount to much and was thrown back. Overnight, the Yankees re-enforced with two divisions from Meade.
On 6 February, Warren probed forward, but was hit hard by Gordon and pulled back sloppily until reaching the line with Humphreys. In the 6th's fierce fighting, Gordon lost one of the Rebel's best division commanders, General John Pegram, to a shot through the chest. The 7th brought entrenchment and stalemate.
In the end, the Yankees had to settle for extending their line to the Vaughan Road crossing of Hatcher's Run. The Union took heavy losses, but made Lee extend his line and killed one of the south's best leaders in Pegram. This was bad for Lee, but the worst was to come.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

Check out the Petersburg battlefield tour.
If you want a longer ride, try VA-SR-10 and 31 from Petersburg to Williamsburg. You can stop off at the first English settlement in America at Jamestown Island.

Book Recommendation: The Civil War Boxed Set from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

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

Accor Hotels in the Richmond/Petersburg Area

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This is an update on my previous post about the Continental TKC 80 Twinduro rear tire /tyre that I had just bought.
This is a really good tyre for what it is meant to do, which is give a reasonable ride, both on and off road.
To be specific, I thought I would review it against the claims made by Continental. Here goes;

1. Continental's Claim - Conti TKC80 delivers un- rivalled on and off road performance. This is pretty universal stuff. I have had better off-road tyres on my old off road Hondas. I have also had better on-road tyres. However, I will have to admit that as a combination, the TKC 80 is the best on and off road tyre I've ridden.
2. Continental's Claim- all season, all weather, in all terrain and every road condition. I've had the tyres on British roads and green lanes in winter for almost 3 weeks now and they seem to handle rain, mud, puddles, black ice, and just plain old gravelly single-track Hampshire backroads. All terrain? Not so sure about that. My green laning is pretty tame to real off-road riders. I doubt whether a true back woods rider would feel that it met all of their needs.
3. Continental's Claim - regardless of continent. I've only used them in Europe, but I'd say they would perform similarly in North America. I can't comment on the other continents, since I haven't ridden on them.

Overall, the tyre has performed well for my needs. I have now had it out on several green lanes in Hampshire and I also had it on the motorway for over 200 miles, including Friday traffic in London.
On-road, there is definitely more movement than a road tyre, but you get used to it. It never feels out of control, but clip a big piece of gravel on a knob whilst cornering and you'll feel your heart leap into your throat. I would never recommend it for anyone not riding off-road fairly regularly. Finally, I feared the noise whilst riding at speed on the motorway, but the Twinduro did not seem any louder than my Trailwings.
Off-road, the tyre was a revelation. A green lane that I could not ride a week earlier, became a doddle with the Twinduro. It is far better suited to mud than my old Bridgestone Trailwing and it has pretty good self-cleaning properties too. I especially liked the feel when riding laterally on an incline (i.e. staying high in the rut to avoid a deep, narrow puddle).

Well, there you go. My review of my new Continental TKC 80 Twinduro rear tyre after 250 all-purpose miles. I'd buy it again. Stay tuned for further updates as the tyre wears.

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Commander of the Union's Army of the Tennessee, U.S. Grant, begins the action that would lead to his being recognized by Lincoln as a General with a bias for action. On 2 February 1862, Grant launches his forces from Cairo, Illinois, through far western Kentucky towards Forts Heiman, Henry (on the Tennessee River) and Donelson (on the Cumberland River).
Grant had a sizeable force consisting of three infantry divisions, led by John A. McCLernand, Charles F. Smith and Lew Wallace. There were also two regiments of cavalry and eight batteries of artillery. Grant also had Captain Andrew Foote's squadron of seven gunboats. (troop numbers are from the excellent book, The Longest Night by David J. Eicher)
The force, although reasonable, was not huge, so Grant had to make a decision to attack or wait for the initiative to be sent to him. However, the western theatre was frozen by indecision on how to attack the south, so Grant might have waited forever to get his chance to attack. The known forces were unclear to both sides, as proven by the still debatable troop numbers present at Fort Donelson 2 weeks later. Grant chose the warrior's path of seizing the intitiative whilst others debated strategy. He proposed to his Commander, General Halleck, that he proceed to take Fort Henry and open up Tennessee via the Tennessee River. The rest as they say is history. Grant's star was on the rise.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

Take US-62 out of Paducah, KY and US-68 down to Kenlake State Resort Park on the Cumberland River (now Kentucky Lake) pretty much following the path that Grant followed to get to the Fort Henry area. Continue on KY-SR-94 down to Paris Landing State Park in Tennessee and then into the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. In the southwest corner of LBL, near the Piney Bay Campground, you can find the remains of Fort Henry. A map of the ride is here.

Book Recommendation: The Longest Night from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

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

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