I’ve seen cavalry moving in “light marching order” mentioned many times in the course of my research, but not too many descriptions of what this actually entailed. I think the following excerpt by James Larson of the 4th US Cavalry does so rather well.

“Hence the order from the brigade commander was always to move in “light marching order,” which meant that no trooper should carry anything on his horse except what was actually necessary. This order the men of the 4th U.S. Cavalry always carried out more strictly than was really intended by Minty. When stripped for such a march it would be difficult to find an overcoat or extra blanket or clothing of any kind in the regiment. Each man carried only the clothing he wore and, as protection against the rain, only his poncho, which was strapped on the pommel of his saddle. Under the saddle were either two saddle blankets or a saddle blanket and a bed blanket, which served as bed for the trooper whenever time and the condition of the weather would allow him to spread a bad at all, but as no tents or anything to make shelter with was carried, the making of beds depended entirely upon the weather.

“For use in the mess for cooking, a couple of light frying pans were carried in turns by the members, and perhaps also a couple of half gallon tin cups for cooking chickens, ham or coffee, and each man had his little tin cup and knife and fork in the saddle. In the “nose bag” we carried our extra provisions, such as coffee, sugar, salt and whatever we had of bread and meat, so that we were to some extent independent of the pack-mules. We could never rely on them being on hand when wanted. Sometimes we did not see them for several days.

“That was our style in “light marching order” and the style we marched in most of the time during the war. It was very pleasant in fine dry weather, but our condition in rainy and bad weather can easily be imagined. Making the load for our horses lighter was done so as to facilitate our movements, so that we could march quickly without worrying the horses too much.” (Sergeant Larson, 4th Cav., pg 167)

In context, Larson is describing maneuvers trying to bring Confederate raiding parties under Forrest to bay after the battle of Stones River, so this order might be a bit lighter than some others.

One of the things I find interesting as an amateur historian is how history changes over time according to one’s perspective. Related to this is how events and facts are ‘spun’ over time until the original event bears little or no resemblance to its ‘history.’

I found an excellent example of this last night. I was reading through one of the initial printings of the Army Lineage Series, published by the Office of the Chief of Military History in 1969. I was reading one of the volumes on Armor-Cavalry, and naturally enough turned to the entry for the 6th Cavalry. Much to my surprise, I discovered the following quote pertaining to the unit’s history:

“At Fairfield the unit engaged two enemy brigades of cavalry, completely neutralizing them and saving the supply trains of the Army, but in the process was literally cut to pieces.” (pg 157)

I found this very interesting in an official unit history, as it is a good bit different from what I’ve read in various accounts of the engagement. The unit was engaged at Fairfield, and from all accounts it was definitely cut to pieces. There was a supply train involved, although it was a Confederate train that the unit was sent to intercept by Brigadier General Merritt and not the supply trains of the Union Army. They were only engaged with one brigade, “Grumble” Jones’ Laurel Brigade. Not that one brigade wasn’t enough, since that put the odds against the 6th at roughly 4 to 1. Given that Jones reported only 58 total casualties for the encounter, his brigade only appears to have been neutralized in that they spent much of the rest of the day rounding up the more than 200 members of the 6th US who were captured.

I don’t post this as an attempt to tarnish the reputation of the 6th Cavalry or what they were able to accomplish at Fairfield, but simply as an illustration of how perception changes and legend grows over time. To this day Fairfield is considered one of the premier engagements in the regiment’s long history. Similarly, this is not intended as a jab at the Office of the Chief of Military History, which does a lot of great work.

For those interested in more information on the battle, I highly recommend JD Petruzzi’s excellent article in the July 2007 issue of America’s civil War magazine and Paul M. Shevchuk’s article “Cut to Pieces” from February 1985 which is available from USAMHI.

Yes, I will admit there has been a definite surge in the number of Fiddler’s Green posts of late. There are several reasons for this. The biggest one is that the majority of my research on the officers of the 6th US Cavalry is complete, and they thus make relatively easy entries. Second is a scarcity of posting time due to work and study time requirements. The third is that it’s simply what I’ve been in the mood to write about lately. Biographical posts will continue over the remainder of the month, though hopefully not quite so prevalently. There are some posts on the opening scenes from Chickamauga in preparation for later this month as well. And I’m always interested in “what about ____?” feedback.

Thomas White Simson was born in New York. On October 19, 1858, he enlisted into Company I, 1st Cavalry Regiment, which became the 4th Cavalry Regiment in August 1861. He served as a private and a corporal in the same company until March 27, 1863.

He was appointed a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiment on February 27, 1863, but did not immediately move to the eastern theater to join his regiment. He was badly wounded in action with the 4th Cavalry at Franklin, Tennessee on April 10, 1863, and never fully recovered. Lieutenant Simson didn’t join the 6th Cavalry until August 1863. He was detached from the regiment on recruiting duty from April 1864 to February 1865. Simson was promoted to first lieutenant on February 3, 1865. He was retired on February 22, 1865 for incapacity resulting from wounds received in battle. Simson died October 26, 1865 in Elmira, New York of complications resulting from his wounds.

Given that election day was Tuesday here locally, I thought this passage appropriate this week. I hadn’t known that soldiers weren’t permitted to vote before this time. I suppose it make sense from the standpoint of keeping the military out of the political process, which was probably initially the intention behind the law.

“So time passed and the month of November came, and with it , the election for President of the United States, and I cast my vote for Abraham Lincoln. This was a new feature in army life, as soldiers are otherwise not allowed to vote, but because the voters were nearly all in the army, an act of Congress was passed for that purpose.” (Sergeant Larson, 4th Cav., pg 275)

As I continue my research of Regular army cavalry officers and enlisted men during the Civil War, one bit of information is contained in almost every entry. Apparently every single officer in the Union Army received one or more brevet promotions on March 13, 1865.

Such a statement, of course, makes one suspicious of hyperbole. However, if you go back and check the Fiddler’s Green entries in this blog, JD Petruzzi’s Faded Hoofbeats entries at Hoofbeats and Cold Steel, and Eric Wittenberg’s biographical posts at Rantings of a Civil War Historian, you will quickly note this common thread.

I’m not sure why this happened. The ‘when’ I understand, as the Confederacy was clearly on its last legs by the middle of March 1865. But why every officer? An honorary appointment isn’t much of an honor if everyone gets one. I do know it was a source of consternation and mockery in the Regular army for decades after the war, creating all sorts of problems of precedent. It became known among officers as “Black Friday.” August Kautz had a sarcastic but rather humorous article in one of the MOLLUS books after the war about brevet promotions, if I recall correctly.

Do any of my learned readers out there have any insight into this?

William Stretch Abert was born in Washington, D.C. on February 1, 1836. He was the son of Colonel John J. Abert, the Army’s Chief of Topographical Engineers for many years prior to the Civil War. William was commissioned directly into the army from civilian life as a second lieutenant in the 4th Artillery on June 18, 1855.

William Abert was a well-traveled individual as he accompanied his unit during its assignments in the years preceding the Civil War. He served at Fort Ontario, New York until October, 1856, when he accompanied his company to Florida. He was promoted to first lieutenant on March 31, 1857, and continued to serve in Florida until September. He participated in the Utah expedition with his company March 1858 to April 1859. Abert served training recruits at Governor’s Island, New York harbor until June 1859. His company was stationed at Fort Randall, Nebraska until April 1860, when they moved to Fort Monroe, Virginia. Abert remained there until April, 1861, when he was placed on detached service under orders of General Scott.

He was promoted to captain in the newly-organized 3rd US Cavalry on May 14, 1861, re-designated as the 6th US Cavalry on August 3, 1861. He joined regiment at Poolesvile, Maryland later that month, and assumed command of Company D on September 9, 1861. He served with the regiment through its initial training and the opening battles of the Peninsula Campaign. He commanded a squadron at the battles of Williamsburg and Hanover Court House, and received a brevet promotion to major on May 27, 1862 for gallant and meritorious service during the latter battle.

Captain Abert was detailed to serve as an aide-de-camp to Major General George McClellan in July, 1862. He continued to serve in this position until McClellan was relieved from command of the Army of the Potomac on November 7, 1862. He received a brevet of lieutenant colonel for gallant and meritorious service as an aide during the battle of Antietam, and was commended by McClellan after he was relieved for the quality of his service.

After McClellan was relieved, Abert was assigned to the staff of Major General Nathaniel Banks as his Assistant Inspector General, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He held this position from November 17, 1862 to October 6, 1864, serving primarily in New Orleans, Louisiana with the Department of the Gulf.

On December 3, 1864, he was promoted to colonel of volunteers and assigned command of the 3rd Massachusetts Volunteer Heavy Artillery regiment. He commanded his regiment in the defenses of Washington for the remainder of the war, and was mustered out of volunteer service with his regiment on September 18, 1865.

Although he received a brevet promotion to brigadier general of volunteers for gallant and meritorious service during the war on March 13, 1865, Abert reverted to his rank in the regular army at the war’s end. He rejoined the 6th US Cavalry in Texas when the 3rd Massachusetts Artillery was mustered out. He served with the regiment in Texas until February, 1867, when he was assigned as the Assistant Inspector General, Department of Texas. He held that position until August.

Abert was promoted to major in the 7th US Cavalry in June 1867 following that regiment’s disaster at Little Big Horn, but held the position only two months. William S. Abert died of yellow fever in Galveston, Texas on August 25, 1867 at the age of 31. He is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.