Confederate Cavalry at Chickamauga - What Went Wrong?

Abstract

This study investigates General Braxton Bragg's use of cavalry during the pivotal Tullahoma and Chickamauga Campaigns. As army commander, Bragg was responsible for organizing units, selecting commanders, and assigning missions. His decisions had significant impact upon the tactical and operational fortunes of the Army of Tennessee and on Confederate strategy. First, this investigation defines the unique heritage of American cavalry. Second, it addresses the actual employment of cavalry in the United States of America. How did the elements of national power (political, military, economic, geographic, and national will), contribute to Confederate cavalry performance? This study concludes that blame is to be shared between the commanders involved and the system within which they fought. This study presents an in depth view of the performance of Confederate cavalry in this 'victory' at the 'River of Death'. Keywords: American civil war, Battle of Chickamauga, Confederate cavalry, Civil war cavalry doctrine, Cavalry.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA228998

Entities

People

  • Lawyn C. Edwards

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Birds
  • Civil War
  • Civil War (United States)
  • Court Martial
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Families (Human)
  • Geography
  • Human Behavior
  • Insensitive Explosives
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • Reconnaissance
  • United States
  • United States Military Academy
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.