This gripping study offers key insights into the tactics, leadership,
combat performance, and subsequent reputations of Union and Confederate
mounted units fighting in three pivotal cavalry actions of the Civil
War - Second Bull Run/Manassas (1862), Buckland Mills (1863), and Tom's
Brook (1864). During the intense, sprawling conflict that was the Civil
War, both Union and Confederate forces fielded substantial numbers of
cavalry, which carried out the crucial tasks of reconnaissance, raiding,
and conveying messages. The perception was that cavalry's effectiveness
on the battlefield would be drastically reduced in this age of improved
mass infantry firepower. This book demonstrates how cavalry's lethal
combination of mobility and dismounted firepower meant it was still very
much a force to be reckoned with in battle. It also charts the swing in
the qualitative difference of the cavalry forces fielded by the two
sides as the war progressed, as the enormous initial superiority enjoyed
by Confederate cavalry was gradually eroded, through the Union's
outstanding improvements in training and tactics, and the bold and
enterprising leadership of men such as Philip Sheridan.
Featuring full-color artwork, specially drawn maps, and archive
illustrations.