The Raiders of 1862

During 1862, a pivotal year in the War Between the States, Southern cavalry leaders Brig. Gen. Frank C. Armstrong, Brig. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, and Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan conducted cavalry raids that had both an immediate tactical effect and a long-term strategic impact upon Federal offensive operations in the Mississippi Valley, central Kentucky, and western Tennessee. The Raiders of 1862 examines the tactics that made each raid more or less successful, as well as how the leadership style of each commander impacted the mission. Using detailed map studies, diary accounts, official records, memoirs, and even battlefield relic recoveries, this book presents new information--never before published--on each commander and how he executed his particular mission. By getting into the mind of the commanders, this book examines their decisions and actions in light of current and past operational terms, for example, decisive engagement, the approach march, and so forth.

JAMES D. BREWER is a longtime Civil War researcher, speaker, teacher, site preservationist, and reenactor. /e A retired U.S. Army officer with experience in cavalry and mounted operations, Brewer brings both a soldier's and a historian's perspective to his work. A freelance journalist for the past fifteen years, Brewer has written widely about the Civil War.