As a Canadian who, for whatever reason, became fascinated with the American Civil War, I thank Garry Adelman, Chris Mackowski, Jim Lewis, and "Chris-behind-the-camera" for a terrific 4-part series on Stones River. I visited the battlefield some years back -- Before Covid (BC) -- and became as disoriented as the presenters described which, at the time, annoyed me. Thanks to these talks, I can now appreciate to a small degree how it must have been for a participant in the battle (especially since no-one was shooting at me). I have seen a great many battlefield presentations in person and on You Tube, but never have I encountered one with so much erudition matched with such infectious enthusiasm and energy for an historical event as these three delightful gentlemen provided. Bravo!
The battle of Murfreesboro certainly was a bloody affair. It gets scary to think about a regiment of 400 men going into an attack and then melting away to just a company of 60 to 80 men after the attack. The Union had this carnage happen to its regiments in tough spots too at Murfreesboro. The percussion cap muzzle loading muskets and rifles with the Minie ball, along with big improvements in artillery made weaponry of the Civil War more reliable and more lethal. We saw this happen at Shiloh in April, 1862 with Confederate regiments getting into a tough spot during an attack getting stuck in crossfire from artillery and musketry volleys melting away in a just a few minutes from 400 men down to less than 50 or or 60 men with all the rest killed or wounded. Most of this killing/maiming happened at close range under a 100 meters due to thick clouds of black powder smoke. Many of the "missing" were men shot to pieces by artillery and almost vaporized from close range double canister rounds. Artillery rounds with timed fuses exploded cannon balls filled with musket balls mangled human bodies into unrecognizable mincemeat. It was commonplace for herds of pigs to roam rural areas and towns to eat the garbage in frontier antebellum America. We know at times wild herds of pigs ate human remains soon after quiet took over the battlefield. Medical orderlies would hear the screams of wounded men at night being eaten alive by herds of wild pigs and packs of wild dogs. So many of the "missing" may have likely become human carrion for the herds of hungry wild pigs, flocks of crows or packs wild dogs or foxes. It often took days for the wounded to be attended too by exhausted medical orderlies after a big battle. Murfreesboro was a big battle with horrific carnage. It wouldn't be the last either with Chickamauga just around the corner in the later part of 1863. Chickamauga had three whole days of heavy fighting with long casualty lists in the many thousands each day on both sides.
I have learned more about the Civil War, and this battle in particular, than I could have ever hoped. Thank you, you all are amazing, thank you for the information and insight.
My Great Great Grandfather, LTCOL Gilbert C. Kniffin, was at Stones River on GEN Rosecrans staff. After the war he wrote a book on the battle and copies still turn up on ebay. You have to wonder how these guys could put the carnage out of their minds and go on with their lives.
Many of them never did. I'm currently working on a study of an Indiana regiment from my hometown (that coincidentally held the section of the pike currently occupied by the National Cemetery), and a tragic amount of the men in the unit were never able to cope with what they went through and return to normal life. I can't imagine the things that they would have seen here.
My grandmother's family was from that area and she would tell stories to me that she heard from her grandfather and great aunts about the battle at Stones River. She remembered her great aunt saying that the water flowing past their home near Smyrna(which is now under Percy Priest Lake) was still red with blood.
Great! Your tour a wonderful idea....Next? How about Chattanooga, McLemore's Cove, to Ringold to Rocky Face Ridge to Dalton, Ressaca , Cassville? Now, can you get the statues back up around the country? Their removal is responsible for the diminished respect for history in this nation.
Unfortunately and sad to say, I don't believe we'll see those monuments in their historic locations ever again. Some people believe if you erase history, it never happened.
I can't help but Wonder what would have happened if the Confederates would have been on equal numerical numbers with soldiers throughout the War..... Seeing how hard they fought being out numbered two to one the entire time.... Considering the entire Confederate army consistent of 800,000 men and the Union 2 million.... I would say the Confederacy did a very impressive job with the odds and stacked against them....
My g.g. grandfather, private John G. Cummins of the Union Armies 3rd KY Vol. Infantry served at the McFadden farm artillery location and elsewhere during the battle of Stones River. He survived the war and returned to his home in eastern Kentucky after serving at Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Kennesaw Mountain, the Atlanta campaign, Savanah, Georgia ending his service in the Carolinas.
Are you guys going to visit Chattanooga next? Just think it would make this series of videos complete seeing that most of these battles lead to the battle of Chickamauga and the siege and battle of Chattanooga.
Bragg was an 'excellent planner' in the same vein as McClellan being an excellent builder of an Army. In the end, neither of them were good battlefield commanders.
@@paghal11 No, Bragg did care. If he didn't care he would've moved in central KY with Kirby Smith but he didn't want his men starving. In the regular army his men actually liked him for he fought to get them better pay and treatment. Bragg is a very strict disciplinarian by regular army standards and this didn't translate well into an army of civilian volunteers and political leaders with egos.
@@paghal11 which, is why, his subordinates sabotaged his greatest opportunities to destroy the Federal Army. They would either ignore him or go as far as to make outrageous excuses to not carry out his orders. It's easy to blame one man, but let's face it, Bragg was a soldier of a soldier, and hurt people's feelings. His subordinates would rather put their army and cause in danger to undermine the military chain of command. Those are the ones to blame.
Bragg as the field commander issued a request for more materiel, to the quartermaster. Thing is, he was also the quartermaster, and denied his own request. When his commanding officer found out, he said (paraphrased) "By God, Bragg, you have fought with everyone in this Army, now you are fighting with yourself...."
My g-g-grandfather Richard Dial was in the 86th Illinois and fought at Stones River. In fact, he was wounded there. Wikipedia says that the 86th fought at Stones River, but I never see them mentioned in accounts of the battle.
Interesting to hear the Park Ranger's defense of Bragg re: his decision to attack Rosecrans' left-flank on Jan. 2, as well as his abilities during the war overall. I, too, feel Bragg has gotten a bad rap. He was very good at devising by-the-book set-piece battles but apparently didn't have the imagination or wherewithal to follow-through effectively or aggressively pursue damaged or defeated opponents. He seemed sort-of to freeze, waiting for the enemy to make the next move. As for Stones River itself, I'm interested primarily in Breckinridge's attack on Jan. 2, as ordered by Bragg, to commence that day at 4 p.m. In truth, Bragg could've called it quits after the first day, perhaps deciding to retreat to another line of defense, perceiving he could accomplish nothing further, especially when it became obvious that Rosecrans wasn't scurrying back to Nashville. Bragg, however, didn't give up. On Jan. 2, he perceived a chance to regain the initiative by ordering Breckinridge to take the strategic hill upon which Union forces essentially controlled the battlefield, primarily with their artillery positions. What makes me choke-up is the thought that most of those Confederate boys in Breckinridge's division, probably thought the battle was over when fighting mostly ceased on New Year's Day, both sides exhausted & tending to their respective casualties. These lads must've breathed a sigh of relief---they'd survived! Then, they're informed that their commander, Breckinridge, has ordered them, as per Bragg, to prepare for another major assault late in the day on Jan. 2, which they do unhesitatingly---but, golly, they must've been scared. All thoughts of having survived now gone up in smoke. Suddenly, they knew this could be their last day on earth but they rose to the challenge & unswervingly marched forward as ordered. Then, to think of such bravery being all for naught as Union artillery blew gaping holes into their ranks, their attack, at first successful, wrecked & repulsed, all within the space of about an hour. Now that's heroism! Breckinridge vigorously had opposed Bragg's command to make this assault but did his duty & obeyed. Though the attack failed, I give Bragg credit for trying. As the Ranger points out, his reasoning, essentially, was sound. I just feel so sorry for those grayclad boys who fell or were grievously wounded. I'd really like to visit the scene of Breckinridge's assault, though, from what I can discern, most of the ground over which this occurred isn't within the battlefield park but rather buried and plastered over with residential areas & suburban sprawl, the original landscape churned-over mercilessly & gone, totally re-engineered. I really want to stand on the actual ground & ponder the tragic fate of those dear, brave boys who fell during Breckinridge's assault, not to mention the townsfolk who dealt with its aftermath, on that frigid, long-ago Jan. afternoon in 1863.
Contrary to their claims, the Battle of Stones River had nothing to do with the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln first wrote a preliminary EP during the summer of 1862 and showed it to members of his cabinet. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton advised Lincoln to withhold the EP until the Union won a major victory. Lincoln decided the Battle of Antietam was a sufficient victory to justify publicly issuing the EP, which he did on September 22, 1862, five days after the battle. The EP was to go into effect on January 1, 1863. Granted, this date coincided with the Battle of Stones River, but that was just coincidence. There was absolutely no cause and effect relationship between Stones River and the issuing of the EP. Stones river is not the victory that "supported" the EP (10:00 and elsewhere), Antietam was. The EP was issued and its effective date decided months before Stones River. These guys are all very knowledgeable, and I'm sure are fully aware of all this, so I don't know why they insist on promoting a false narrative.
The notion that the core cause/reason for the Civil War was the emancipation of slaves was/is a false narrative in itself. Sounds good to most people but those with real knowledge of the events and activities leading up to the war know better.
Your narrative that the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on Sept. 22nd, 1862, was the way I learned it 50 years ago in a high school American history class. President Lincoln had delay it because he was unable to start enforcing it with federal troops until after the Battle of Stones River.
Don't understand why you would let the Union entrench on New Year's day then attack against the entrenchments. If I had a day after what had happened to prepare, I would not sleep in or party but to make a strong defensive position with artillery entrenched and in proper position. The one charge proved the day off and then start charging again would not work. You know where they are and can guess where they are coming, trying to do this overnight is confusing and exhausting, not so if you are given 30 hours and your life depends on it.
As a Canadian who, for whatever reason, became fascinated with the American Civil War, I thank Garry Adelman, Chris Mackowski, Jim Lewis, and "Chris-behind-the-camera" for a terrific 4-part series on Stones River. I visited the battlefield some years back -- Before Covid (BC) -- and became as disoriented as the presenters described which, at the time, annoyed me. Thanks to these talks, I can now appreciate to a small degree how it must have been for a participant in the battle (especially since no-one was shooting at me). I have seen a great many battlefield presentations in person and on You Tube, but never have I encountered one with so much erudition matched with such infectious enthusiasm and energy for an historical event as these three delightful gentlemen provided. Bravo!
I've walked through here when I lived in Murfreesboro for a while God Bless 🤘🇺🇲❤️
Jim Lewis is absolutely The GOAT!
Ranger Jim really sells the personal stories and the deep meaning of the battle with its strategic implications.
Very well done! TY-VM
Great series on Stone's River, gentlemen. Gripping history from start to finish. Kudos!
The battle of Murfreesboro certainly was a bloody affair. It gets scary to think about a regiment of 400 men going into an attack and then melting away to just a company of 60 to 80 men after the attack. The Union had this carnage happen to its regiments in tough spots too at Murfreesboro. The percussion cap muzzle loading muskets and rifles with the Minie ball, along with big improvements in artillery made weaponry of the Civil War more reliable and more lethal. We saw this happen at Shiloh in April, 1862 with Confederate regiments getting into a tough spot during an attack getting stuck in crossfire from artillery and musketry volleys melting away in a just a few minutes from 400 men down to less than 50 or or 60 men with all the rest killed or wounded. Most of this killing/maiming happened at close range under a 100 meters due to thick clouds of black powder smoke.
Many of the "missing" were men shot to pieces by artillery and almost vaporized from close range double canister rounds. Artillery rounds with timed fuses exploded cannon balls filled with musket balls mangled human bodies into unrecognizable mincemeat. It was commonplace for herds of pigs to roam rural areas and towns to eat the garbage in frontier antebellum America. We know at times wild herds of pigs ate human remains soon after quiet took over the battlefield. Medical orderlies would hear the screams of wounded men at night being eaten alive by herds of wild pigs and packs of wild dogs. So many of the "missing" may have likely become human carrion for the herds of hungry wild pigs, flocks of crows or packs wild dogs or foxes. It often took days for the wounded to be attended too by exhausted medical orderlies after a big battle. Murfreesboro was a big battle with horrific carnage. It wouldn't be the last either with Chickamauga just around the corner in the later part of 1863. Chickamauga had three whole days of heavy fighting with long casualty lists in the many thousands each day on both sides.
I have learned more about the Civil War, and this battle in particular, than I could have ever hoped. Thank you, you all are amazing, thank you for the information and insight.
visited that battlefield in October . Good video!
great story telling of the battle
and nice to see your positive statements of Bragg....not many of those in the literature
Such a descriptive and touching narration, the loss of life in such a short time is so tragic, on both sides
My Great Great Grandfather, LTCOL Gilbert C. Kniffin, was at Stones River on GEN Rosecrans staff. After the war he wrote a book on the battle and copies still turn up on ebay. You have to wonder how these guys could put the carnage out of their minds and go on with their lives.
Many of them never did. I'm currently working on a study of an Indiana regiment from my hometown (that coincidentally held the section of the pike currently occupied by the National Cemetery), and a tragic amount of the men in the unit were never able to cope with what they went through and return to normal life. I can't imagine the things that they would have seen here.
@@rctommy3200 I live in TerreHaute, In. I'd like to see your results of the study. In the future should I look it up under your tag name there
My grandmother's family was from that area and she would tell stories to me that she heard from her grandfather and great aunts about the battle at Stones River. She remembered her great aunt saying that the water flowing past their home near Smyrna(which is now under Percy Priest Lake) was still red with blood.
I lived about 3 miles from the battlefield back in the 90's. I've spent countless hours walking the site. It was a lot different back then.
My Grandmother's family is from these parts. It really has developed this area here since I was young.
Awesome video gentlemen really good content, great storytelling.
Just remarkable content. How lucky we are to have the videos. Bravo.
Thank you!
Great job
Great! Your tour a wonderful idea....Next? How about Chattanooga, McLemore's Cove, to Ringold to Rocky Face Ridge to Dalton, Ressaca , Cassville?
Now, can you get the statues back up around the country? Their removal is responsible for the diminished respect for history in this nation.
Unfortunately and sad to say, I don't believe we'll see those monuments in their historic locations ever again. Some people believe if you erase history, it never happened.
Thank you. Although much has been saved in separate pieces of this battle, it would have been great if the entire area was saved as a complete park.
I can't help but Wonder what would have happened if the Confederates would have been on equal numerical numbers with soldiers throughout the War..... Seeing how hard they fought being out numbered two to one the entire time.... Considering the entire Confederate army consistent of 800,000 men and the Union 2 million.... I would say the Confederacy did a very impressive job with the odds and stacked against them....
My g.g. grandfather, private John G. Cummins of the Union Armies 3rd KY Vol. Infantry served at the McFadden farm artillery location and elsewhere during the battle of Stones River. He survived the war and returned to his home in eastern Kentucky after serving at Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Kennesaw Mountain, the Atlanta campaign, Savanah, Georgia ending his service in the Carolinas.
Are you guys going to visit Chattanooga next? Just think it would make this series of videos complete seeing that most of these battles lead to the battle of Chickamauga and the siege and battle of Chattanooga.
Bragg was an 'excellent planner' in the same vein as McClellan being an excellent builder of an Army. In the end, neither of them were good battlefield commanders.
For different reasons. I sense Bragg didn't really care about his men (and they knew it), whereas McClellan cared a bit too much.
@@paghal11 No, Bragg did care. If he didn't care he would've moved in central KY with Kirby Smith but he didn't want his men starving. In the regular army his men actually liked him for he fought to get them better pay and treatment. Bragg is a very strict disciplinarian by regular army standards and this didn't translate well into an army of civilian volunteers and political leaders with egos.
@@paghal11 which, is why, his subordinates sabotaged his greatest opportunities to destroy the Federal Army. They would either ignore him or go as far as to make outrageous excuses to not carry out his orders. It's easy to blame one man, but let's face it, Bragg was a soldier of a soldier, and hurt people's feelings. His subordinates would rather put their army and cause in danger to undermine the military chain of command. Those are the ones to blame.
@@paghal11 Joseph Johnston himself when visiting the AoT stated they were best trained and disciplined in the C.S.A.
Bragg as the field commander issued a request for more materiel, to the quartermaster. Thing is, he was also the quartermaster, and denied his own request. When his commanding officer found out, he said (paraphrased) "By God, Bragg, you have fought with everyone in this Army, now you are fighting with yourself...."
My g-g-grandfather Richard Dial was in the 86th Illinois and fought at Stones River. In fact, he was wounded there. Wikipedia says that the 86th fought at Stones River, but I never see them mentioned in accounts of the battle.
The withdrawal led rebels into an artillery ambush
Rosencrans pants Bragg on the next campaign. Fake left, go right, Bragg has to take the safety.
Interesting to hear the Park Ranger's defense of Bragg re: his decision to attack Rosecrans' left-flank on Jan. 2, as well as his abilities during the war overall. I, too, feel Bragg has gotten a bad rap. He was very good at devising by-the-book set-piece battles but apparently didn't have the imagination or wherewithal to follow-through effectively or aggressively pursue damaged or defeated opponents. He seemed sort-of to freeze, waiting for the enemy to make the next move. As for Stones River itself, I'm interested primarily in Breckinridge's attack on Jan. 2, as ordered by Bragg, to commence that day at 4 p.m. In truth, Bragg could've called it quits after the first day, perhaps deciding to retreat to another line of defense, perceiving he could accomplish nothing further, especially when it became obvious that Rosecrans wasn't scurrying back to Nashville. Bragg, however, didn't give up. On Jan. 2, he perceived a chance to regain the initiative by ordering Breckinridge to take the strategic hill upon which Union forces essentially controlled the battlefield, primarily with their artillery positions. What makes me choke-up is the thought that most of those Confederate boys in Breckinridge's division, probably thought the battle was over when fighting mostly ceased on New Year's Day, both sides exhausted & tending to their respective casualties. These lads must've breathed a sigh of relief---they'd survived! Then, they're informed that their commander, Breckinridge, has ordered them, as per Bragg, to prepare for another major assault late in the day on Jan. 2, which they do unhesitatingly---but, golly, they must've been scared. All thoughts of having survived now gone up in smoke. Suddenly, they knew this could be their last day on earth but they rose to the challenge & unswervingly marched forward as ordered. Then, to think of such bravery being all for naught as Union artillery blew gaping holes into their ranks, their attack, at first successful, wrecked & repulsed, all within the space of about an hour. Now that's heroism! Breckinridge vigorously had opposed Bragg's command to make this assault but did his duty & obeyed. Though the attack failed, I give Bragg credit for trying. As the Ranger points out, his reasoning, essentially, was sound. I just feel so sorry for those grayclad boys who fell or were grievously wounded. I'd really like to visit the scene of Breckinridge's assault, though, from what I can discern, most of the ground over which this occurred isn't within the battlefield park but rather buried and plastered over with residential areas & suburban sprawl, the original landscape churned-over mercilessly & gone, totally re-engineered. I really want to stand on the actual ground & ponder the tragic fate of those dear, brave boys who fell during Breckinridge's assault, not to mention the townsfolk who dealt with its aftermath, on that frigid, long-ago Jan. afternoon in 1863.
Contrary to their claims, the Battle of Stones River had nothing to do with the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln first wrote a preliminary EP during the summer of 1862 and showed it to members of his cabinet. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton advised Lincoln to withhold the EP until the Union won a major victory. Lincoln decided the Battle of Antietam was a sufficient victory to justify publicly issuing the EP, which he did on September 22, 1862, five days after the battle. The EP was to go into effect on January 1, 1863. Granted, this date coincided with the Battle of Stones River, but that was just coincidence. There was absolutely no cause and effect relationship between Stones River and the issuing of the EP. Stones river is not the victory that "supported" the EP (10:00 and elsewhere), Antietam was. The EP was issued and its effective date decided months before Stones River. These guys are all very knowledgeable, and I'm sure are fully aware of all this, so I don't know why they insist on promoting a false narrative.
The notion that the core cause/reason for the Civil War was the emancipation of slaves was/is a false narrative in itself. Sounds good to most people but those with real knowledge of the events and activities leading up to the war know better.
@@andrewmcneil6668 My post has nothing to do with this question.
He needed a major victory to do it first before Gettysburg.
Your narrative that the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on Sept. 22nd, 1862, was the way I learned it 50 years ago in a high school American history class. President Lincoln had delay it because he was unable to start enforcing it with federal troops until after the Battle of Stones River.
Don't understand why you would let the Union entrench on New Year's day then attack against the entrenchments. If I had a day after what had happened to prepare, I would not sleep in or party but to make a strong defensive position with artillery entrenched and in proper position. The one charge proved the day off and then start charging again would not work. You know where they are and can guess where they are coming, trying to do this overnight is confusing and exhausting, not so if you are given 30 hours and your life depends on it.
A
Were Confederate dead buried in separate or same cemeteries as Federal dead? How are they remembered?