ACW WI: Sherman supports the Tennessee Bridge Burners, Nov. 1861

[Geekhis Khan]

In the late summer/early fall of 1861 the Lincoln Administration made a deal with Joshua Sill and other East TN Unionists to launch an invasion of East TN via the Cumberland Gap in November of 1861. Gen. McClellan fully supported the effort as a distraction for his plans in Virginia. The TN Unionists would support this invasion by burning the seven rail bridges along the GA-TN-VA rail line to delay CS supplies and reinforcements. General George H. Thomas, a Virginia Loyalist later to become the "Rock of Chickamauga", would lead the expedition. While I can't find exact numbers, presumably he'll lead ~5,000, likely with many or all of the same units he led in the Battle of Mill Springs in Jan. '62 OTL. Gen. William "Bull" Nelson was in East KY conducting his Big Sandy Expedition and could presumably reinforce Thomas once that was concluded. Opposing them was Gen. Felix Zollicoffer with ~4,000 TN State Army soldiers occupying the region to prevent any sort of "Tory" uprising (Zolli would later die facing Thomas at Mill Springs OTL).

In OTL Gen. Sherman, who justifiably worried that the Union army would be hard pressed to supply itself over the winter given the relatively low local productivity and the long, tenuous supply lines down muddy roads vulnerable to bushwhackers, and who overestimated the CS presence in the area, and who was also in the midst of his nervous breakdown, cancelled the invasion over Thomas's objections, leaving the TN Unionists of the "East Tennessee Bridge Burning Conspiracy" literally hanging in the end. Thomas and Nelson were more sanguine about the prospects (I saw a letter from Nelson outlining the supply plans in the Official Records).

So, WI Sherman allowed the invasion? Perhaps if Thomas was more persuasive or perhaps if he felt more direct pressure from Lincoln to make it happen?

Offhand myself, given the results of Mill Springs and the face that Zollicoffer's forces were divided in trying to hold down a third of a fairly large and very mountainous state, it seems fully possible that Thomas could defeat Zolli and besiege or capture Knoxville (if Zolli successfully repels the invasion then the end result is basically OTL with more casualties and another embarrassing Union loss, so not really all that interesting from an AH perspective unless "someone important" is killed). Presumably the majority of East Tennesseans will welcome Thomas, but can they feed him? How many would rally to him and how many could he arm (presumably there will be a lot of old squirrel rifles and shotguns in the force)? Roughly 300 participated in the Bridge Burnings and TAR Nelson at the East TN convention wanted to call up 15,000 Volunteers (could he actually arm them, or was 15,000 a pipe dream? Anyone know? Presumably the CS already took any arms by this point, but I'm personally curious if anyone knows). Zolli's Company Commander Col. Wood estimated that they were outnumbered by local partisans, but I have no idea what the available numbers would be, or how well they'd be able to stand up against regulars, not that any of the regulars are that well trained or equipped on either side at this point!

The more interesting question for me is, what next? A.S. Johnston and PGT Beauregard were rather busy facing off against Grant and Buell, but could hypothetically have sent reinforcements. The 22nd and 45th Virginia Regiments (~1,400) would hypothetically be able to reinforce from SW VA, though this would leave that critical region vulnerable to raids or invasions while much of VA's forces were facing US forces in West[ern] VA and of course the AotP. Georgia has a few regiments to spare, though IIRC this was when Gov. Brown was still openly preventing Georgians from fighting outside of Georgia and may have just had them sit at the border! Given that Knoxville is a critical communications and supply line between Richmond and the West and Deep South, the CS presumably wouldn't just sit idly by!

Are there any other forces that I'm forgetting? Are there available Alabamans able to move up through Chattanooga (presumably sending dirty looks towards encamped Georgians along the way)? Does NC have anyone available to send over the mountains other than Home Guard at this point (Will Thomas' Cherokee Legion was not yet formed)?

Grant is fighting at Belmont at this point. Would Buell be forced to launch his move on Bowling Green sooner in order to cover Thomas's flank and tie up potential reinforcements?

Any thoughts?

PS: I searched for this topic on the boards and didn't see anything posted already, which surprised me. If I missed one let me know!

 

[Blackroot38]

From what I've read about the subject, Sherman will be of no help due to his hysterics at the moment and Buell seemed rather fixated on Nashville despite Gen. Thomas and Andrew Johnson begging him to assist with the East Tennessee liberation. Perhaps if you switched Buell and Rosecrans around through some bureaucratic necromancy. Rosecrans did reasonably well in west virginia in the early part of the war, he might be able to help Thomas secure the unionist east of TN sooner than scheduled.

 

[Bregil]

PS: I searched for this topic on the boards and didn't see anything posted already, which surprised me. If I missed one let me know!

It's certainly an interesting idea to explore. Seems like there's always at least one more side theater of the ACW that I was previously unaware of. One major positive for the plan is having Thomas in command. The guy's reputation for dependability was well-earned after all.

 

[Andristan]

If Thomas wins, and liberates East Tennessee, maybe they do a WV and split to form a new State? That would be cool.

 

[Geekhis Khan]

From what I've read about the subject, Sherman will be of no help due to his hysterics at the moment and Buell seemed rather fixated on Nashville despite Gen. Thomas and Andrew Johnson begging him to assist with the East Tennessee liberation. Perhaps if you switched Buell and Rosecrans around through some bureaucratic necromancy. Rosecrans did reasonably well in west virginia in the early part of the war, he might be able to help Thomas secure the unionist east of TN sooner than scheduled.

Yes, Sherman has basically taken himself out of the fight at this point. I've always wondered about if Buell had followed McClellan to the AotP and perhaps Ormsby Mitchel had been given the command, as he was already in charge of the Department of the Ohio and seemed the natural choice (I suspect politics; Mac putting "his" man Buell in charge). iOTL he got shuffled off to South Carolina and died of Yellow Fever, but his un-resisted seizure of Huntsville and the sheer audacity of the Great Locomotive Chase showed he'd be willing to support such a venture.

Buell or no Buell, the AotO will need to make some sort of move on Bowling Green KY and then pressure Nashville if only to tie up CS forces and cover Thomas's flank. Buell may dawdle, which could risk things. Mitchel or Rosecrans might be more aggressive, and possibly willing to send a couple regiments east to support Thomas.

It's certainly an interesting idea to explore. Seems like there's always at least one more side theater of the ACW that I was previously unaware of. One major positive for the plan is having Thomas in command. The guy's reputation for dependability was well-earned after all.

Yes, as someone in Virginia he's always interested me as the Loyalist. While not the boldest commander he was certainly reliable and likely saved the army from disaster at Chickamauga. I figure he'd perform well on the campaign assuming he can feed and provision his forces. Logistics is the biggest factor here. I read somewhere that Lincoln wanted to extend a rail line from Frankfort to Knoxville, which would certainly help, but that takes time.

My choice to play Thomas in a movie:

j/k...or am I?!?!

If Thomas wins, and liberates East Tennessee, maybe they do a WV and split to form a new State? That would be cool.

It's possible if the CS alienates the region enough. The Greenville Convention spoke of secession from Tennessee to form a State called Frankland or Franklin based on a failed State from the 1700s when the region was claimed by NC (they tried and failed again in the 1840s), and there was some discussion along with North Alabama Unionists of a State called Nickajack that covered both ETN and NAL. Offhand the geographical issue is that ETN is the hardest part of the state for the Union to grab and hold compared to the West and Middle, so likely the entire TN is (initially) liberated by early 1862, so the would-be leaders of Franklin/Frankland/Nickajack would likely just become the government of the "Restored State of Tennessee". That said, politics can be strange, particularly when emotions are high.

OTL Zollicoffer tried to win hearts and minds in ETN, but if the CS backlash is strong enough and resentment grows for their Nashville/Memphis cousins, there could be a political impetus to separate WV style. I'm sure the Radical Republicans would support this both to a) punish Tennessee for secession and b) assure a new solidly Republican State in the south.

EDIT: c) the Emancipation Proclamation. Assuming it's still issued at some point (seems very likely to be) then I can see Franklin/whatever forming as an "always was loyal" Slave State like KY and MO and MD that's not subject to the EP. OTL the ETN'ers were outraged at the EP. I can see Congress supporting the Franklin Resolution simply to Fig Leaf not emancipating Slaves in ETN so as not to alienate the region.


PS: it looks like Thomas had a force of about 7,000, including about 2,000 East TN Loyalists, at least per War at Every Door. They were green and not very well equipped, but so was Zollicoffer's understrength and divided Brigade. Thomas should have the strength to force the Cumberland Gap (not sure how many Zolli had at the CG, but it wasn't his full 4,000) and push on to Knoxville.

 

[Arnold d.c]

Given the small force, Thomas probably need not worry so much about starvation - Burnside's forces were able to sustain themselves well during the 1863 campaign. That said, the problem is holding onto Knoxville. The Confederates would surely react swiftly to such an incursion - Knoxville was a key transit point for the Virginia and Tennessee railroad. In theory, troops from the Army of Northern Virginia or Bragg's Gulf Coast units could be sent to East Tennessee. Bragg had at his disposal about 10,000 troops, which were not sent north until the capitulation of Fort Donelson.

 

[Geekhis Khan]

Given the small force, Thomas probably need not worry so much about starvation - Burnside's forces were able to sustain themselves well during the 1863 campaign. That said, the problem is holding onto Knoxville. The Confederates would surely react swiftly to such an incursion - Knoxville was a key transit point for the Virginia and Tennessee railroad. In theory, troops from the Army of Northern Virginia or Bragg's Gulf Coast units could be sent to East Tennessee. Bragg had at his disposal about 10,000 troops, which were not sent north until the capitulation of Fort Donelson.

I have little doubt that the CS will respond here! What choice do they have? Bragg seems like a logical instrument here. He was apparently at Pensacola at this point from what I can tell, so that would allow a fairly fast response due to railroads. The burnt bridges (assuming the partisans burn the ones that they successfully did OTL) would impede this, as was the plan, naturally. If he can move fast enough he could potentially drive them out, unless Nelson or another force from the AotO is able to reinforce Thomas, though in either case Bragg would lack the 3:1 "rule if thumb" for dislodging defenders, assuming the green troops at Knoxville would stand up to the assaults without losing their nerve, of course. Winter rains are going to make everyone's life difficult here. The AotO will need to counter-respond some way, so whether it's Buell or Ormsby or whomever will make a major difference here as timing is critical. Either way, Bragg is clearly to me the primary CS response force, good call @Arnold d.c.

The ANV will of course be in a bit of a conundrum here as they're still facing a growing Union force to their immediate north and continued issues in West[ern] VA. I imagine that the 45th and 22nd are a "rapid response force" of sorts (the burnt bridges will delay things, of course), but for a larger VA response you have to rob Peter to pay Paul farther north, so that could affect things there. Sending more than a Brigade I imagine would be risky in the face of the more immediate threat to Richmond (AotP). That said, Mac is just taking charge, so JJ potentially has an opportunity here as the command structure adapts to the change. That said, part of Mac's support for the ETN invasion plan was to distract the Virginians. Not sure what his plan to take advantage of the distraction was at this stage (the Urbana plan appeared in Jan '62).

EDIT: it appears that JJ's main force was in Centerville just NE of Manassas Junction at this point. He could send troops by train to Lynchburg, switch trains (different tracks and gauges) and then to the first burnt bridge at Union, so some speed possible here. Still will need to make a hard choice on how much he's willing to weaken his position, particularly with the AotP right there (Ball's Bluff was just a couple weeks back).

 

[Hastings]

In the send Bragg scenario pretty good odds the Union *wins*. Braggs men plus existing forces in the area plus maybe some units from SW VA or GA is probably something like 15-20k men. Union between volunteers, Sherman's men plus TN volunteers plus Nelson's men should be similar or maybe a tad less. Result could be a relatively large battle for this stage of the war. I would tend to bet on Thomas winning this over Bragg.

Incidentally Rosecrans is an underrated general. He wasn't a tactical genius particularly, though very few Union generals were. But in WV and again in the leadup to Chickamauga he did a very solid job. Chickamauga came very close to being a crushing victory for the Union if he hadn't accidentally opened a hole in his line. Confederates suffered heavier casulties despite taking a decent number of prisoners. The Confederates suffered 17,000 dead+wounded versus 11,000 for the Union. In a scenario where that doesn't happen, so slightly higher dead/wounded and very different prisoner ratio it will be even more lopsided, quite likely 2-1 in Union favor, easily the greatest field battle defeat suffered by the Confederacy. Might well be Rosecrans coming east rather than Grant.

 

[Geekhis Khan]

In the send Bragg scenario pretty good odds the Union *wins*. Braggs men plus existing forces in the area plus maybe some units from SW VA or GA is probably something like 15-20k men. Union between volunteers, Sherman's men plus TN volunteers plus Nelson's men should be similar or maybe a tad less. Result could be a relatively large battle for this stage of the war. I would tend to bet on Thomas winning this over Bragg.

It will be a close run thing, I think. Bragg has railroads to get him straight there, and showed OTL that he could use them effectively. That said, he'll have to change trains at least twice due to track gauge changes along the way. Any bridges are likely repaired by the time he gets there (they were repaired in a few days' time iOTL). It will still take him several days to get fully ready, so Thomas will have some time to dig in and get resupplied/reinforced. While Bragg's Division has not yet had the time to drill that made them the "best drilled and most disciplined" soldiers at Shiloh, they're likely still some of the best individual soldiers in this scenario.

The 45th and 22nd could be there quickly (they'll have to repair bridges and scatter some Irregulars along the way) and along with Zolli's remainders and some pro-CS partisans (ETN wasn't 100% Unionist) you could probably put together a sizeable force, eventually. The Virginians are coming in from the opposite direction so combining with Zolli will take time as the Virginians will need to move via backroads around Knoxville to Loudon where Zolli would most likely set up. Perhaps ultimately as many as 8,000 if they can all combine. If they can combine with Bragg that's a sizeable force, probably the 15-20k you cited depending on how many additional Virginian forces, Irregulars, or Georgians (if any) join.

Alternately, the Virginians could move in part or in whole on the Cumberland Gap, which would require Thomas & Nelson to dispatch some forces to repel them, and weaken their force at Knox. If the US Gens were thinking about this, they likely have some forces deployed there already and they likely have some notice that the Virginians are inbound from the locals.

Hypothetically some Union cavalry raids into SWVA via the wind gaps between KY and VA or CS raids on US supply lines could sew some chaos in all of this.

AS Johnston could hypothetically quickly send reinforcements laterally by train, but presuming Grant still feints at Barboursville on the 7th ASJ will still be on the look out there, not to mention Buell (or whomever) *could* and probably should take the opportunity to move on Nashville. If Mitchel is in charge rather than Buell it seems likely, which would force ASJ to respond there and prevent reinforcements.

Thomas's forces at this point are probably mostly armed with smoothbore muskets and at the end of long and tenuous supply lines. He'll have his ~7,000 plus I'd assume at least another 2,000-3,000 from Nelson (Bull will need to keep at least 2,000 to protect the supply lines) and probably several companies of Irregulars, possibly equivalent to a couple regiments or more.

The Irregulars on both sides will be armed with flintlock hunting rifles and shotguns, if that, and of limited tactical value, probably better for maintaining order or picket duty.

Assuming that this is it, and that Buell and AJ send no more troops to their respective sides, that's possibly as much as a 2:1 CS:US advantage, less than the 3:1 "rule of thumb". With Bragg in charge, expect frontal assaults against defenses, so if the US forces can keep their nerve, they can hold out. Then a siege would set in, and those supply lines will become a burden.

From here we get into more hazy ground as the butterflies pile up. If the AotO captures Nashville and Grant moves on Ft. D & H earlier as a result of the Knoxville Gambit, then we could see a much earlier US advance in the West out of necessity. With Nashville taken, Chattanooga is vulnerable, and that leaves Bragg in danger of being outflanked, and he'd likely have to fall back to Chat for this reason alone.

Of course if Buell drags his feet here, then the whole enterprise falls apart and Thomas possibly has to fall back due to lack of supplies.

ASJ might choose to attack Nashville as the linchpin of the whole endeavor!

And that's not even getting into whatever is happening in Virginia! Lincoln and Mac are likely squabbling over when and how to move on JJ at Centerville. If Knox acts as a "forcing function" perhaps we get a Battle of Centerville in Nov/Dec or Mac gets to launch his Urbana plan in Dec/Jan.

Damn, we've practically got a TLIAW scenario here.

Incidentally Rosecrans is an underrated general. He wasn't a tactical genius particularly, though very few Union generals were. But in WV and again in the leadup to Chickamauga he did a very solid job. Chickamauga came very close to being a crushing victory for the Union if he hadn't accidentally opened a hole in his line. Confederates suffered heavier casulties despite taking a decent number of prisoners. The Confederates suffered 17,000 dead+wounded versus 11,000 for the Union. In a scenario where that doesn't happen, so slightly higher dead/wounded and very different prisoner ratio it will be even more lopsided, quite likely 2-1 in Union favor, easily the greatest field battle defeat suffered by the Confederacy. Might well be Rosecrans coming east rather than Grant.

Without getting this thread sidetracked into yet another "which ACW Generals were good/bad" tangent ("Far too man brave and bold Civil War threads have fallen to the spectre of arguments over Generals on this here board!") I'll just say that I agree that Rosecrans deserves more credit and less hate than he gets and leave it at that!


EDIT: here's the answer on Zolli:

Zollicoffer arrived at Cumberland Ford with approximately 3,200 men, consisting of four infantry regiments, a field battery of six guns, and four cavalry companies. (Wiki)

This means that it will be hard for Thomas's 7,000 to break through, particularly as the 4 cav companies can patrol the smaller wind gaps around the CG.

 

[Geekhis Khan]

OK, so I'm trying to put together the full strategic situation here. Please let me know who I'm missing here:

Facts as of 1 Nov 1861 (OTL):

• CS: Zollicoffer at Cumberland Gap with 3,200, 4 Co Cav, 6 Napoleon Howitzers
• US: Thomas at Crab Orchard, KY, 40 mi from Gap with 7,000
• US: Nelson leading Big Sandy Expedition with 5,500; Sill with 3,600 of them at Pound Gap (includes Garfield, who won Battle of Mill Creek against 5th KY + 54th VA in Jan)
• CS: Col John S. Williams chased through Pound Gap into SWVA with 850-905 (formerly 1,010) 5th KY “Ragamuffin Regiment”
• US: Rosecrans has 5,000 at Carnifex Ferry
• CS: Floyd’s Kanawha Brigade: 36th, 50th, 51st and 56th VA in WV transferred to West in Feb ’62 OTL, so hypothetically available along with 22nd and 45th (total ~2,000)
• CS: New 54th VA with ~350
• US: Buell at Munfordville KY with 45,000
• CS: AS Johnston’s Army of Central Kentucky
  • SB Buckner at Bowling Green KY with ~4,000
  • 4,900 at Ft. D. & Ft, H
• CS: Polk’s Army of Mississippi with 12,000 at Columbus, KY
• US: Grant at Paducah with 15,000 (would be reinforced in Spring ’62 with another 10,000)
• CS: Hardee in Arkansas with ~1,000-2,000??
• CS: Bragg at Pensacola with 10,000

Am I missing anyone?