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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 07/15/2003 12:01:05 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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Spring 1863 At the time of the Civil War, the Mississippi River was the single most important economic feature of the continent; the very lifeblood of America. Upon the secession of the southern states, Confederate forces closed the river to navigation, which threatened to strangle northern commercial interests.  It was imperative for the administration in Washington to regain control of the lower Mississippi River, thereby opening that important avenue of commerce enabling the rich agricultural produce of the Northwest to reach world markets. It would also split the South in two, sever a vital Confederate supply line, achieve a major objective of the Anaconda Plan, and effectively seal the doom of Richmond. In the spring of 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant launched his Union Army of the Tennessee on a campaign to pocket Vicksburg and provide Mr. Lincoln with the key to victory. March 29 - April 30, 1863 The spring of 1863 signaled the beginning of the final and, for the Union, the successful phase of the Vicksburg Campaign as General Grant launched his Army of the Tennessee on a march down the west side of the Mississippi River from Milliken's Bend to Hard Times, Louisiana. Leaving their encampments on March 29, Union soldiers took up the line of march and slogged southward over a muddy road. Building bridges and corduroying roads, Grant's column pushed first to New Carthage then to Hard Times where the infantrymen rendezvoused with the Union fleet.  Vicksburg Batteries April 16, 1863 On April 16, while Grant's army marched south through Louisiana, part of the Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter prepared to run by the Vicksburg batteries. At 9:15 p.m. lines were cast-off and the vessels moved away from their anchorage with engines muffled and all lights extinguished to conceal the movement.  Rear Admiral Porter As the boats rounded De Soto Point, above Vicksburg, they were spotted by Confederate lookouts who spread the alarm. Bales of cotton soaked in turpentine and barrels of tar which lined the shore were set on fire by the Confederates to illuminate the river. Although each vessel was hit repeatedly, Porter's fleet successfully fought its way past the Confederate batteries with the loss of only one transport and headed toward a rendezvous with Grant on the Louisiana shore south of Vicksburg. April 29, 1863 It was Grant's intention to force a crossing of the river at Grand Gulf and move on "Fortress Vicksburg" from the south. For five hours on April 29, the Union fleet bombarded the Grand Gulf defenses in an attempt to silence the Confederate guns and prepare the way for a landing. The fleet, however, sustained heavy damage and failed to achieve its objective. Admiral Porter declared, "Grand Gulf is the strongest place on the Mississippi."  Not wishing to send his transports loaded with troops to attempt a landing in the face of enemy fire, Grant disembarked his command and continued the march south along the levee. April 30--May 1 Undaunted by his failure at Grand Gulf, Grant moved farther south in search of a more favorable crossing point. Looking now to cross his army at Rodney, Grant was informed that there was a good road ascending the bluffs east of Bruinsburg. Seizing the opportunity, the Union commander hurled his army across the mighty river and onto Mississippi soil at Bruinsburg on April 30--May 1, 1863. In the early morning hours of April 30, infantrymen of the 24th and 46th Indiana Regiments stepped ashore on Mississippi soil at Bruinsburg. The invasion had begun. The landing was made unopposed and, as the men came ashore, a band aboard U.S.S. Benton struck up "The Red, White, and Blue." The Hoosiers were quickly followed by the remainder of the XIII Union Army Corps and portions of the XVII Corps--17,000 men. This landing was the largest amphibious operation in American history until the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. Elements of the Union Army pushed inland and took possession of the bluffs thereby securing the landing area. By late afternoon of April 30, 17,000 soldiers were ashore and the march inland began. Having pushed inland from the landing area at Bruinsburg, Union soldiers rested and ate their crackers in the shade of the trees on Windsor Plantation. Late that afternoon the decision was made to push on that night by a forced march in hopes of surprising the Confederates and preventing them from destroying the bridges over Bayou Pierre. The Union columns resumed the advance at 5:30 p.m. Instead of taking the Bruinsburg Road, which was the direct road from the landing area to Port Gibson, Grant's columns swung onto the Rodney Road, passed Bethel Church and marched through the night.  This section of the Rodney Road has changed little since the days of the Civil War. Imagine if you will, soldiers marching down this road tightly packed in columns of four; the stillness of the night broken by the sounds of marching feet, clanking accouterments, and the rumbling of wagons and artillery pieces. It was a clear, moon-lit night. Tension and fear were in the air for these soldiers were on enemy soil and the enemy was near, but where? As they marched along in the late night hours many of the soldiers dozed. One bluecoat recalled the night march as being "romantic in the extreme." May 1, 1863 Shortly after midnight the crash of musketry shattered the stillness as the Federals stumbled upon Confederate outposts near the A. K. Shaifer house. Union troops immediately deployed for battle and artillery, which soon arrived, roared into action. A spirited skirmish ensued which lasted until 3 a.m. The Confederates held their ground. For the next several hours an uneasy calm settled over the woods and scattered fields as soldiers of both armies rested on their arms. Throughout the night the Federals gathered their forces in hand and both sides prepared for the battle which they knew would come with the rising sun. At dawn, Union troops began to move in force along the Rodney Road toward Magnolia Church. One division was sent along a connecting plantation road toward the Bruinsburg Road and the Confederate right flank. With skirmishers well in advance the Federals began a slow and deliberate advance around 5:30 a.m. The Confederates contested the thrust and the battle began in earnest.  General U.S. Grant Most of the Union forces moved along the Rodney Road toward Magnolia Church and the Confederate line held by Brigadier General Martin E. Green's Brigade. Heavily outnumbered and hard-pressed the Confederates gave way shortly after 10:00 a.m. The men in butternut and gray fell back a mile and a half. Here the soldiers of Brigadier General William E. Baldwin's and Colonel Francis M. Cockrell's brigades, recent arrivals on the field, established a new line between White and Irwin branches of Willow Creek. Full of fight, these men re-established the Confederate left flank. The morning hours witnessed Green's Brigade driven from its position by the principal Federal attack. Brigadier General Edward D. Tracy's Alabama Brigade astride the Bruinsburg Road also experienced hard fighting. Although Tracy was killed early in the action, his brigade managed to hold its tenuous line. It was clear, however, that unless the Confederates received heavy reinforcements they would lose the day. Brigadier General John S. Bowen, Confederate commander on the field, wired his superiors: "We have been engaged in a furious battle ever since daylight; losses very heavy. The men act nobly, but the odds are overpowering." Early afternoon found the Alabamans slowly giving ground. Green's weary soldiers, having been reformed, arrived to bolster the line on the Bruinsburg Road.  Even so, late in the afternoon, the Federals advanced all along the line in superior numbers. As Union pressure built, Cockrell's Missourians unleashed a vicious counterattack near the Rodney Road which began to roll up the blue line. The 6th Missouri also counterattacked hitting the Federals near the Bruinsburg Road.All this was to no avail for the odds against them were too great. The Confederates were checked and driven back. The day was lost. At 5:30 p.m. battle-weary Confederates began to retire from the hard-fought field. The battle of Port Gibson cost Grant 131 killed, 719 wounded, and 25 missing out of 23,000 men engaged. This victory not only secured his position on Mississippi soil, but enabled him to launch his campaign deeper into the interior of the state. Union victory at Port Gibson forced the Confederate evacuation of Grand Gulf and would ultimately result in the fall of Vicksburg. The Confederates suffered 60 killed, 340 wounded, and 387 missing out of 8,000 men engaged. In addition, 4 guns of the Botetourt (Virginia) Artillery were lost. The action at Port Gibson underscored Confederate inability to defend the line of the Mississippi River and to respond to amphibious operations. Confederate Soldiers are buried at Wintergreen Cemetery in Port Gibson. May 2-11, 1863  General John Pemberton To support the army's push inland, Grant established a base on the Mississippi River at Grand Gulf. (Contrary to popular belief, the Union army relied heavily on supplies from Grand Gulf to sustain its movements in Mississippi. Only after reaching Vicksburg and re-establishing contact with the fleet on the Yazoo River did Grant abandon the supply line from Grand Gulf.) Instead of marching directly on Vicksburg from the south, Grant marched his army in a northeasterly direction with his left flank protected by the Big Black River. It was Grant's intention to strike the Southern Railroad of Mississippi somewhere between Vicksburg and Jackson. Destruction of the railroad would cut Pemberton's supply and communications line and isolate Vicksburg. As the Federal force moved inland, McClernand's Corps was on the left, Sherman's in the center, and McPherson's on the right.
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| You Know The Drill Click the Pics J
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Yep. The north avoided losing the war at Gettysburg but won the war by seizing the west.
I also enjoy the story of the Grierson raid where the Union cavalry rode out of camp north of Vicksburg and rode across Mississippi destroying supplies and tearing up railroad, riding back into the Union lines at Baton Rouge. It was made into a middling John Ford/Wayne movie, "The Horse Soldiers." One line from that movie always cracks me up. The lady who owns the plantation house that Wayne made his headquarters is serving the officers a fried chicken dinner, leans over the gentlemen showing a bit of cleavage and asks, "breast or thigh?" John Wayne and Bill Holden exchange knowing looks.
free the southland,sw
the presence of a scalawag on FR makes decent southrons gag.
free dixie,sw
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Air Power |
In the pre-nuclear, pre-terrorist days of warfare, when many battling nations were technological equals, overwhelming mass was an irresistible determiner of outcome. For a single nation to twice take on the modern world within a 20-year period, there must be a high level of self-delusion, if not madness, in the highest ranks of government, especially when it was still staggering from the effects of losing the first try. None-the-less, Nazi Germany did exactly that, and no amount of technological ingenuity could alter that fact, as the history of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the first turbojet to be used in combat, dramatically illustrates. Had the aircraft been introduced in large numbers in 1939, it is conceivable that the "Battle of Britain" might have ended as Hitler envisioned, while the United States, had it become involved, would have had to fight an aerial war from across the Atlantic, and every pub in England would today be known as "die Bierstube." Perhaps.
In fact, the Me 262 began as a preliminary design in 1939, without the engines needed to make it fly. Thus, the first prototype flew in 1941 with a 700hp Jumo 210G piston engine, and not the planned BMW 003 turbojet engines.
The early prototypes were fitted with conventional tail wheels. However, this configuration made takeoffs highly dangerous, so a fully retractable tricycle landing gear modification became the standard. The Me 262A-1a "Schwalbe" ("Swallow") was the first production model of the Me 262. It was produced with four Mk 108 30mm cannon mounted in the nose, in its role as an interceptor, a role that it performed with great promise except for several limiting factors: First, it came into the battle far too late, when the Allied air forces had reached formidable capacity; secondly, its engines were a constant source of trouble, frequently failing after no more than 12 hours; third, it was utilized inappropriately for far too long, after Hitler decided that the machine should be used in a bombing capacity, to "punish" the Allies. That version, the Me 262A-2a "Sturmvogel" ("Stormbird") was reconfigured to carry two 550lb bombs, still retaining the four cannon. A further refinement, Me 262A-2a/U1 had two of the cannon removed to provide space for a bomb-aiming device, and Me 262A-2/U2 carried a prone bombardier in the nose section. Thus, for much of the aircraft's brief combat life, it was used against the wrong type of targets, with even less effect than if it had been used as an interceptor.
In addition to bomber, ground attack and night fighter variants, the Me 262 was also produced as a tandem two-seat trainer, the Me 262B-1a. Four 262A-1as were modified to carry a single 50mm Mk 214 cannon which extended almost 7 feet beyond the nose of the plane, but the blinding flash from the barrel limited the effectiveness of the device. In any case, it didn't matter. There were 1,433 Me 262s built, with nearly 500 more destroyed by bombing raids before they were completed. Of that total, fewer than 300 were actually used in combat.
Using equipment and components manufactured during the occupation of Czechoslovakia, some Me 262s were produced by Avia, in Czechoslovakia after the war, under the designation S.92.
In its brightest moments, when it was used as intended, the Me 262 was the equivalent of sending the "Three Musketeers" against Sitting Bull at Little Big Horn. In one battle, for instance, 37 of the 262s were scrambled against an Allied raid that consisted of 1,221 bombers and 632 fighter escorts! In their most effective performance, they cost the Allies a one percent loss.
Despite the fact that the Me 262 is one of the most rare and esoteric aircraft of World War II, at least one group has endeavored to build brand new copies of this interesting airplane, updated to modern safety standards, and powered by more modern jet engines. The distinctive profile of the Me 262 has recently graced the skies again, this time in peaceful reflection rather than with hostile intent. [History by Kevin Murphy]
Specifications: (Me 262A-1a)
Engines: Two 1,984-pound thrust Junkers Jumo 004B-1/-2/-3 turbojets
Type: Land-based interceptor/fighter/bomber
Crew: One (Although one variant had a bombadier)
Dimensions:
Weights: Empty 8,378 lbs., Max Takeoff 14,110 lbs.
Wing Span: 40ft. 11.5in.
Length: 34ft. 9.5in.
Height: 12ft. 7in.
Performance :
Maximum Speed: 540 mph
Ceiling: 37,565 ft.
Range: 652 miles
Armaments:
Four 30-mm MK 108 cannon in nose
Variants:
50-mm nose mounted cannon
2 - 550lb bombs
ME-262 with massive 50MM cannon
All photos Copyright of AeroSpaceWeb.Org
Hi Snippy! Were you able to get some pics?
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