From the little-known Filibuster Wars to the Civil War battlefield of Gaines' Mill, this volume details the fascinating story of one of the South's most colorful military units, the 1st Louisiana Special Battalion, aka Wheat's Tigers. Beginning with a brief look at the Filibuster Wars (a set of military attempts to annex Latin American countries into the United States as slave states), the work takes a close look at the men who comprised Wheat's Tigers: Irish immigrant ship hands, New Orleans dock workers and Filibuster veterans. Commanded by one of the greatest antebellum filibusterers, Chatham Roberdeau Wheat, the Tigers quickly distinguished themselves in battle through their almost reckless bravery, proving instrumental in Southern victories at the battles of Front Royal, Winchester and Port Republic. An in-depth look at Battle of Gaines' Mill, in which Wheat's Tigers suffered heavy casualties, including their commander, completes the story. Appendices provide a compiled roster of the Wheat's Tigers, a look at the 1st Louisiana's uniforms and a copy of Wheat's report about the Battle of Manassas. Never-before-published photographs are also included.
This is the historically accurate story of a fictional soldier who attacked up the regimentas axis of advance during the unforgiving Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Private Ernie Swingle, a young railroad worker-turned-soldier from Erie, Pennsylvania. Read how and why he joined Army in the summer of 1917, what training was like in Camp Lee, Virginia, who his buddies were in the 2nd Platoon, K Company, 319th Infantry Regiment, 80th Division, and what combat was like for some during those eighteen days of hell in the Meuse-Argonne.
The battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War, if not the turning point, not because the Federal Army of the Potomac won the battle, but because it simply did not lose; because General Robert E. Lee, commander of the famous Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, did not win. Make no mistake about it, Lee went north into Pennsylvania to destroy President Lincoln's main army of operations, the Army of the Potomac, and then swing south to surround Washington, D.C., the Federal capital, hoping it would lead to a negotiated settlement that finally recognized Southern independence from the United States. In this, Lee came close. I have created a historically accurate yet fictitious character around John Tricker, an actual member of the famous 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Collis's Philadelphia Zouaves) to help tell a small but significant part of the story of this fateful campaign. The Philadelphia Zouaves, along with several other Federal regiments, held the very center of the Union line at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, at a place that we now famously call "The Peach Orchard." Although John Tricker and his brother, Alfred, were actual members of Company B, 114th Pennsylvania, I know little to nothing about them. I don't think anyone today does. I have simply combined my historical knowledge with my own combat experiences in Fallujah, Iraq, as an Iraqi Army advisor from 2005-06, to try to bring the desperate fight for the Peach Orchard Salient more to life for the average reader by using Sergeant John Tricker as a vehicle. I hope you enjoy the book and are inspired to read more about the Gettysburg Campaign and the Civil War in general.
Covers the early period of the war as it traces the story of the battalion from its inception in 1861, its first attacks at First Manassas, its hard marching and fighting during Jackson's Valley campaign, to its virtual annihilation at the Seven Days battles. The book offers an easily understandable analysis and summary of Jackson's vaunted Valley campaign. The battalion is a good representation of "the aggressive South.
The battle for Saipan and the Marianas island chain in the central Pacific was one of the toughest battles of World War II. Assaulted by two U.S. Marine and one Army divisions, plus one of the largest naval armadas ever assembled, Saipan was a strategic victory for the United States, as once it was captured, massive new B-29 bombers were able to attack Japan from the island chain. This is the historically accurate but fictional story of one of the notional Marines who hit Red Beach in June 1944: Lance Corporal Henry Hennessey, a high-school hockey player-turned-Marine from Syracuse, New York. Read how and why he joined, what his training was like on Hawaii, who his buddies were in A Team, 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, and what combat was like on Saipan, 1944.
The War Diary of John Lee McElroy, 1st Lieut. 315th Field Artillery, 155th Brigade was originally published with in "very limited" edition sometime during the 1920s. Like many such works, very few copies remain today. This copy, edited by Maj. Gary Schreckengost (USA, ret.), a Cold War, Bosnia and Iraq War Veteran of the 80th Division, and a Life Member of the 80th Division Association, is an attempt to ensure that his important work lives on for future generations. The Introduction section provides a brief summary of the history of the division up to Sept., 1918, a description of the M1917 French Schneider 155mm Howitzer, and an explanation of what it was like to serve in a heavy field artillery battery in the A.E.F. The pagination is the same as the original copy, although the formatting has been slightly altered (written out at bottom as per the original, one thru fifty). Most if not all of the verbiage in the Introduction can be found in Maj. Schreckengost's volumes: Always Move Forward! The 80th Division in W.W. I. The 315th Field Artillery Regiment (Heavy), 155th Artillery Brigade, 80th (Blue Ridge) Division (B/1/315th Arty) was raised at Camp Lee, Va, during the summer-fall of 1917, mostly from draftees from West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The 155th Arty Brig., which delivered fire support for the 80th, 33rd, 4th, 5th, and 90th Divisions during the war-ending and deadly Meuse-Argonne Offensive of Sept.-Nov., 1918, consisted of a brigade headquarters commanded by a brigadier general, three field artillery regiments, two light and one heavy, the 305th Ammunition Train, and the 305th Trench Mortar Battery. While the 313th and 314th Arty consisted of two battalions of French M1897 75mm Field Guns (Batteries A-D and E-H), the 315th Arty consisted of three battalions of M1917 French 155mm Schneider Howitzers (Batteries A and B, C and D, and E and F). Generally, the artillery brigade H.Q. was co-located with division H.Q. with the 315th Arty (H), 314th M.G. Battalion, and 305th Trench Mortar close-by. Depending on the mission, the division commander would attach and detach his artillery battalions to better weigh the main effort. It was a very practical, sensible, and flexible system.
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