March 29, 1863 Abbott writes home about a little skirmish he participated in, involving saving a group of Union soldiers from the Confederates. It’s nice to get these glimpses into more minor battles as they typically are not mentioned in history textbooks. It’s important to remember that the war was more than just the major battles, such as Gettysburg or Antietam. While such battles are arguably the most important, little skirmishes also had effects on the war. However, that being said, the most interesting thing that Abbott references is a battle mentioned by a group of soldiers from a different company. That group was in an excellent mood, as they all stated “that the Rebs were completely thrashed at the Stone River fight, and that Bragg’s men are deserting and coming over to our lines every day.” This was actually a semi-major battle during the war. The Battle of Stones River took place from December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863. The battle took place at Murfreesburo, which is a site where Abbott frequently found himself during the war. The Union group was led by Major General William Rosencrans, while the Confederates were under the command of General Braxton Bragg (whom Abbott directly references in his letter). In his letter, Abbott asserts that his fellow Union soldiers were ecstatic about their victory in the battle. While it definitely turned in favor of the Union, the battle was not necessarily a decisive triumph. Indeed, the results of the battle were fairly inconclusive. Both sides suffered roughly 12, 000 wounded and fatalities, making it harder to gauge which side was actually the most successful. However, in the aftermath, it became evident that it was a strategic Union victory. Despite fairly strong Confederate attacks, the Union prevailed, thus securing its control over middle Tennessee for the rest of the war. Most importantly, this battle boosted Union morale, which was lagging at the. This extra boost in confidence surely impacted subsequent battles and caused troops to be more optimistic about the eventual outcome of the war. Works Cited: Civil War Trust. "The Battle of Stones River." Last modified 2013. Accessed October 15, 2013. http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/stones-river.html?tab=facts. Photo Credit: National Park Service. "The Battle of Stones River." Last modified 2013. Accessed December 16, 2013. http://www.nps.gov/stri/historyculture/battle0.htm
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AuthorTessa Wakefield, student intern at the Concordia College Archives, assembled these blog entries in 2013-2014 for the Isaac Mark Abbott Civil War Letters Collection. The posts summarize the content of the letters, interpret Abbott's experiences and place them in the larger context of the Civil War. Archives
March 2014
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