Question of the Week: 3/13-3/19/23
Choose your winter camp…
If you had to spend the winter and early spring of 1863 in a Civil War encampment, which army and which location?
Choose your winter camp…
If you had to spend the winter and early spring of 1863 in a Civil War encampment, which army and which location?
I would prefer to spend the winter 1863-64 in Lee’s winter encampment south of the Rapidan River around Orange Courthouse.
I’ll go with Orange Court House in 1863-64 also.
We had a guided tour there one year. It is on private property. But the bus got us to the vicinity of where Gen. Lee’s tent was located that winter. It is marked with a wooden platform where the tent was pitched that winter. An interesting tour for sure. The focus was on the battle of the Wilderness.
Grant’s Milliken’s Bend Army of the Tennessee encampment as they prepare for his momentous final campaign to take Vicksburg.
Aboard the CSS Alabama on a Caribbean cruise and in the South Atlantic off Brazil.
Lee’s encampment near Fredericksburg and maybe get into a snowball fight in February
With Barksdale’s Brigade of the ANV out West in East TN with Longstreet that cold, horrible winter.
With either army in Florida.
With the Army of the Potomac in Brandy Station, probably with the Third Corps — They had some great parties.
I’d pick one of the Army of Potomac’s camps near Stafford, north of the Rappahannock R., after Burnside’s replacement by Joe Hooker (if I have any say in that), where Joe Hooker was doing his best to raise the AOP’s morale and the effects might be felt first. Fresh bread 4 times a week! Oysters! Champagne! (According to Mr. Mackowski’s excellent book)
I would avoid the camps, especially the cavalry’s, further upriver. Too many Rebs prowling around looking for plunder.