Indianapolis --

Civil War Round Table

by Gregg Biggs

While much Civil War scholarship has focused on famous and pivotal—and some not so famous or pivotal—battles in the East, less attention has been paid to the Civil War in the West. There it was a very different story from the well-matched slugfests of the east; there it was an almost unbroken series of defeats and disasters for the fledgling Confederacy.

In “The Crack of Doom” Civil War scholar Greg Biggs analyses the politics and military problems of Confederate Department No. 2 (Cumberland Gap to the Mississippi River), from the summer of 1861 through its collapse in February, 1862. The presentation encompasses mistakes made by Confederate commanders from the local level up to the Confederate White House, and analyses why the Confederates lost and why the Federals won. Union command problems were almost as great; Grant was basically being stabbed in the back by his department commander the whole time.

Campaigns and battles in this overview include Belmont, Wild Cat Mountain, Mill Springs, and Forts Henry and Donelson. Also discussed will be the extraordinary moves by Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston to keep the Federals at bay for nearly 6 months by playing a grand game of bluff.

Illustrated with slides and handouts.