The Lightning Mule Brigade: Abel Streight's 1863 Raid into Alabama

by Robert L. Willett Jr.

To pit the legendary Confederate cavalry leader Nathan Bedford Forrest and his veteran cavalry regiments against a rookie Union Infantry colonel and his four infantry regiments mounted on mules might seem laughable, but it turned out to be anything but. The Union Raid began with a 300 mile boat trip, then began its move toward Georgia from the Mississippi/Alabama border. Its goal was to disrupt the rail line supplying Confederate troops in Tennessee. In a textbook tactical campaign, Streight held off the veteran Forrest until exhaustion, bad luck, and poor equipment did him in. This book tells the details.

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999