Grierson's Raid: A Daring Cavalry Strike Through the Heart of the Confederacy

by Tom Lalicki

"The most brilliant expedition of the Civil War." --General William Tecumseh Sherman

In 1863 Union colonel Benjamin H. Grierson was chosen for a secret mission: to lead three regiments of horsemen and a battery of artillery -- seventeen hundred men in all -- on a slashing raid through the state of Mississippi. Their objective was to damage a major Confederate rail line, spreading alarm and destroying enemy supplies in the process. Union leaders were relying on Grierson to provide cover as they moved thousands of troops into position for a major and ultimately victorious assault on Vicksburg, the South's vital transportation hub on the Mississippi River. Owing to Grierson's shrewd tactics, as well as luck and the skilled soldiering of his men, the raid was wildly successful in every respect.

Here is an exciting day-by-day account of this grueling sixteen-day adventure, which weaves together several first-person accounts from Grierson and his soldiers themselves and is heavily illustrated with maps and period photographs.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 8, 2004

Reviews

[Will Biby · Rating 4 out of 5]

How has a streaming service not turned this into a star-studded, big-budget miniseries?

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The war is not going well for the Union army. In the east, the Army of the Potomac is dealt one humiliating loss after another at the hands of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. In the west, Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s push down the Mississippi valley has stalled at the port city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Citizens in the North are growing weary of war and believe that victory is no longer possible. What the country needs is a morale boast. In April, 1863, they get it through one of the most daring feats ever devised.
According to President Abraham Lincoln, “Vicksburg is the key…The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.” Grant’s mission is to capture the fortified city. However, Confederate troops in Mississippi, led by General John Pemberton, are making this nearly impossible to accomplish. A diversion is needed; enter Colonel Benjamin Grierson and the cavalry regiments of the 6th and 7th Illinois, and the 2nd Iowa. Their secret mission is to ride straight through the heart of Mississippi, tearing up railroads, cutting telegraph wires, and generally making themselves a nuisance to the Rebel military. For the next sixteen days, Grierson and his men do just that. Through good fortune and a number of clever, misleading tricks, Grierson manages to wreak havoc up and down the state while avoiding capture by Confederate troops.
The diversion is going well…maybe a little too well. General Pemberton soon forgets about Grant and Vicksburg, and instead focuses on catching the illusive cavalry troops. Will Grierson and his raiders be able to outwit the growing number of Rebels hunting them down? Will his bag of tricks hold out until they cross into Union-occupied Baton Rouge, Louisiana? Does the raid buy Grant enough time to prepare his troops for the march on Vicksburg? You could look up the answer in a dusty old textbook or on the internet, or you can read the exciting and entertaining Grierson’s Raid: a Daring Cavalry Strike through the Heart of the Confederacy by Tom Lalicki.

[Chris Fourgis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, this book was in the top three of my most favorite books because its detailed writing make me feel like I was there with Colonel Grieson finding a way to New Orleans. I've always been interested with the Civil War and knew that this book would give me more knowledge than I could have ever learned in school. Before I read this book I knew only a couple main battles in the Civil War such as Gettysburg, and the first and second Bull Run. This is definitely an action packed book that kept me wanting to read more and more. History is never boring to read about as long as it involves action packed wars!!