Battlefield Dispatches No. 350: Winter campaign

Friday, January 4, 2013

Normally during the winter in the Civil War, the opposing armies went into a sort of hibernation, or "winter quarters," because the roads were normally impassable because of snow, mud or rain. However, in the winter of 1862-1863, the "Union" Army of the Southwest, commanded by Maj. Gen. Samuel Ryan Curtis, was on the march and campaigning in Northwest Arkansas. As part of that army, the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment was far away from its former headquarters in Fort Scott and 1st Sergeant, soon-to-be 2nd Lt. Charles W. Porter recorded the following entries in his journal. His original journal is owned by the Wisconsin State Historical Society and a transcribed copy is located in the manuscript collection of Fort Scott National Historic Site and an edited version has been published by the Bushwhacker Museum in Nevada, Mo.

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