Confederate Cavalryman vs Union Cavalryman

This latest title in the hit Combat series is a gripping account of the fighting between cavalry of the Union and Confederate armies at small-unit level. It presents new insights on the role of cavalry in the age of massed infantry gunfire and gives close attention to the qualitative differences between the two sides. Augmented, as usual, with stunning Osprey artwork.

During the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces fielded substantial numbers of cavalry, which carried out the tasks of reconnaissance, raiding, and conveying messages. In this book, three cavalry actions of the American Civil War are assessed, including the battles of Second Bull Run/Manassas, Buckland Mills and Toms Brook.During the intense, sprawling conflict that was the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces fielded substantial numbers of cavalry, which carried out the crucial tasks of reconnaissance, raiding, and conveying messages. The perception was that cavalry’s effectiveness on the battlefield would be drastically reduced in this age of improved infantry firearms. This title, however, demonstrates how cavalry’s lethal combination of mobility and dismounted firepower meant it was still very much a force to be reckoned with in battle, and charts the swing in the qualitative difference of the cavalry forces fielded by the two sides as the war progressed. In this book, three fierce cavalry actions of the American Civil War are assessed, including the battles of Second Bull Run/Manassas (1862), Buckland Mills (1863) and Tom’s Brook (1864).