On July 9th, Mosby had been joined by infantry at Nicholas and had orders to move with the infantry to Centerville, then secure East Troy, Rowland Mills, and then move against Georgetown. At the same time, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Kentucky received orders to move south from East Troy against the rail junction at Jackson. Before Mosby and his accompanying infantry could leave Nicholas, they were attacked by cavalry, which they forced to retreat to Centerville. Another skirmish ensued at Centerville, but the Confederates were victorious. Mosby prepared to move against East Troy and Rowland Mills.
Moving cautiously on July 11th, Mosby found East Troy unoccupied, the Kentucky Cavalry having left two days before. As Mosby was entering East Troy, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Kentucky was engaged at Irvington to the south and forced to retreat back to East Troy. When the Kentuckians returned to East Troy, Mosby had long since passed through and was almost to Georgetown. The Kentuckians were in East Troy on July 15th when Mosby's Raid failed, but they were driven out by infantry the following day.
What if: What if the 2nd Battalion had not launched its raid on Jackson? Mosby would have been unlikely to have broken through the larger body of cavalry. But... it was Mosby's good fortune to stumble on a gap that opened in the enemy line and move north, albeit on an unsuccessful venture. Likewise, the 2nd Battalion had no idea that it would run into infantry at Irvington marching north up the Germantown Pike. (The infantry was probably surprised to run into the enemy that far south as well!) Both raids failed. The fog of war prevails...
No comments:
Post a Comment