Hugh Judson Kilpatrick has been accounted an irresponsible scoundrel, or worse, not only b historians but by his fellow so diers, who dubbed him “KillCavalry” due to his recklessnes Despite this reputation, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman, who allegedly referred to Kilpatrick as “a hell of a damned fool,” selected the young brigadier general to command one of his three cavalry d visions during the 1864 Atlanta Campaign.
Spencer rifle. (Joe Bilby) Judson Kilpatrick. (Joe Bilby)
The opportunistic Kilpatrick’ checkered career would take a number of other twists and turns, including an embarrassing midnight flight in his underwear [“Kilpatrick’s Shirttail Skedaddle”], along with his lady friend of the moment, during a Rebel raid on his Monroe’s Crossroads, N.C., headquarters in March 1865. In a failed attempt to kick start a stalled po war political career; Kilpatrick staged what appears to have been one of the first postwar reenact ments on his Sussex County, N.J. farm in 1878. The mock battle, between Civil War veterans and New Jersey National Guardsmen,
was witnessed by thousands of spectators and fueled by 10,000 barrels of beer. For all his fa however, and they were many, Kilpatrick would be one of the first officers to successfully ognize, use, and recommend “fir and maneuver” tactics with repeating rifles in the Civil War Following the Sept. 2, 1864, fall of Atlanta, Sherman found himself deep in enemy territory, with long and vulnerable lines of communication stretching back to Tennessee, and Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate Army of Tennessee, although seriously battered, still a functioning f
After sparring with Hood for two months, Sherman decided to abandon Atlanta and strike out for the coast. He chose Kilpatri to command the cavalry division that would lead the way as the Yankee army cut a 60-mile-wide swath of destruction to Savannah and the sea. Rather than contest Sherman’s march, Hood headed north, off on a quixotic expedition into Tennessee. Major General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Wheeler’s cavalry and a force of Georgia Militia, around 13,000 men under Lieutenant General William J. Hardee, were left to contest Sherman’s march, which began on November 15. Kilpatrick had two Spencer rifle armed regiments, the 8th Indiana Cavalry, formerly the 39th Indiana Mounted Infantry, and the 92nd Illinois Mounted Infantry, in his two brigades. T vast majority of Sherman’s infantrymen carried Springfield or Enfield muzzleloading rifle muskets, but repeaters were scatter through the army’s ranks, includ ing Spencer rifles in the 46th Ohio Infantry and Henry rifles i the 66th Illinois Infantry. On occasion, repeating rifles proved very useful, even critica to Union tactical success during
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wounded. Whether Kilpatrick’s suggestion would have produced fewer casualties is impossible to determine, but the fact that he brought it up is evidence that he was thinking about using repeating rifles in the offensive, and perceived their rapidity of fire a major tactical advantage.
Joseph G. Bilby received his BA and MA degrees in history from Seton Hall University and served as a lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Division in 1966–1967. H is Assistant Curator of the New Jersey National Guard and Militia Museum, a freelance writer and historical consultant and author or editor of 21 books and over 400 articles on N.J. and military history and firearms. He is also publications editor for the N.J. War 150 Committee and edited the award winning New Jersey Goes to War. His latest book, New Jersey: A Military History, was published by Westholme Publishing in 2017.
l War and Indian abilia, medals, hotos, & books.
Civil War Ne He has received an tributions to Monm (N.J.) history and Merit from the N.J Commission for con the state’s milita He can be contacte
