The Great Beefsteak Raid.....Sept. 14 - 17 1864

[1srelluc]

It's September so it's time to celebrate The Great Beefsteak Raid!

The Beefsteak Raid was an incredibly daring adventure that occurred from 14-17 September 1864 during the U.S. Civil War. Confederate Cavalry leader Wade Hampton led 3,000 horsemen 100 miles behind General Grant’s federal lines and stole over 2500 cattle and successfully moved them back to Confederate lines where the rebels enjoyed steaks for a few days.

General Grant was away in Winchester, Virginia conferring with General Sheridan at the time. He was none too pleased to learn his prize herd had been stolen. When a reporter asked him, “General, when are you going to finally whip Bobby Lee?” Grant responded, “NEVER, if we fucking keep feeding his army.”

President Lincoln’s response was a bit more printable, “Well now, that’s some of the slickest cattle rustling I ever heard of.”

It was not without cost, Hampton lost 10 killed and 47 captured during the raid and the fruits of their effort were short lived as they could neither feed or procure enough salt to preserve the windfall.....But they ate good for a while.

Hampton would go on to become Governor of SC and later a US Senator.

This astonishing tale was re-created in the 1966 movie entitled “Alvarez Kelly” starring Richard Widmark as the Confederate Colonel Rosser and William Holden as Alvarez Kelly, a fictional character thrown into the mix for dramatic effect.




Beefsteak Raid - Wikipedia

 

[shockedcanadian]

It's September so it's time to celebrate The Great Beefsteak Raid!

The Beefsteak Raid was an incredibly daring adventure that occurred from 14-17 September 1864 during the U.S. Civil War. Confederate Cavalry leader Wade Hampton led 3,000 horsemen 100 miles behind General Grant’s federal lines and stole over 2500 cattle and successfully moved them back to Confederate lines where the rebels enjoyed steaks for a few days.

General Grant was away in Winchester, Virginia conferring with General Sheridan at the time. He was none too pleased to learn his prize herd had been stolen. When a reporter asked him, “General, when are you going to finally whip Bobby Lee?” Grant responded, “NEVER, if we fucking keep feeding his army.”

President Lincoln’s response was a bit more printable, “Well now, that’s some of the slickest cattle rustling I ever heard of.”

It was not without cost, Hampton lost 10 killed and 47 captured during the raid and the fruits of their effort were short lived as they could neither feed or procure enough salt to preserve the windfall.....But they ate good for a while.

Hampton would go on to become Governor of SC and later a US Senator.

This astonishing tale was re-created in the 1966 movie entitled “Alvarez Kelly” starring Richard Widmark as the Confederate Colonel Rosser and William Holden as Alvarez Kelly, a fictional character thrown into the mix for dramatic effect.




Beefsteak Raid - Wikipedia

History is interesting. Stealing walking food, hah. Whatever works I suppose.

The obvious word that jumps out is the use of the f word. I know it is an old word that was first used long ago, was it so casually applied as a curse word in the 1860s? If so, I've learned a couple of new things from this posting.

 

[1srelluc]

History is interesting. Stealing walking food, hah. Whatever works I suppose.

The obvious word that jumps out is the use of the f word. I know it is an old word that was first used long ago, was it so casually applied as a curse word in the 1860s? If so, I've learned a couple of new things from this posting.

The reason Grant was in Winchester, Virginia at the time was due to the planning of the upcoming Valley Campaign bent on destroying "the breadbasket of the Confederacy" in the Shenandoah Valley and the Virginia Central RR, as well as the CSA force in the Valley. After much back and forth it culminated in the Battle of Cedar Creek.

Battle of Cedar Creek - Wikipedia

 

[odanny]

The Shenandoah Valley really suffered when Grant arrived. Grant knew that providing resources to the Confederates had to be stopped, and his "salt the earth" campaign destroyed both farmland and shelter, leaving many people destitute. As General Lee said "it is good that war is so terrible, lest we grow fond of it."

 

[1srelluc]

The Shenandoah Valley really suffered when Grant arrived. Grant knew that providing resources to the Confederates had to be stopped, and his "salt the earth" campaign destroyed both farmland and shelter, leaving many people destitute. As General Lee said "it is good that war is so terrible, lest we grow fond of it."

LOL....Several of my ancestors fought at Cedar Creek....Were pushed back to Woodstock then crossed the Massanutten mountain and went home for the winter in Fort Valley. They then rejoined the army about a month before the surrender.