Writing and Rhetoric

Hall WAFD #2 Griffin Hall Dr. Trott WAFD #2 February 27, 2014 February 27, 2014 Stonewall The hero of the First Battle of Manassas was General Thomas J. Jackson. It was his unrivaled fighting spirit that brought the Confederates out of trouble and into a commanding victory against the inexperienced Union forces. Had Jackson not come to the aid of the Confederacy, the battle may not have gone so well for them. Works Cited A Confederate soldier lies dead between two boulders at Gettysburg during the Civil War. Digital image.   Confederate Soldier Dead at Gettysburg . Learn NC, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/12708 . . 1

LIBA | 102 | Writing and Rhetoric | lecture notes | Hall WAFD #2 Griffin Hall Dr. 

Hall 1 Griffin Hall Dr.Trott Autobiographical Sketch 5/6/14 5/6/14 Autobiography My name is Griffin Hall. I was born on August 27th, 1995 in Washington, D.C. I was born at Georgetown Hospital, early in the morning, around 1 AM. I have an older brother, Taylor, who was born on March 20 th , 1992, in Silver Spring, MD. I grew up in Silver Spring, MD, and attended grade school at both St. Bernadette’s and St. John the Baptist. I attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. Throughout my childhood, I played numerous sports. I played soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, and football in grade school. In high school, I played rugby for my school for two years, while playing basketball, softball, baseball, and golf on the side. In October 2012, I decided to attend the University of Mississippi for my high school education. I am currently finishing up my freshman year, and I am majoring in Political Science. In the fall of 2013, I rushed a fraternity, and I received a bid from Alpha Tau Omega. I was initiated into Alpha Tau Omega at the end of January 2014. I currently hold the head security position at Funky’s Pizza and Daiquiri Bar in Oxford, MS. This summer, I plan on keeping that position and pursuing other employment to keep myself busy during the day. In the future, I plan on attending law school, and I would like to attend law school in a place where I can settle down and practice. In an ideal world, my two cities that I would like to live in would be Minneapolis, MN or Boston, MA. I have always known big city life, so moving to Oxford was a change, but I plan on heading back to the city to live after college. Hockey loving towns, such as Minneapolis and Boston, fill the categories I want in a hometown. 1

LIBA | 102 | Writing and Rhetoric | lecture notes | Hall 1 Griffin Hall Dr.Trott A

Griffin Hall Dr. Trott 4/17/14 4/17/14 Research #5 Sheridan, Phillip H. "Battle of Yellow Tavern and the Death of General Stuart." Battle of Yellow Tavern. History Central, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014 http://www.historycentral.com/CivilWar/Wilderness/Yellow.html This piece is an excerpt from Phillip Sheridan’s memoir of the war, specifically the Battle of Yellow Tavern. I will use it to use more direct quotes from Sheridan to showcase how the battle went.

LIBA | 102 | Writing and Rhetoric | study guides | Griffin Hall Dr. Trott 4/17/14

clara_barton.docx-Hall 1 WAFD#3 Griffin Hall Dr.

Griffin Hall Dr. Trott Final Research Paper 5/6/14 5/6/14 The Battle of Yellow Tavern On May 11 th , 1864, the Battle of Yellow Tavern was fought. Confederate and Union forces met about 6 miles north of Richmond, at an abandoned inn by the name of Yellow Tavern. It was a small battle, with few casualties, but one of great importance due to its proximity to the Confederate capital of Richmond. The battle was a part of the Overland Campaign, which the Union launched earlier that spring (Traveler 1). The Overland Campaign was a large, three-pronged attack that Grant spearheaded himself. He sent an army to attack towards Richmond from the east and an army from the west down the Shenandoah Valley. Grant took his army straight down the center (Traveler 1). The Overland Campaign proved to be the culminating campaign of the Civil War and ultimately brought the demise of the Confederate Army. Though the Union won the battle, it was costly for them because it took away from help needed at Spotsylvania. Union forces at Yellow Tavern were commanded by Major General Phillip Sheridan. Sheridan was the leader of the Union Cavalry Corps. Only built to a statue of 5’5”, he was nicknamed, Little Phil, but he had the “sort of aggressiveness that Grant favored – the sort that did what had to be done” (Guttman 1). Sheridan graduated from West Point in 1853, but not before getting suspended for a year for threatening to stab a fellow classmate with a bayonet (Infoplease 1). His rise through the Union Army was rather lengthy, not in position necessarily, but in matter of importance to the Army. He began his tenure in the war with the Army of SW Missouri, then was promoted to colonel of Michigan’s 2 nd Cavalry in 1862, and finally became Major General of the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps at the start of 1863. Sheridan was primarily used a reconnaissance gatherer when he was promoted, and that angered him. He felt that his talents were not being used to the Union army’s full advantage, and he constantly sparred with his commanding officer, General Meade about it (Guttman 1). Meade often gave commands directly to Sheridan’s cavalry officers despite Sheridan preferring to control his own men. The two argued over Sheridan’s role, and the argument was eventually brought to General Grant’s attention. JEB Stuart, the cavalry commander for the Confederacy, had risen to a fame that rivaled Robert E. Lee’s. Sheridan famously stated that he “could thrash the hell out of him any day” (Guttman 1). Meade disagreed, but Grant took the side of Sheridan and sent him on a challenging task. After nearly a year and a half of doing nothing of greater importance than simple reconnaissance, Grant sent Sheridan and his cavalrymen behind enemy lines, specifically to challenge Stuart’s cavalrymen. The end result would be the Battle of Yellow Tavern. The decision to send Sheridan and his cavalry corps on this mission was “not unprecedented, but Union success in executing such a plan was. Notwithstanding the valor of a number of regiments within its ranks, the history of the Union cavalry corps in Virginia had generally been less than brilliant” (Guttman 1). The Cavalry Corps in the Union Army did not carry the significance as their Confederate counterparts. The cavalry had never played a major role in any Union victory in Virginia, minus Brandy Station in 1863 (Guttman 1). Yet even Brandy Station ended with consequences. Despite nearly reaching Stuart’s camp and destroying them, they were unsuccessful, and that led to three consequent Confederate victories for Stuart and his cavalry. The hesitation on Meade’s part to allow Sheridan to go through with this type of plan was justified, given the history of Union cavalry. Yet Grant saw something in Sheridan that he had not seen in previous generals. Grant had served with Sheridan in the west, and he had full confidence in Sheridan and his fighting spirit (Guttman 1). Furthermore, Sheridan showed pride and determination, “unlike his immediate predecessor, Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasanton, who had a

All courses in LIBA

Popular Documents