Vicksburg was located on a bluff. Extensive maneuvering was required to capture the city. Admiral Porter and his ironclads assisted General Grant in the campaign.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
“For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon 1914
Aries: General “Jumping” Jim Gavin- was an orphan with little education who was able to graduate from West Point after enlisting in the army as a private. An innovator, he wrote the manual for airborne troops. In World War-II Gavin was the first out of the plane during the invasion of Sicily. At the age of 36 he became the youngest general in the army. During the Normandy invasion (D-Day), Gavin and his paratroops seized and held two key bridges.
Taurus: General Ulysses S. Grant won some of the most important victories during the Civil War. His campaign to capture Vicksburg—he won five battles after crossing the Mississippi River and capturing Jackson– is considered a classic. Grant was successful at all levels of command. Quote: “I’ll fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.”
Gemini– During the Mexican American War (1846-1848), General Winfield Scott, after landing at Vera Cruz, captured Mexico City following victories at the Battles of Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey.
Cancer– Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was nicknamed the “Wizard of the Saddle” because of his lightning fast and unexpected forays. Before the Civil War he had been a millionaire businessman. The Battle of Brice’s Crossroads is an excellent example of a tactical double envelopment—a successful attack on both flanks. Forrest has been justifiably criticized for the massacre of black troops at Fort Pillow in 1864.
Leo– “Storming” Norman Schwarzkopf led Operation Desert Storm, the campaign that ousted Saddam Hussein from Kuwait in six weeks. In Viet Nam he won three Silver Stars, the third highest medal for valor. His Sun/ Moon combination of Leo/Capricorn is the same as Napoleon’s.
Virgo– George Crook was our go to commander in the Indian Wars. He pacified Cochise and the Apaches in 1872 in Arizona using native scouts. Crook also pursued Geronimo there, forced him to surrender but later he escaped. He fought the Paiutes on the Pacific Coast and the Sioux at the Battle of Rosebud. Crazy Horse won that battle.
Libra– Fernando Luis Garcia, like many Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, received the award posthumously. After being wounded by the Chinese during the Korean War, he threw himself on a grenade to save a fellow Marine.
Scorpio– During the war against the North Vietnamese, Curtis LeMay said, “I’ll bomb them back into the Stone Age.” He founded SAC, the Strategic Air Command, which still exists.* General LeMay was a successful air commander both against the Germans and Japanese in World War II.
Sagittarius– Gregory “Pappy” Boyington was one of our highest scoring aces in World War II with 28 confirmed kills against the Japanese in aerial combat. Six of those victories occurred when he flew with the Flying Tigers. He won the Congressional Medal of Honor as commander of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-214 after being shot down and captured.
Capricorn– During the Spanish-American War (1898), Commodore Dewey led his fleet to the Philippines where he defeated a Spanish squadron at the Battle of Manila Bay. He uttered this famous line to the captain of his flagship: “You can fire when ready, Gridley.”
Aquarius– Douglas MacArthur was an excellent offensive commander. His island-hopping strategy in the Pacific (1943-1945) saved lives by isolating the Japanese. MacArthur’s amphibious landing at Inchon drove the North Koreans back from the south. However, he should have dispersed his air force rather than let it be destroyed during the dark days after Pearl Harbor. His troops later underwent the Bataan Death March after surrendering. They would perhaps have been better served to have functioned as guerillas.
Pisces– Tammy Duckworth was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in Iraq who lost both legs and the partial use of her right arm when a RPG flew in, landed on her lap, and exploded. Even after losing her limbs, she wanted to return to her unit. Tammy now is a United States Senator from Illinois and has worked as an advocate for veterans.
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*SAC’s mainstay is the B-52 Bomber. It first flew in 1954 and is still in service. The latest model will be upgraded with Rolls Royce engines to increase its range. It has a maximum speed of 650 mph and a ceiling of 50,000 feet.
A mechanic told me that the air frames had to be x-rayed for cracks because of their age. Today they carry cruise missiles and are a standoff weapon. The missiles can be fired from a device that reminds me of a cylinder on a revolver.
General Harold B. “Buck” Adams, my brother-in-law, flew them in Viet Nam and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. A SAM once exploded near his wing.