Foot cavalry was an

oxymoron An oxymoron (usual plural oxymorons, more rarely oxymora) is a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposing meanings within a word or phrase that creates an ostensible self-contradiction. An oxymoron can be used as a rhetorical dev ...

coined by the media to describe the rapid movements of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

troops serving under Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. Jackson's men marched on foot but they were able to cover long distances day after day to surprise the enemy.

Origin

Cavalry units during the Civil War practiced the so-called ''foot cavalry drills''. The media started to apply the phrase ''foot cavalry'' to Jackson's men starting from 1862. This was after Jackson's successful Shenandoah Valley campaign, in which Jackson usually surprised his Union opponents by completing much faster operational maneuvers. On July 26, 1862, ''

The Evening Star ''The Evening Star'' is a 1996 American comedy-drama film. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning 1983 film ''Terms of Endearment'' starring Shirley MacLaine, who reprises the role of Aurora Greenway, for which she won an Oscar in the origin ...

'' published the following, On September 10, 1862, '' The National Republican'' wrote,

In action

It was said of Jackson's foot cavalry, they take not what they cannot reach. To achieve the reputation for amazing speeds of marching (30 miles a day), Stonewall Jackson used a combination of great audacity, excellent knowledge and shrewd use of the terrain, added to the ability to inspire his troops to great feats of marching and fighting. His men endured forced marches and he used an intimate knowledge of the passes and railroad tunnels along the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

to move between the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region and the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Rid ...

with unanticipated rapidity, confounding his opponents in the Union leadership. Because his opponents learned early in the

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

that they could not accurately predict his location, Jackson and his "foot cavalry" are considered by many historians to have been a major factor in leadership failures of U.S.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and General George B. McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign. In fear of Jackson, Lincoln ordered extra troops held back from McClellan's expedition to protect

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

McClellan, whose actions were later seen as overcautious, was unnerved by Jackson's sudden appearance in front of him at the beginning of the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, comman ...

. In combination, these actions of Lincoln and McClellan contributed significantly to the failure of the main mission of the Peninsula Campaign, which was to capture the Confederate capital of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

in the summer of 1862. Richmond would not be captured until the last days of the war.

Recognition

On January 16, 1866 ''The Daily Phoenix'' (Columbia, S.C.) called the Jackson's foot cavalry "immortal." Indeed, contemporaries marveled at what Jackson's foot cavalry was capable of, Historian Robert K. Krick wrote, In honor of Jackson and his "foot cavalry" there is a 100-mile trail run in Fort Valley, Va with a division called "Stonewall Jackson Foot Cavalry Division".Stonewall Jackson Foot Cavalry Division
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References

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External links

Jackson's "Foot Cavalry" at Old Mill, Strasburg, Va., June 1, 1862
by Mort Künstler Confederate States Army Stonewall Jackson

Origin

In action

Recognition

See also

References

Further reading

External links