I concur. Wheeler's raids are prime examples of how not to interdict a line of communication (LOC). One must impose themselves on the LOC and interrupt the flow of supplies for a period of time by 1. getting the enemy's attention, and 2. make the interdiction relevant. He did not do this in either raid. If he had stayed in the Sequatchie Valley and had a coordinated effort with an infantry force from the Army of Tennessee then the Army of the Cumberland would have been destroyed in detail. Sherman did a fine job in anticipating and countering what courses of action the Confederates could do in 1864. Again, Wheeler did not physically impose or interdict the LOC and as a result little interruption was accomplished.

Both raids looked sexy in the papers and on the map but accomplished little beyond that. The cavalry force would have accomplished more if it had worked in a more coordinated tactical effort with the Army of Tennessee.

Respectfully,

Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
M.A. Military History - Civil War Concentration