"Whipped by the Rebels " first hand account of the battle of Brice's Crossroads, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest's most strategic and crushing victory that is still studied by military officers to this day . Even the famous German Gen Erwin Rommel was a student of this battle. This letter is written by a Sergeant in the 2nd New Jersey Cavalry, in which this regiment did not fare so well. Written to his mother, he claims the Rebels had a numerical advantage of 2 to 1 . In reality the Confederates were greatly outnumbered. This letter let's us know that Gen Forrest plan of deceiving the Yankees, worked. This battle is where Forrest's famous quote came from. " "Git there the firstest with the mostest" . This letter was written by Sergeant Thomas B Alston of company F 2nd New Jersey Cavalry. He was writing to his mother after they were pushed by the Rebels 90 miles back to Memphis TN. Please pull up the history of Brice's Crossroads to appreciate the magnitude of this victory and the numbers engaged on both sides. It was embarrassing for Union General Sturgis, to say the least . I have transcribed the letter into type for easier reading. Sergeant Thomas B Alston survived this encounter, but was killed shortly after in December of 1864 at The fight at Egypt Station, Mississippi. This was part of the famous Griersons Raid from Lagrange TN to Baton Rouge, LA. This letter is jam-packed full of very important Civil War History from a personal standpoint. This letter is one of my favorites . Will be awesome for someone else to enjoy.

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