Scottsdale CWRT

Tuesday, May 17, 2016
6:40 pm - 8:45 pm

“No army in history moved without a secure line of supplies especially if it moved into enemy territory. If an army got cut off from its supplies then calamity usually followed often ending in defeat and/or destruction. When William T. Sherman set his sights on Atlanta he prepared for the supplying of his army in a manner that surpassed every other Civil War general. Rebuilding railroads and confiscating locomotives and cars to haul supplies, Sherman set a daily goal for shipments to his forward base in Chattanooga. Ruthless in making sure that only supplies got on the cars, Sherman also had to worry about protecting the line of rails that ran back to Louisville, Kentucky from Confederate raiders. Building on a system begun by William S. Rosecrans, Sherman's engineers built forts and blockhouses and prepared pre-fabricated trestles for replacing those brought down by Confederate raiders. While his preparations were masterful and thorough, they were not without some flaws. This program will examine the nuts and bolts of these logistics and cover the errors that were also made. In the end, his supply line performed as expected and Atlanta was captured. This set the stage for two more campaigns that Sherman would undertake before the war ended in April 1865.”

Born in Elmhurst, IL (Chicago suburb); Greg attended college at the University of Tampa in Florida and Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. He has lived in numerous states over the years as well as overseas in Lima, Peru. Owner of two businesses; one in the music industry and the other a Civil War research firm that includes his work on Civil War flags. While contributing to several books on flags as well as published articles on the topic in North-South Trader, Sons of Confederate Veterans publications, the Flags of the Confederacy web site ( www.confederate-flags.org), he has also published Civil War items in Blue & Gray magazine, Hallowed Ground (Civil War Trust publication), Civil War Regiments, an essay on Union cavalry in the Tullahoma Campaign in a recent book and the Battle of Franklin Trust magazine. Biggs is currently working on projects including the 83rd Illinois Infantry in Middle Tennessee, Hood's logistics in the Tennessee Campaign and some flags items.

President of the Clarksville, Tennessee Civil War Round Table and an officer of the Nashville and Bowling Green, Kentucky CWRT’s doing programs, he is also a member of the Company of Military Historians, the Clarksville Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, lead historian for the Clarksville Fort Defiance Interpretive Center, former Associate Editor of Blue & Gray magazine and past president of the Friends of Fort Donelson Campaign.

He also leads Civil War tours of the Tullahoma Campaign, Fort Donelson Campaign, Atlanta Campaign, and the Where The River War Began (Cairo, IL and vicinity plus Columbus/Battle of Belmont and Paducah, Kentucky), for CWRTs, tour groups, individuals and the US Army.

Married to Karel Lea Biggs and we have four cats with Civil War names.