Hatchie River, sustaining further losses. Van
Dorn consequently endured a court of inquiry
regarding charges of drunkenness; he was ex-
onerated but then summarily relieved of
command. His capricious reputation for mar-
ital infidelity was also a growing cause for
concern.
Despite these displays of tactical inepti-
tude, Van Dorn still enjoyed the confidence of
President Davis and was retained in the ser-
vice. He received command of the strategic
city of Vicksburg, astride the Mississippi River,
and repulsed several attempts by Adm. David
G. Farragut’s Union gunboats to subdue it. In
November 1863, he was replaced by Gen.
John C. Pembertonand reassigned to a cav-
alry command. An excellent trooper and
small-unit commander, Van Dorn was finally
back in his element. On December 20, 1862, he
performed with tactical brilliance, defeating
substantially larger Union forces at Holly
Springs, Mississippi, and capturing a strategic
Union supply base. This loss proved so serious
that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant postponed his im-
pending advance upon Vicksburg by several
months. The following spring Van Dorn fought
a capable delaying action at Thompson’s Sta-
tion, Tennessee, holding a frontal position
while directing Col. Nathan Bedford For-
restto sweep around the Union rear. Nearly
1,000 prisoners were taken with little loss, and
the victory confirmed Van Dorn’s reputation as
one of the South’s best cavalry leaders. His fu-
ture commanding mounted troops in this deci-
sive theater seemed assured.
However, Van Dorn’s military career came
to a calamitous and tragic end in May 1863.
This handsome, strutting cavalier had ac-
quired a well-earned reputation as a ladies’
man, notorious for illicit affairs with married
women. In the chivalrous-minded South,
such advances carried serious consequences.
On May 7, 1863, one cuckolded husband, Dr.
George B. Peters, calmly entered Van Dorn’s
tent and shot him dead. Peters was subse-
quently acquitted of murder for defending his
family honor and released. Unfortunately,
Van Dorn’s long-standing indiscretions de-
prived the Confederacy of an important
leader—and at a critical juncture of the
Vicksburg campaign.See also
Davis, Jefferson; Forrest, Nathan BedfordBibliography
Anderson, William M. “The Union Side of Thompson’s
Station.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 19
(1970–1971): 396–406; Carter, Arthur B.The Tar-
nished Cavalier: Major General Earl Van Dorn,
C.S.A.Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press,
1999; Castle, Albert E. “Earl Van Dorn: A Personality
Profile.” Civil War Times Illustrated6, no. 1 (1967):
38–42; Cozzens, Peter. The Darkest Days of the War:
Iuka and Corinth.Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1997; Havens, Thomas R. Beyond the
Cimarron: Major Earl Van Dorn in Comanche
Land.Brownwood, TX: Brown Press, 1968; Hess,
Earl J. Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
1992; Lowe, Richard. “Van Dorn’s Raid on Holly
Springs, December, 1862.”Journal of Mississippi
History61 (1999): 59–71; McGinty, Brian. “Unwept,
Unhonored, Unsung.” Civil War Times Illustrated
21, no. 6 (1982): 38–45; Winschel, Terrence J. “Earl
Van Dorn: From West Point to Mexico.” Journal of
Mississippi History62, no. 3 (2000): 179–197.VANDORN, EARL