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This is a Civil War film set in Mississippi. The last time I checked a map, Mississippi was in the deep South, not the West. This is not a Western, it is a Civil War film. Just because John Ford is the director and John Wayne is the lead actor does not mean the film is magically divined into the Western genre. If this were true, then all of John Wayne's WWII films should be classed as Westerns. StudierMalMarburg (talk) 15:50, 22 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Benjamin Henry Grierson
Since "The Horse Soldiers" is loosely based on Grierson's Raid I thought I'd provide some further historical adenda and Wiki editors can use it as they see fit. My info comes from "The Book of War" by Dwight Jon Zimmerman, 2008, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., pgs. 256-257 (there's a picture of Grierson with a beard, looking nothing like John Wayne). Grierson, a cavalry commander, actually didn't like horses--he was almost killed by one when he was 8 years old when it kicked him. When the Civil war started he volunteered, later joining the 6th Illinois cavalry where he was promoted to major, then in April of 1862 he was promoted to colonel. His service in the war was in the West with the Army of the Tennessee and later with the Army of the Mississippi. During the Vicksburg campaign General Grant ordered Grierson to create a diversion so Grant could cross the Mississippi south of Vicksburg. Grierson left La Grange, Tennessee on April 17, 1863, with 1,700 men and headed south. The raid lasted until May 2, during which time he and his men traveled as much as 800 miles (accounts vary), destroying large amounts of military property, disabling two railroads, skirmishing with Confederates and taking prisoners and horses. The raid concluded at the Union stronghold at Baton Rouge and was so successful that Grant crossed the river virtually without opposition. Grant later said that Grierson's Raid was "one of the most brilliant cavalry exploits of the war". The two consecutive Union victories at Gettysburg on July 3 and Vicksburg on July 4 were tremendous morale boosters for the North. Colonel Grierson received three brevets on Feb. 10, 1865: Major General, U.S. Volunteers; Brigadier General U.S. Army (for Grierson's Raid); Major General U.S. Army (for raids conducted in 1864). Grierson remained in the army after the war as a colonel and retired in 1890 with the rank of brigadier general. He died in 1911.****By the way, what is the actual scene in the movie in which the stuntman died? One hears about people dying in movies (as urban legends), but someone actually died in "The Horse Soldiers" and they left it in? One would think they might excise such scenes, lest morbid curiousity prevail, but it's an interesting subject. Does Wikipedia have a site about all the people who died in movies? Movies are interesting but they're not worth dying for. 64.163.110.8 (talk) 20:25, 27 April 2010 (UTC)Sgt. Rock[reply]
