Battle of Pittsburgh

The Battle of Pittsburgh lasted from the fall of 1942 to January of 1943. When Confederate troops riding the success of Operation Coalscuttle came into western Pennsylvania, they had high hopes. However the C.S. army's attack bogged down in Pittsburgh and both sides engaged in city warfare. C.S. troops under General George Patton were forced to fight from street to street as they slowly advanced. U.S. troops under General Irving Morrell defended their ground valiently and they made the Confederates pay a steep price for each piece of ground they took. With more and more Confederate soldiers tied down in Pittsburgh C.S. lines began to stretch thin elsewhere. The C.S. Army was relying on underarmed Mexican troops to defend their flanks. The Confederates were forced to pay for this blunder when U.S. barrels under General Morrell, swept around the Confederate's flank and surrounded the city, trapping the troops inside. Nathan Bedford Forrest III tried to convince C.S. president Jake Featherston to order the C.S. forces trapped inside the city to immediately attempt to escape, but Featherston would hear none of it, believing that the troops could be supplied by air. After Operation Rosebud it became apparent to the C.S. troops that they would not escape the city, but many still took up arms against the U.S. for some time, fighting for their country. Despite their efforts all C.S. troops in the city surrendered in January of 1943.