The Chickamauga Campaign: Glory or the Grave
The Breakthrough, Union Collapse, and the Retreat to Chattanooga, September 20–23, 1863
David A. Powell
- The
- second
- volume
- in
- a
- three-volume
- study
- of
- this
- overlooked
- and
- largely
- misunderstood
- campaign
- of
- the
- American
- Civil
- War.According
- to
- soldier
- rumor,
- Chickamauga
- in
- Cherokee
- meant
- “River
- of
- Death.”
- The
- name
- lived
- up
- to
- that
- grim
- sobriquet
- in
- September
- 1863
- when
- the
- Union
- Army
- of
- the
- Cumberland
- and
- Confederate
- Army
- of
- Tennessee
- waged
- a
- sprawling
- bloody
- combat
- along
- the
- banks
- of
- West
- Chickamauga
- Creek.
- This
- installment
- of
- Powell’s
- tour-de-force
- depicts
- the
- final
- day
- of
- battle,
- when
- the
- Confederate
- army
- attacked
- and
- broke
- through
- the
- Union
- lines,
- triggering
- a
- massive
- rout,
- an
- incredible
- defensive
- stand
- atop
- Snodgrass
- Hill,
- and
- a
- confused
- retreat
- and
- pursuit
- into
- Chattanooga.
- Powell
- presents
- all
- of
- this
- with
- clarity
- and
- precision
- by
- weaving
- nearly
- 2,000
- primary
- accounts
- with
- his
- own
- cogent
- analysis.
- The
- result
- is
- a
- rich
- and
- deep
- portrait
- of
- the
- fighting
- and
- command
- relationships
- on
- a
- scale
- never
- before
- attempted
- or
- accomplished.His
- upcoming
- third
- volume,
- Analysis
- of
- a
- Barren
- Victory,
- will
- conclude
- the
- set
- with
- careful
- insight
- into
- the
- fighting
- and
- its
- impact
- on
- the
- war,
- Powell’s
- detailed
- research
- into
- the
- strengths
- and
- losses
- of
- the
- two
- armies,
- and
- an
- exhaustive
- bibliography.Powell’s
- magnum
- opus,
- complete
- with
- original
- maps,
- photos,
- and
- illustrations,
- is
- the
- culmination
- of
- many
- years
- of
- research
- and
- study,
- coupled
- with
- a
- complete
- understanding
- of
- the
- battlefield’s
- complex
- terrain
- system.
- For
- any
- student
- of
- the
- Civil
- War
- in
- general,
- or
- the
- Western
- Theater
- in
- particular,
- Powell’s
- trilogy
- is
- a
- must-read.“Extremely
- readable,
- heavily
- researched,
- and
- mammoth
- in
- scope,
- Dave
- Powell’s
- Chickamauga
- study
- will
- prove
- to
- be
- the
- most
- detailed
- treatment
- of
- the
- battle
- to
- date.
- Civil
- War
- buffs
- and
- historians
- alike
- will
- want
- these
- books
- on
- their
- bookshelves.
- where
- they
- will
- take
- their
- rightful
- place
- beside
- Tucker
- and
- Cozzens
- as
- seminal
- volumes
- on
- the
- battle.”
- —Timothy
- B.
- Smith,
- author
- of
- Champion
- Hill
- and
- Corinth
- 1862“[Powell’s]
- latest
- monograph,
- The
- Chickamauga
- Campaign
- -
- Glory
- or
- the
- Grave
- .
- .
- .
- sets
- the
- standard
- for
- Civil
- War
- battle
- studies.
- .
- .
- .
- No
- one
- will
- ever
- look
- at
- Chickamauga
- the
- same
- way
- again.”
- —Lee
- White,
- Park
- Ranger,
- Chickamauga
- and
- Chattanooga
- National
- Military Park
