First published 1980
The winter of 1862 brings brutal cold and brutal combat to middle Tennessee. Confederate General Braxton Bragg leads his Army of Tennessee in a desperate gamble to reclaim Nashville and drive Union forces from the state. Union General William Rosecrans commands the Army of the Cumberland, determined to hold his ground despite political pressure from Washington. The two armies collide at Stones River near Murfreesboro on New Year's Eve. Soldiers on both sides endure freezing rain, inadequate supplies, and the chaos of battle as commanders make decisions that will determine whether Tennessee remains in Union hands. The three-day engagement tests the resolve of green recruits and veteran officers alike, while the strategic outcome hangs in the balance through multiple failed assaults and desperate defensive stands.
Genres: american-civil-war, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction, military-history, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: military, war
Setting: Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Stones River, Tennessee
Period: 1862, New Year's Eve
271 pages · Hardcover · Univ of Tennessee Pr