First published 1994
In February 1862, Confederate forces retreat into northern Alabama after losing Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. General Braxton Bragg, newly promoted by Jefferson Davis despite his controversial reputation, devises an audacious plan to reverse Southern fortunes. He will sweep his army eastward to Chattanooga, then northwest through Middle Tennessee, with the ultimate prize being Kentucky itself. Success would transform the entire character of the war. Bragg's forces march across Tennessee and launch a two-pronged assault into the Bluegrass State. Meanwhile, Union commanders scramble to counter this unexpected threat while pursuing their own failed offensive through Alabama toward Chattanooga. The campaign erupts into fierce battles at Richmond, Munfordville, and finally Perryville, where the Confederate dream of controlling Kentucky meets its end. McDonough brings this pivotal Western Theater campaign to life through the voices of soldiers and officers who lived it, drawing from their diaries, letters, and personal accounts to show how close the Confederacy came to achieving a victory that might have changed everything.
Genres: american-civil-war, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction, military-history, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-drama, military-strategy
Setting: Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Bluegrass State, Richmond, Munfordville, Perryville
Period: February 1862
386 pages · Hardcover · University of Tennessee Press