"The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

[lambrew]

In getting ready for the Franklin living history in November I am reading "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah" by Wiley Sword. So far so good. I was wondering if anyone has read this book, and what are your thoughts? Any suggested reading for this topic?

[Hairy Nation Boys]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

I enjoyed that book. You HAVE to read Baptism of Fire by Eric Jacobs. The book is about three Union regiments one of which is the 44th Missouri. Buy it from the Franklin Battlefield website so that a portion of the purchase goes back to Franklin. I had a nice conversation with the author over a year ago about the 44th.
Holler

[Jubilo]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

Dear Sir,
According to this recent book by Stephen Hood, Sword maligns "The Gallant Hood," without historical verification.

http://www.amazon.com/John-Bell-Hood-Resurrection-Confederate/dp/1611211409

all for the old flag,
David Corbett

[georgiahokie]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

Winton Groom's "Shrouds of Glory" is good introduction to the entire campaign and provides some good insights into what Hood's thinking was when embarked on his offensive.

Mike Randolph
17th NYV
38th Ga. Inf.
First Independent Brigade

[coastaltrash]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

Jacobson's book "For Cause and For Country" is a much better book than Wiley Sword's in my opinion. Removes a lot of personal opinion sword blasted without any documentation (like Hood being a drug addict)

[john duffer]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

A fairly recent entry I'd recommend is "Twenty-five Hours To Tragedy, The Battle of Spring Hill and Operations on November 29, 1864, Precursor to the Battle of Franklin" by Jamie Gillum. Yon have to understand Spring Hill to understand Franklin. .

[Coatsy]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

I also endorse Eric Jacobson's book "For Cause and For Country". There are a LOT of great first hand accounts to support Jacobson's narrative of the battle.


Sword's book is super biased.

[coastaltrash]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

I just picked up Jamie's reprint last night as a matter of fact. HIGHLY recommend it.

[Phil McBride]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

I've read Wiley. Sword's book, The Confederacy's Last Hurrah, and found it very "reader-friendly." I have to agree that the author is not a fan of General Hood, but Sam Hood's new book about his ancestor also has a questionable bias. Regardless of the negative slant toward Hood's generalship, I enjoyed Sword's writing style, the detailed information, anecdotes, and maps.

In fact, I used it extensively a primary guide about the Spring Hill and Franklin battles while writing Whittled Away, my novel about the Sixth Texas Infantry. Since Granbury's Texas Brigade in Cleburne's Division was smack in the middle of the attack, the battle is the novel's climax. Without Sword's book, I would have had a much harder time taking my characters into and through that maelstrom. (Well, some of the characters made it through.)

It's easy to recommend The Confederacy's Last Hurrah as a good read about the battle at Franklin.

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

Would love to see Eric Jacobson write a book on the Battle of Nashville!

Kevin Dally

[hardeeflag]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

Many years ago when getting my BA I did my senior paper on the battle of Franklin. I used a lot of primary resource material and memoirs. I can scan the bibliography when i get home next week. Much of it may be more readily available now online than it was 20 years ago.

In my research on Hood, as a brigade commander he could carry out an order to assault the enemy without parallel. But at the division level he was pushing his abilities and anything beyond that he was well out of his league. Also taking into account the trauma or as we call PTSD today after a damaged arm and eve worse the incredible pain of having a leg removed near the hip would have countered any real natural talent that officer could employ in the field. Not to mention the fact the constant affects of laudnum.

Two readings but can't recall the titles of one in particular (I believe by Cheatham) reveal the confusion Hood was under during the Spring Hill engagement. Another was the description of Hood well after the Campaign of the haunted countenance of Hood at a social engagement in Mary Chestnut's diary.

[hardeeflag]

Re: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah"

Many years ago when getting my BA I did my senior paper on the battle of Franklin. I used a lot of primary resource material and memoirs. I can scan the bibliography when i get home next week. Much of it may be more readily available now online than it was 20 years ago.

In my research on Hood, as a brigade commander he could carry out an order to assault the enemy without parallel. But at the division level he was pushing his abilities and anything beyond that he was well out of his league. Also taking into account the trauma or as we call PTSD today after a damaged arm and eve worse the incredible pain of having a leg removed near the hip would have countered any real natural talent that officer could employ in the field. Not to mention the fact the constant affects of laudnum.

Two readings but can't recall the titles of one in particular (I believe by Cheatham) reveal the confusion Hood was under during the Spring Hill engagement. Another was the description of Hood well after the Campaign of the haunted countenance of Hood at a social engagement in Mary Chestnut's diary.

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