Banners to the Breeze: The Kentucky Campaign, Corinth, and Stones River
-
A Volume in the Great Campaigns
of the Civil War Series
To order, go to:
http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803232716/
"Without
a doubt, Earl J. Hess’s Banners to
the Breeze is one of the finest Civil War
campaign histories ever written. Hess has the
uncanny ability to meld the
complexities of
politics (domestic and international), extended
campaign logistics, public sentiment,
commanders’ squabbles, and tactics into a
thoughtful and readable history....Perhaps the
most enjoyable aspect of this book is the
author’s ability to tell a good story and to write
it clearly." -- Roger C. Adams, in
Indiana Magazine of History
"[The]
narrative of the Kentucky Campaign through Corinth, and on to Stones River, is
exceptional history. Hess's eye for detail in military movements, combined with
his command over Kentucky's diverse geography and its role in Bragg's invasion,
produces impressive results. The strength of the work is in the treatment of
major battles." -- Brian D. McKnight, Mississippi State University
"In
Banners to the Breeze, Hess, noted author of The Union Soldier in Battle,
offers an insightful and exciting-yet succinct-account of Bragg’s invasion of
Kentucky and the battles of Corinth and Stones River....Hess also knows that a
good story is essential to good history. His battle narratives are exciting,
with enough detail to satisfy enthusiasts who like their battle accounts taken
to the regimental level." -- R.
Steven Jones, author of The Right Hand of Command
Banners to the Breeze
analyzes three major Civil War campaigns that were launched after a series of
devastating Confederate defeats at the hands of Ulysses S. Grant in the spring
of 1862. After securing Chattanooga, Confederate armies under Braxton Bragg and
Edmund Kirby Smith conducted an advance into the deeply divided state
of Kentucky. Although initially successful at Richmond and Munfordville, the
Kentucky campaign was turned back by Don Carlos Buell at the bloody battle of
Perryville on October 8. Bragg retreated to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he
defended the vital railroad leading to Chattanooga and the heart of the
Confederacy.
Meanwhile, other Confederate
forces under Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn attempted to recapture Corinth,
Mississippi. They were repulsed by William S. Rosecrans in a costly battle on
October 3-4, which paved the way for the start of Grant’s first campaign against
Vicksburg the next month.
As the year drew to a close,
Rosecrans, now leading Buell’s army, advanced from Nashville to Murfreesboro.
Here, on December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863, the two armies fought one of
the costliest battles of the war near Stones River. Bragg was forced to retreat
farther toward Chattanooga, and Lincoln was given a desperately needed
battlefield victory to counterbalance the fiasco at Fredericksburg two weeks
before.
Earl J. Hess mixes dramatic
narrative and new analysis as he brings these campaigns together in a single
volume. Banners to the Breeze offers the reader insights into geography,
logistics, personalities, combat, and the connections between what was happening
in the field and the political developments at home on both sides of the war.
The volume is graced with previously unpublished historic photographs of the
Corinth battlefield.
Published
By:
University of Nebraska Press
233 North
8th Street
Lincoln, NE 68588-0255
1-800-755-1105
Full List of Books
by Dr. Earl J. Hess
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