Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Jouhnston

by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes

Overview

The battle of Bentonville, the only major Civil War battle fought in North Carolina, was the Confederacy's last attempt to stop the devastating march of William Tecumseh Sherman's army north through the Carolinas. Despite their numerical disadvantage, General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate forces successfully ambushed one wing of Sherman's army on March 19, 1865 but were soon repulsed. For the Confederates, it was a heroic but futile effort to delay the inevitable: within a month, both Richmond and Raleigh had fallen, and Lee had surrendered.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807857847
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	08/07/2006
Series:	Civil War America
Edition description:	1
Pages:	360
Sales rank:	710,406
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	1300L (what's this?)

About the Author

Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr. is author, coauthor, or editor of many books, including The Battle of Belmont: Grant Strikes South and The Life and Wars of Gideon J. Pillow (both from the University of North Carolina Press). He lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface
Chapter 1. Sherman's Web Footted Boys in Blew
Chapter 2. Glorious Old Joe
Chapter 3. Playing a Bluff
Chapter 4. A Grand Sight to See
Chapter 5. All the Amusement We Want
Chapter 6. The Battle of "Acorn Run"
Chapter 7. We'll Whip 'Em Yet!
Chapter 8. If the Lord Will Only See Me Safe Through
Chapter 9. This Afflicted and Troublesome Day
Chapter 10. A Regular Indian Fight
Chapter 11. Shoulder-to-Shoulder and Then Back-to-Back
Chapter 12. Nip and Tuck
Chapter 13. Sherman's Star
Chapter 14. The Angel of the Covenant Whispered to Our Commander
Appendix 1. Organization of Forces at the Battle of Bentonville
Appendix 2. Beyond Bentonville
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Maps

1 Vicinity of Bentonville
2 Carlin's Attack
3 2:30P.M., March 19
4 Johnston Attacks
5 Fearing's Counterattack
6 Hardee's Night Attacks
7 Vicinity of Falling Creek
8 March 20
9 Mower Punctures Johnston's Left

Illustrations

Henry Warner Slocum
Sherman and his generals
Joseph Eggleston Johnston
Braxton Bragg
John C. Fiser
William Passmore Carlin
Williams and his generals
David Miles
George Pearson Buell
Harrison C. Hobart
James Dada Morgan
John Grant Mitchell
William Vandever
Benjamin Dana Fearing
Ward and his generals
Joseph Benjamin Palmer
Daniel Harvey Hill
Lafayette McLaws
William Booth Taliaferro
William Brimage Bate
Robert Frederick Hoke
Mower's charge against the Confederate left
William Joseph Hardee

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Bentonville is a well-paced, readable book that places the engagement within the context of the Carolinas Campaign. The author's extensive footnotes and bibliography evince years of dedicated research on the topic and the maps are models of clarity. . . . . This book helps rectify that long neglect of campaigns and battles of the western theater.—Journal of Southwest Georgia History



Hughes's narrative, . . . reviewing the leadership of Johnston and Sherman and the conduct of their subordinates, is a model of its kind.—Journal of American History



Well researched and ably written. . . . Advanced pupils will certainly learn much from this book.—KLIATT



One of the best accounts yet of this vicious fight.—Civil War



A well-written, comprehensive account of the last gasp of Johnston's army.—Historian



The definitive work on the battle of Bentonville.—Journal of Southern History



Using a rich array of archival and published sources, Hughes presents a detailed tactical study of one of the last major Civil War confrontations. . . . With lively prose and judicious interpretations, Hughes captures the reader's attention and maintains a high level of action and suspense throughout. He focuses on the exact movements of the military units and on the success and failures of officers throughout the ebb and flow of the conflict. Intimately familiar with the terrain of the battlefield and the backgrounds of the key players, the author brings alive the smaller human interest stories in the struggle of brother against brother. A lively and authoritative account for all adult readers." —Choice



Hughes's excellent battle monograph is oriented toward the scholarly reader but accessible to the general one.—Booklist



Employing all of the talents of a good historian—prodigious research, judicious interpretations, and a well-crafted narrative, Hughes has produced a book that contains surprises as well as explanations.—Richmond Times-Dispatch



The best-researched and best-written account to date of one of the Civil War's most neglected battles.—W. T. Jordan, editor, North Carolina Troops

Editorial Reviews

"Well researched and ably written. . . . Advanced pupils will certainly learn much from this book."
-- "KLIATT"

""Bentonville" is a well-paced, readable book. . . .The author's extensive footnotes and bibliography evince years of dedicated research.

"Journal of Southwest Georgia History""

"[A] well-paced, readable book that places the engagement within the context of the Carolinas Campaign.

"Journal of Southwest Georgia History""

"A well-written, comprehensive account of the last gasp of Johnston's army.

"Historian""

"Hughes's narrative, . . . reviewing the leadership of Johnston and Sherman and the conduct of their subordinates, is a model of its kind.

"Journal of American History""

One of the best accounts yet of this vicious fight.

"Civil War"

From the Publisher