The Forgotten Trail to Appomattox: Hidden Civil War Sites and Destinations Across America

by Randy Mr Denmon

Overview

Of the forty-five Civil War Battles that the National Park Service lists as “Decisive,” only about half have been preserved by the Park Service, and include such sacred places as Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg, Manassas, Antietam, Spotsylvania, and Shiloh.

Many of the other battles, no less important, weren’t so lucky. Some of these other places have been lost to time or neglect or urbanization, but just as many have been preserved by states, local governments, or preservation organizations.

These are the battlefields, along with other landmarks, that Randy Denmon explores in The Forgotten Trail to Appomattox. It is part military history, part travelogue, and part personal insight, in the spirt of Bill Bryson’s books, such as A Walk in the Woods: it is both informative and entertaining.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493033515
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2018
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Randy Denmon has published four novels set in the American West, including Lords of an Empty Land, a Civil War novel that won the Western Writers of America Spur Award. He has also published a book of narrative non-fiction, Off the Grid, about his travels in Latin America in an electric car. His books have also won the Faulkner - Wisdom Award and been a finalist for the Ben Franklin Award. Randy is a Gulf War veteran, a Civil War buff, and a life-long resident of Louisiana. When not writing, Randy is a practicing Civil Engineer. He lives in Monroe, LA.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Discovery! My Journey Begins, Port Hudson, Louisiana 3

Chapter 2 When Lincoln Wept, Ball's Bluff, Virginia 14

Chapter 3 Stymied by a Goat, Pensacola, Florida 21

Chapter 4 "Say Nothing About it. We're in for it," Kernstown, Virginia 28

Chapter 5 The Night the War Was Lost, New Orleans, Louisiana 36

Chapter 6 Lee Takes Command, Malvern Hill, Virginia 47

Chapter 7 "I Must Have Kentucky," Richmond, Kentucky 54

Chapter 8 To Die in the Mud, Chantilly, Virginia 62

Chapter 9 "Damn My Soul to Hell," Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 68

Chapter 10 "I Will Send You Trophies," South Mountain, Maryland 76

Chapter 11 "Yes, I Fear All," Shepherdstown, West Virginia 86

Chapter 12 "Death Came in a Hundred Shapes," Corinth, Mississippi 92

Chapter 13 "To Lose Kentucky is to Lose the Whole Game," Perryville, Kentucky 101

Chapter 14 "I Want the Glory," Helena, Arkansas 110

Chapter 15 "Bury These Poor Men and Let Us Say No More About it," Bristoe Station, Virginia 118

Chapter 16 "Fighting Means Killing," Fort Pillow, Tennessee 123

Chapter 17 "And May God Forgive Me for the Order," New Market, Virginia 129

Chapter 18 The Perfect Battle, Brice's Crossroads, Mississippi 137

Chapter 19 "Get Down, You Damn Fool," Washington, DC 144

Chapter 20 "Kill Every Son-of-a-Bitch," Winchester, Virginia 150

Chapter 21 The Lost Battle, Mine Creek, Kansas 163

Chapter 22 "Let Us Die Like Men," Franklin, Tennessee 171

Chapter 23 "You and Your Garrison Are to Be Sacrificed!" Fort Fisher, North Carolina 182

Chapter 24 The Last Grand Charge, Bentonville, North Carolina 191

Chapter 25 "The Confederacy Goes Up," The Breakthrough, Petersburg, Virginia 200

Chapter 26 "My God, Has the Army Dissolved?" Sailor's Creek, Virginia 205

Chapter 27 The Last Battle, Fort Blakeley, Alabama 213

Chapter 28 "One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End," The Red River Campaign, Louisiana and Arkansas 221

Chapter 29 I Found the Trophies, The Navy Yard, Washington, DC 234

Chapter 30 Let Us Have Peace, New York City, New York 237

Index 245