Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston

by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr.

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:	9780807862162
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	11/09/2000
Series:	Civil War America
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
Lexile:	1300L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB

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