Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the West

by Steven E. Woodworth

Overview

The verdict is in: the Civil War was won in the "West"--that is, in the nation's heartland, between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Yet, a person who follows the literature on the war might still think that it was the conflict in Virginia that ultimately decided the outcome. Each year sees the appearance of new books aimed at the popular market that simply assume that it was in the East, often at Gettysburg, that the decisive clashes of war the took place. For decades, serious historians of the Civil War have completed one careful study after another, nearly all tending to indicate the pivotal importance of what people during the war referred to as "the West." In this fast paced overview, Woodworth presents his case for the decisiveness of the theater.

Overwhelming evidence now indicates that it was battles like Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Chattanooga, and Atlanta that sealed the fate of the Confederacy-not the nearly legendary clashes at Bull Run or Chancellorsville or the mythical "high-water mark" at Gettysburg. The western campaigns cost the Confederacy vast territories, the manufacturing center of Nashville, the financial center of New Orleans, communications hubs such as Corinth, Chattanooga, and Atlanta, along with the agricultural produce of the breadbasket of the Confederacy. They sapped the morale of Confederates and buoyed the spirits of Unionists, ultimately sealing the northern electorate's decision to return Lincoln to the presidency for a second term and thus to see the war through to final victory. Detailing the "Western" clashes that proved so significant, Woodworth contends that it was there alone that the Civil War could be--and was--decided.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313053917
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/30/2008
Series:	Reflections on the Civil War Era Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Steven E. Woodworth is professor of history at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He received his PhD in history from Rice University in 1987 and has taught at colleges in Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia. He has authored, co-authored, or compiled twenty-six books, including Nothing but Victory, While God is Marching On, and Jefferson Davis and His Generals.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword     vii
Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction     xi
Forts Henry and Donelson     1
The Confederacy Strikes Back     19
The Presidents Take a Hand     41
From Deadlock to Decision     55
From Tullahoma to Missionary Ridge     69
Winter Interlude, 1864     95
The Atlanta Campaign     103
To Durham Station     123
Notes     139
Bibliographical Essay     155
Index     159

Editorial Reviews

In Decision in the Heartland Woodworth presents with precision and clarity a comprehensive overview of the war in the West. Penned with a unique level of intimacy and a highly focused perspective based on years of tenacious, painstaking, and thorough research and analysis, the book weaves a captivating narrative and is a delightfully good read.” —The Journal of American History

From the Publisher

“Woodworth presents with precision and clarity a comprehensive overview of the war in the West. Penned with a unique level of intimacy and a highly focused perspective based on years of tenacious, painstaking, and thorough research and analysis, the book weaves a captivating narrative and is a delightfully good read.”—Journal of American History

Journal of American History

“The Army of the Potomac, Steven Woodworth claims, ‘faced futility,’ but Union armies in the West were able to take advantage of more fruitful opportunities. ‘The decision would come in the heartland.’ This enjoyable, brief work pursues this theme stylishly, and presents accessible accounts of the western campaigns.”—Brian Holden Reid, War in History

War in History - Brian Holden Reid

"Steven Woodworth has written an excellent, succinct, and well-reasoned analysis of the Civil War in the western theater and its decisive importance to overall Union victory."—Timothy Story, Army History

Army History - Timothy Story

“Woodworth does his usual excellent job of examining the conflicts among commanders and the politics of war that infiltrated the western theater much more so than the eastern. . . . [Decision in the Heartland] would be an excellent addition to syllabi in higher education classrooms, especially those in the East.”—Michael B. Ballard, Journal of Southern History

Journal of Southern History - Michael B. Ballard

“Woodworth’s account is accessible and fast-paced, and the maps and period photographs are both useful and interesting.”—Reference & Research Book News

Reference & Research Book News

“Civil War historiography has been dominated by Eastern theater historians, generals and battles ever since the war ended. Fortunately, there has been a rethinking of such one sided bias in the past few decades. There is no more important historian in this revisionist movement than Steven E. Woodworth. . . . Woodworth should be thanked for focusing on such an important topic.”—Timothy B. Smith, Civil War Times

Civil War Times - Timothy B. Smith

“Civil War historiography has been dominated by Eastern theater historians, generals and battles ever since the war ended. Fortunately, there has been a rethinking of such one sided bias in the past few decades. There is no more important historian in this revisionist movement than Steven E. Woodworth. . . . Woodworth should be thanked for focusing on such an important topic.”—Timothy B. Smith, Civil War Times

— Timothy B. Smith

Civil War Times

“The Army of the Potomac, Steven Woodworth claims, ‘faced futility,’ but Union armies in the West were able to take advantage of more fruitful opportunities. ‘The decision would come in the heartland.’ This enjoyable, brief work pursues this theme stylishly, and presents accessible accounts of the western campaigns.”—Brian Holden Reid, War in History

— Brian Holden Reid

War in History

“Woodworth does his usual excellent job of examining the conflicts among commanders and the politics of war that infiltrated the western theater much more so than the eastern. . . . [Decision in the Heartland] would be an excellent addition to syllabi in higher education classrooms, especially those in the East.”—Michael B. Ballard, Journal of Southern History

— Michael B. Ballard

Journal of Southern History