Mountains Touched with Fire: Chattanooga Besieged, 1863

by Wiley Sword

Overview

"[A] dramatic and vividly detailed narrative chronicles one of the pivotal episodes of the Civil War . . . Majestic military history." —Booklist
 
It was one of the most startling events of the Civil War, the "hour of destiny" for the Union. Faced with the prospect of catastrophic defeat, the North's greatest generals—Ulysses Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, George Thomas, and Phil Sheridan—were commanding a battle for the besieged city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Suddenly, as an aghast Grant and Thomas watched, the beleaguered federal troops began a headlong, climactic, seemingly suicidal charge up the face of a six-hundred-foot-high mountain ridge overlooking the city, under ferocious fire from the Confederate infantry that held the ridge.
 
The siege of Chattanooga and its stuffing turnabout form the core of Wiley Sword's lively narrative. Dozens of previously unpublished photographs, maps, and excepts from private journals, and letters enhance this vivid account. Written with novelistic flair and a historian's authority, Mountains Touched with Fire captures every side of this crucial Civil War battle whose aftermath sealed the fate of the South.
 
"Masterfully describing one of the truly decisive events of the Civil War . . . Mountains Touched with Fire combines the furious battle action with behind-the-scenes political maneuvering and astute historical analysis." —Nashville Banner
 
"A significant contribution to Civil War battle history." —Publishers Weekly
 
"A well-told tale of the fascinating events." —John Wilson, Chattanooga New Free Press
 
"Interesting, entertaining, and informative . . . An excellent storyteller with a good story to tell." —Steve Woodworth, Blue & Gra

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466806191
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Publication date:	03/26/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	430
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Wiley Sword's previous book Embrace an Angry Wind won the Fletcher Pratt Prize for the best book of Civil War History. His book President Washington's War was nominated for the Pulitzer, Parkman, Bancroft, and Western Heritage prizes. He lives in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville (1992), which won the Fletcher Pratt Award for best work of nonfiction about the Civil War, Mountains Touched with Fire: Chattanooga Besieged, 1863 (1995), and Southern Invincibility: A History of the Confederate Heart (1999). President Washington’s Indian War: The Struggle for the Old Northwest, 1790–1795 (1985) was nominated for the Pulitzer, Parkman, Bancroft, and Western Heritage Prizes. In 2015, Sword’s collection of more than one thousand soldiers’ letters and other artifacts was acquired by the Pamplin Historical Park and National Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Petersburg, Virginia. 
 

Editorial Reviews

Sword's dramatic and vividly detailed narrative chronicles one of the pivotal episodes of the Civil War. In 1863, capitalizing on military triumphs at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the Union set its sights on Chattanooga, Tennessee, a strategic Confederate stronghold considered to be the gateway to Georgia and the Deep South. Though initially victorious, the Union troops were defeated along the banks of Chickamauga Creek and retreated to Chattanooga proper. Surrounded and besieged by Confederates and prompted by a series of bizarre and ironic circumstances, miscommunications, and mishaps, the Federals launched a seemingly suicidal offensive, handing the South a stunning, unexpected defeat and effectively sealing the outcome of the Civil War. The generals, the men, and the actual fighting are each analyzed in turn in this comprehensive examination of a decisive campaign. Majestic military history.

Margaret Flanagan

An account of the Union charge at Chattanooga ridge, the events leading up to it, and the aftermath that helped seal the fate of the Confederacy. The narrative combines battle action with details of the political maneuvering which involved key figures including Generals Grant, Lee, and Bragg, Jefferson Davis, and Abraham Lincoln, and draws on diaries, letters, and other unpublished material. Contains b&w photos, appendices of the Chattanooga Campaign's order of battle, and a chronology of the campaign. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

A significant contribution to Civil War battle history.” —Publishers Weekly

“A well-told tale of the fascinating events.” —John Wilson, Chattanooga New Free Press

“Masterfully describing one of the truly decisive events of the Civil War...Mountains Touched with Fire combines the furious battle action with behind-the-scenes political maneuvering and astute historical analysis.” —Nashville Banner

“Interesting, entertaining, and informative...An excellent storyteller with a good story to tell.” —Steve Woodworth, Blue & Gray

From the Publisher