In the spring of 1862; there was no more important place in the western Confederacy—perhaps in all the South—than the tiny town of Corinth; Mississippi.Major General Henry W. Halleck; commander of Union forces in the Western Theater; reported to Washington that “Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of war; and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards.†In the same vein; Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard declared to Richmond that “If defeated at Corinth; we lose the Mississippi Valley and probably our cause.†Those were odd sentiments concerning a town scarcely a decade old. By this time; however; it sat at the junction of the South’s two most important rail lines and had become a major strategic locale. Despite its significance; Corinth has received comparatively little attention from Civil War historians and has been largely overshadowed by events at Shiloh; Antietam; and Perryville. Timothy Smith’s panoramic and vividly detailed new look at Corinth corrects that neglect; focusing on the nearly year-long campaign that opened the way to Vicksburg and presaged the Confederacy’s defeat in the West.Combining big-picture strategic and operational analysis with ground-level views; Smith covers the spring siege; the vicious attacks and counterattacks of the October battle; and the subsequent occupation. He has drawn extensively on hundreds of eyewitness accounts to capture the sights; sounds; and smells of battle and highlight the command decisions of Halleck; Beauregard; Ulysses S. Grant; Sterling Price; William S. Rosecrans; and Earl Van Dorn.This is also the first in-depth examination of Corinth following the creation of a new National Park Service center located at the site. Weaving together an immensely compelling tale that places the reader in the midst of war’s maelstrom; it substantially revises and enlarges our understanding of Corinth and its crucial importance in the Civil War.This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
#1121800 in Books 1992-11-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.20 x 1.40 x 6.04l; 2.08 #File Name: 070060748X688 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864By John M. FosterAlbert Castel; through tremendously thorough research of war records; letters; diaries; newspapers; and government documents has written what I would call the definitive work on the events leading up to the the fall of Atlanta in September; 1864. The subject has been addressed dozens of times by amateur and professional historians and if they had access to the resources Castel used; they did not use them. Although this work is almost 20 years old; no one has come close to its quality. A recent book by Ron Buell; War Like a Thunderbolt (2009); is very well done; but it is at best an outline of the battles leading up to the fall of Atlanta - Buell's focus is mainly on he actual burning of Atlanta; but he does an excellent job with the Battle of Jonesboro and the Union flanking movement that ended the conflict. His book is easy reading and quite entertaining; along with bringing out some facts not covered by Castel. Some will take exception to many of the conclusions of Decision in the West; depending on how they wish to see the actions of various persons; particularly the main players - Sherman; McPherson; Thomas; Johnston; Davis; Bragg; and Hood. Castel plays fairly with all these persons but he does not fail to point our their shortcomings; particularly those of Sherman. Readers who don't accept the notion of Sherman as a strategic genius will find Castel's conclusions comforting. As a balanced and professional historian; Castel provides counter-point essays at the end of the book on the issues of Sherman's generalship; because second guessing in war is a tricky business. As for the battle analysis; the book provides details of the movememts of brigades and divisions as well as the larger groups such as corps and army groups. Resources from the Confederate point of view were more limited than for the Union side; but Castel does a masterful job of getting into the head of Joe Johnston and his Confederate soldiers in the trenches. Johnston is treated more than fairly; and while history and southerners have often given him a bad rap for his strategy in the Atlantic Campaign; Castel points out the realities of his situation and provides a more favorable review of this intelligent but cautious Confederte general. The book is not generally available anymore; but it may be found in some libraries and is available in used form through . If you are a student of the Civil War in Georgia; and have not read this book; I highly recommend it; it will alter you view of that conflict and elevate the bravery of all involved; north and south; to the standards we Americans expect from our armed forces.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Classic read on the Atlanta campaignBy David MarshallGreat book.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent read on the campaign.By Mark SymmsI am not finished yet but the detail that goes into Castel's book is incredible. Anecdotes from Generals down to Privates. Examines the flaws of each commander in the opening rounds. Plus Davis and Johnstons animosity for each other is included. I am enjoying it and was planning on reading it in sections that went along with the historic timeline of 150 years ago. I could not help myself; I kept reading past the current time period and am now into May.
