No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River

After repeated efforts on my part I have received 2 copies of the National Park paperback 50 page booklet but NOT the hardback book as paid for.

Peter Cozzens was just getting started with 'No Better Place to Die'. It is not quite as good as his books on Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and the Corinth campaigns but it is a very good start. Stones River was a very bloody but has been a very underwritten battle of the Civil War and Cozzens finally gives it some due. Cozzens does a good job in depicting the buildup to the battle. The usual tough times for a Western Confederate army is sketched. The aftermath of Perryville had soured many people on Braxton Bragg but not yet Jefferson Davis. The very irascible Confederate general is depicted with many interesting anecdotes as are his subordinate officers like William Hardee and Leonidas Polk. The Union Army of the Cumberland was brought back to fighting trim by the human dynamo William Rosecrans. Cozzens does a good job of describing how Rosecrans brought back his forces back and how his subordinate George Thomas was such a key component of the army. There were also in the Union army the much less competent Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden as corps commanders. I really like Cozzens dissection of the two armies high commands and their attitudes plus the anecdotes of the men in the ranks. The battle scenes ,as usual, for Cozzens are portrayed through many interesting anecdotes. This was a confusing battle. Not quite as confusing as Chickamauga but still pretty bad. I think Cozzens does the best he can and the bloody nature of the battle comes through. The attacks and counterattacks come through in Cozzens account. I think he does a good job of showing how close the Army of the Cumberland came to losing the battle. As usual, the Army of Tennessee fought with great tenacity but it wasn't quite enough. The attack of the Orphan Brigade makes a stirring finale and one will be reminded a bit of Pickett's Charge which would take place six months later. These two armies would meet again in the North Georgia woods and the result would be truly horrific. But to understand the roads that led to the Battle of Chickamauga you have to read Cozzens work here on Stones River. Highly recommended!

If you prefer fast food over meal which requires youto sit down and relax, then you probably won't care forthis book. If you love detail, then this is the book foryou. The book is about a significant civil war battle that never got the attention it deserved. By the way, I just came from Stones River Battlefield, and if you should ever find yourself in Nashville, TN, I highly recommend visitiing this historic battlefield. It's managed by the U.S. Park Service, and they do a superb job with the visitors. It's located about 45 minutes south of Nashville by car. A visit there will give you a very goodfeel for this key battle of the U.S. Civil War.

The first battle to resemble Verdun. Peter's grasp of his material consistently amazes me.

Cozzens wrote three superb, and related, books on the decisive Battles in the West. Of these three, the most important is "No Better Place to Die".. not because it is the best of the three, for it is not, but rather because it is a very detailed analysis of an otherwise ignored battle. Cozzens does not write in the most accessible style, but considering the complexity of the battle and the serious nature of the work, it is appropriate, and after a few pages, clear and understandable. One wishes that better and more detailed maps had been provided, along with some photographs of key players, but those "deficiences" are more than made up by the quality of the research.

Cozzens's chronicle of the Battle of Stones River is a superb, engaging work. His careful work and skillful writing does justice to the memories of the 24,988 men who were injured or killed those cold days in Tennessee.