The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville

The Confederacy's Last Hurrah is an outstanding book that combines first rate research with a novelist's eye for vivid recreation of the brutal chaos that is battle. Sword's talent also shines in breathing life into the cast of characters involved, from the Generals to the common soldier. This book seems to strike a nerve with those who only see the war through the romance-tinted glasses of the "Lost Cause". They blast Sword for his unapologetic scorn for Hood's leadership of his army, and seem to refuse to admit even the obvious - that Hood was advanced in rank beyond his capabilities. That Hood was a brave and gallant soldier and an outstanding fighter leading a brigade is without question. That he lacked the vision or intelligence to effectively lead an army would seem to be equally beyond question to any fair observer. What those attacking Sword for his treatment of Hood overlook is that the target of his disgust is not just Hood, who intrigued for a job beyond his ken, but Bragg and Davis, who promoted him while repeatedly snubbing the most brilliant general in the Army of Tennessee, Patrick Cleburne. Cleburne, called by Davis the Stonewall of the West, was never the less passed by for promotion four times after he had dared to suggest a plan for saving the Confederacy by freeing and enlisting slaves. The implied question of The Confederacy's Last Hurrah is how might things have been different had those in charge been less obtuse, and Cleburne's talents were put to use for his cause commanding the army, while Hood served as he served best, leading a brigade? It is clear that Sword feels that the senseless slaughter that was the battle of Franklin, and the virtual destruction of the Army of the Tennessee at the battle of Nashville happened because of the pride, vanity, and blindness of the Southern leadership who promoted the brave but wooden Hood over the brilliant Cleburne. Unless you become enraged when someone calls the conflict the Civil War instead of the War of Northern Aggression, you will find this book thrilling and informative Theo Logos

One of the great "myths" is that a good history book is written from an "objective" point of view. In truth, this is simply not possible. Every author approaches the subject with a certain degree of bias and a certain "agenda" that they wish to push. Sword, unlike some other authors, does not seek to hide his "bias", but rather sets out his clear (and frankly rather convincing) case that Sam Hood's generalship was poor. Within this setting, he provides detail about some of the more important, but again forgotten, battles of the Civil War and sheds light on some of the more important, but again forgotten, figures such as Pat Cleburne. All in all a superb book and well worthy of the prizes that it has won and the accolades that it has received.

Sword's book is a marvelous written chronicle of the destruction of Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee. The authors ability to weave the horror of war into a detailed military history is especially enticing. This is combined with a keen analysis of the triumphs and failures of the leaders on both sides of the conflict.The Last Hurrah is the story of the Confederacy's last and probably best chance to reclaim Tennessee and Kentucky for the South and to possibly bring the war once more to Northern soil. But more than that it is also the story of poor leadership on behalf of the Confederate General Hood and the political pressure on Union General Thomas to bring the battle to Hood. Sword, chronicles the planning of Hood's offensive and his miscalculation that the supplies to feed, cloth and arm his army could be obtained through a rail link and from the land that they were invading. This mistake perhaps doomed the campaign given that this was a winter campaign and the Confederate soldiers were often without shoes and blankets.The best part of the book focuses on the battles of Franklin and Nashville. While Sword does a fine job in detailing the battles themselves as well as the strategy and tactics utilized by the respective Generals, he shines in discussing the human effects of the battles. The slaughter at Franklin and the Confederate charge against a heavily defended Union line, without the benefit of significant supporting artillery, makes one shudder. In reading the depiction of the casualties the horror of the war and the human costs were brought home. Where Sword also excels is in his critique of the leaders of both sides. Sword obviously is a fan of General George Thomas. On the other hand he is very critical of General Scofield's conduct at Spring Hill and latter at Franklin and Nashville. Scofield's generalship would have led to the destruction of his army during the retreat from Spring Hill to Franklin but for the ineptitude of his Confederate counterparts. His conduct at Nashville, and his failure to commit his troops, probably allowed what remained of the Confederate Army to escape.Sword's worse criticism was justly saved for Hood. The criticism was well deserved, especially for the decision to make the frontal assault at Franklin and again at Nashville. His poor generalship and inability to take the advise of Nathan Bedford Forrest led to the loss of almost two thirds of his army.All in all this is a fine book and a must read.

I am a huge Civil War buff and have read books by such authors as Shelby Foote, Glenn Tucker, Albert Castel, Joseph Parks, Craig Symonds, William C. Davis, and Burke Davis, among others, and I can honestly say that Wiley Sword's The Confederacy's Last Hurrah is the best I've ever read. Sword presents not only detailed accounts of the military actions, but also of the people and places where they occured. His mini-biographies of the different players are excellent. I could write pages about this book, but the bottom line is that if you are interested in history of any kind you will like this book. If you are interested in the Civil War you will LOVE this book! I know I do.

Wiley Sword has written one of the most powerful Civil War narratives I have ever read. This is one volume that should be required reading for anyone interested in the Civil War. Sword makes a conscious effort to breathe life and passion into his description of this often overlooked Civil War campaign. His descriptive passages carry the reader along in much the same way as an excellent novel. Historians and Civil War buffs will (and should) disagree with some of Sword's conclusions, but the author should be applauded for his ability to tell a good story. I have plodded through many Civil War narratives that are well-researched but focus almost exclusively on tactics, the maneuvering of troops during a battle from one point to another. This simple description of troop movements at the regimental and company levels can be exceedingly tedious and unrewarding. Sword has succeeded in writing a campaign history that strikes a proper balance between strategy and tactics. He provides useful biographical sketches of the participants and suggests reasons why they acted the way they did. At the same time, he provides a graphic description of the horrors of war and the carnage that occurred at Franklin, Tennessee, in November, 1864. It is no exaggeration to say that Sword makes the reader feel he is there, looking over the shoulders of John Bell Hood, John Schofield, Pat Cleburne, and the host of others whose roles are described in these pages. Stephen Sears, Peter Cozzens, Harold Pfanz, and other military historians can all learn a lesson from Wiley Sword. He knows how to write military history. Let me put it this way: "The Confederacy's Last Hurrah" will remain on my Civil War bookshelf for the rest of my life, except for those times when I decide to read it again...and again.