A highly illustrated account of the often-overlooked Franklin–Nashville campaign during the American Civil War between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of Cumberland, which could have changed the result of the whole conflict.

In September 1864, the Confederate army abandoned Atlanta and were on the verge of being driven out of the critical state of Tennessee. In an attempt to regain the initiative, John Bell Hood launched an attack on Union General Sherman’s supply lines, before pushing north in an attempt to retake Tennessee’s capital Nashville.

Alongside maps and artwork, this book examines the three-month campaign that followed, one that confounded the expectations of both sides. Instead of fighting Sherman’s Union Army of the Tennessee, the Confederates found themselves fighting an older and more traditional enemy: the Army of the Cumberland. This was led by George R. Thomas, an unflappable general temperamentally different than either the mercurial Hood or Sherman.

The resulting campaign was both critical and ignored, despite the fact that for eleven weeks the fate of the Civil War was held in the balance.

[Lardas] writes without bias toward either side, and clearly explains the movements, strategies, and tactics of the decisive Nashville Campaign in lucid language that is easy to follow and flows well . . . a solid, well-written general overview of the Nashville Campaign, a martial effort that cemented Pap Thomas's reputation as being at the top of his game. - Scott L. Mingus, Sr., CHARGE! Civil War wargaming

.. .provides a good overview of the campaign without ignoring it's component maneuvering such as Forrest's offensive towards Murfreesboro in an attempt to lure Thomas out of Nashville. - ACW Gamer / Forging a Nation

Mark Lardas holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but spent his early career at the Johnson Space Center doing Space Shuttle structural analysis, and space navigation. An amateur historian and a long-time ship modeller, he is currently working in League City, Texas. He has written extensively about modelling as well as naval, maritime, and military history.