Customer Reviews

Advance And Retreat: Personal Experiences In The United States And Confederate States Armies

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The controversial defender of Atlanta gives his side of the story. Did he inherit a demoralized shell of an army and vainly attempt to restore its fighting spirit after the timid leadership of General Joseph E. Johnston or did he squander the lives of thousands against the fixed defenses of the Yankees? This book is best read in conjunction with Johnston's "Narrative" which it attempts to refute. Whether you agree with Hood's story or not, you will appreciate his passion for the subject.

You had better have a good knowledge of the subject before reading this book. I found it informative but in some cases he makes his point the hard way. I was particularly interested in his reprinting of letters he had received from otherwise unknown officers et al in both the Southern and Northern armies. Be advised that Advance and Retreat as stated in the preface is Hoods answer to Joe Johnstons book in which he throws a lot of mud Hoods way. This is probably the 50th book I have read on the Civil War.

John Bell Hood has been called everything from a gallant hero to a drug-addicted fool. The truth lies somewhere in between. MANY false truths have been all too easily accepted as fact by historians and Civil War enthusiaths alike, and I personally think he doesn't deserve such a negative stigma.
Most all would agree that hood was a better Brigade and Division commander than he was a commander of the Army of Tennessee (his stint as a Corps commander during the early stages of the Atlanta campaign do not show him to be one way or the other, due to the fact that any General can direct his men to fall back, erect Breastworks, and fall back again). However, part of this is due to the fact that as Hood rose in rank, time passed, and the hopes of a Confederate victory waned. Even Robert E. Lee himself would have been hard pressed to turn the 1864 Tennessee campaign into a sucess.
Hood loved his troops. It is an absolute lie to say that he did not care about his men's lives. After nearly every battle in which he fought, Franklin included, he was seen to be weeping uncontrollably, grieving over the loss of his men. The men of his famed Texas "Brigade" held a special place in his heart.
The book is not a straightforeward telling of John Bell Hood's career; the book is written from a point of view. Therefore, it tends to lean towards that point of view. What do you expect a man to say, "I was a horrible commander"? It is still a good read, worth any Civil War buff's time and money. It is especially usefull if you are looking to better understand the thought process of John Bell Hood.
To me, John Bell Hood is a unique Civil War soldier. He gave body and soul (especially body) for his cause, and whether you agree with the cause, or his descisions as a soldier, you have to respect him for that.

John Bell Hood, perhaps one of south's finest brigade and division commanders, perhaps one of south's worst army commanders, his life is one of great irony. A classical example of a man who was promoted into total incompetency, Hood's memoirs reflects his thoughts and his views on his military career. He spent much of his writing defending himself and his tactics and strategies. His book may be considered to be one of your classical Civil War memoirs which was written not for history's sakes but for reputation's sake. In doing so, his failures wasn't his' but those of others. As one previous reviewers wrote, Hood retreated from the truth to make his case.

Nevertheless, the book remains quite readable, somewhat interesting and informative if only to see what Hood was trying to do and hope to do in retrospect. He could have been suffering from post tramatic stress syndrome as his actions seem to be more erratic as his wounds continued with the war.

A good narrative from JB Hood but lets face it..There was no excuses for the Hood ordered frontal suicide attack at Franklin! Most of his subordinate commanders including the great Patrick Cleburne himself advised against it. As the previous reviewer pointed out, most of Hood's book is in answer to post war charges from Joe Johnston in his own book. Hood himself stated that he felt the AOT was weak in the fact that they had become accustomed to the defense of breastworks. Take a look at the losses to the AOT in Atlanta as Hood orders them out of their own defensive breast works to attack Sherman's forces. Atlanta fell. It just got worse in Tennessee. Hood's glory days were in the east in the ANV as a brigade commander. It's a good a read and I recommend. Howevere don't assume because Hood was there, this book the final word.

One of the Civil War's most intriguing and controversial characters, Confederate General John Bell Hood offers a detailed rebuttal to post-war criticisms of Joseph E. Johnston and others. Much lauded as a combat commander of the famed Texas Brigade under Robert E. Lee, Hood lost use of his left arm at Gettysburg and lost his right leg at Chickamauga. In 1864 he replaced Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennesee before the fall of Atlanta, and late that year led that army on the ill fated invasion of Tennessee, culminating with the devastating defeats at Franklin and Nashville. In Advance and Retreat Hood offers detailed explanations of his controversial decisions. This book is a must read for any student of the Civil War.

At his most effective, Hood was the hard hitting division commander that Lee liked to position between Longstreet and Jackson, as the reserve he could move to either wing when necessary. John Bell Hood was a tough fighter, powerful motivator of soldiers, and a solid division commander. This memoir is "his turn" to set his side of things straight. Like others who had experienced painful defeats, Hood became a target of critics during and after the war. For Hood, his most notable critic was perhaps Johnston, who he took over for just prior to the battle of Atlanta.
By this time, Hood was still healing from an arm wound from Gettysburg, and the loss of a leg from Chickamauga. Even Lee thought he was unfit to command at this time, but President Davis wanted his aggressive ways over what Johnston had demonstrated. Hood did the best he could at Atlanta, but eventually Sherman would unhinge him from Atlanta.
His final acts resulted in the destruction of the primary Confederate Army of the West, as he quixotically charged it across the open, which by that time had been proven useless against entrenched defenses.
Hood's Memoir, written in 1880 was still not too far removed from the war that it lacks in clarity or suffers from distorted memory. For a 19th Century book it reads remarkably well today, and not as rooted in speech of the time, one finds in the ORs and other works and letters. This a five star book for its importance, despite his powerful opinions, and the fact he presided over two very costly failures; it is written by a great Civil War general in stature, who served in both theaters, and fought in the greatest battles of the war. What he left is important witness to American history.

After his decisive defeat on the third day at Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee, as he rode among his men, was widely quoted as saying, "It's all my fault. It is I that have lost this fight, and you must help me out of it the best way you can. All good men must rally." If only John Bell Hood had emulated his hero General Lee and accepted responsibility for the defeats at Franklin and Nashville, history would have been more sympathetic. Hood's defensive memoir, titled Advance and Retreat, is remarkable in what is not said.

My copy of Advance and Retreat is a 1985 publication of The Blue and Grey Press. The first 68 pages provide a record of John Bell Hood's experiences up to the day that he reported for duty in the Army of Tennessee. The next 92 pages are Hood's detailed reply to General Johnston's criticism of Hood himself. The remaining chapters - Siege of Atlanta, Atlanta Untenable, Correspondence with Sherman on the Rules of War, Campaign to the Alabama Line, and Tennessee Campaign - are Hood's account of the disastrous period July through December, 1864.

The final chapter titled Rashness - Johnston - Fabius - Scipio are Hood's reply to Sherman's pointed criticism: "I did not suppose that General Hood, though rash, would venture to attack fortified places like Allatoona, Resaca, Decatur, and Nashville; but he did so, and in so doing, played into our hands perfectly."

John Hood was an ambitious man of great courage and valor that was promoted beyond his capability. The Confederacy was desperately searching for leaders in that summer of 1864 that could resist the inexorable Union tide. But how could any leader, even another Stonewall Jackson, have avoided defeat? Hood's tragedy was that he received what he coveted: leadership of the Army of Tennessee.

John Hood's surprisingly well-written memoir, Advance and Retreat, is mandatory reading for anyone that studies the Civil War. I strongly suggest, however, that you first read John Bell Hood and the War for Southern Independence, an exceptional biography by Richard M. McMurry published by The University Press of Kentucky (1982). McMurry is sympathetic, but his in depth analysis provides valuable context setting for John Bell Hood's memoirs.

For those who enjoy Civil War historical fiction, I also recommend the short novel, Nashville 1864, by Madison Jones.

This is a really good book for people who truly enjoy learning about the Civil War. For those of you who really don't care that much about it, its not for you. This is the first hand account of the well known general John Bell Hood of the Confederates

Advance and Retreat is the war memoir of John Bell Hood, the much lauded brigade and division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia and the much maligned commander of the Army of Tennessee.

Early on, he sets the tone for his reputation for aggression by telling the 4th Texas that the true measure of success for any command in an action is "the number of colors and guns captured, and prisoners taken." One doesn't have to be Napoleon to realize that continual retreating, entrenching and then retreating again, a la Joe Johnston, will yield few colors, guns or prisoners.