Banners to the Breeze: The Kentucky Campaign, Corinth, and Stones River (Great Campaigns of the Civil War) [Hardcover]

Earl J. Hess (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0803223803 | ISBN-13: 978-0803223806 | Publication Date: February 1, 2000 | Edition: First Edition, First Printing

Banners to the Breeze analyzes three major Civil War campaigns that were conducted following a series of devastating Confederate defeats at the hands of Ulysses S. Grant in the spring of 1862. After the recapture of Tennessee, Confederate armies under Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith conducted a brilliant advance into the deeply divided state of Kentucky. Meanwhile, other Confederate forces under Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn attempted to recapture the town of Corinth, Mississippi. As the year drew to a close, Bragg’s army was involved in a tactical draw at the battle of Stones River. Earl J. Hess mixes dramatic narrative and new analysis as he brings these campaigns together in a coherent whole. Previously unpublished historic photographs of the battlefields are included.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hess''s study is a balanced, thoughtful account of three separate Civil War campaigns. . . . Hess''s account is superbly fairminded. . . . The final result is definitely worthwhile. All levels."—Choice

(Choice )

"Like all of Hess’s books, this one is marvelously done. I am especially pleased with his treatment of Iuka and Corinth."—Herman Hattaway, author of Shades of Blue and Gray: An Introductory Military History of the Civil War

(Herman Hattaway )

"The University of Nebraska series features professional historians who eschew the traditional narrow tactical study, and instead examine the military operations within a wider political and social context. The books are synthetic works that use the most recent scholarship in providing a comprehensive overview of the campaigns. . . . Hess meet[s] this formidable challenge.”—Mark Bradley, Civil War History

(Mark Bradley Civil War History )

"Without a doubt, Earl J Hess’s Banners to the Breeze is one of the finest Civil War campaign histories ever written. . . . A welcome addition to the Great Campaigns of the Civil War series and necessary for a thorough understanding of the importance of the western theater to the defeat of the Confederacy."—Indiana Magazine of History

(Indiana Magazine of History )

"A concise synthesis of recent Civil War scholarship. . . . Persons interested in one of these campaigns would do well to start their study with this book. Scholars in the field will find some of the observations about commanders a good point of departure for future academic debate."—Damon Eubank, West Virginia History

(Damon Eubank West Virginia History )

"A well-written book. It is informative and objective. The author comments on the shortcomings of both sides with sound reasoning. His descriptions of the movements of the various forces are detailed and point out the difficulties encountered. This book contains far more than just the stories of these three battles. I recommend this excellent book to all Civil War readers."—Duane A. Benell, Civil War Courier

(Duane A. Benell Civil War Courier )

About the Author

Earl J. Hess is an associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. He is the author of The Union Soldier in Battle: Enduring the Ordeal of Combat and other works.

 

For related information, please visit http://www.love-and-learning.info/

Product Details

• Hardcover: 253 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press; First Edition, First Printing edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803223803
• ISBN-13: 978-0803223806
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,131,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bloodied Banners, April 1, 2001

By 

Jeffrey Hayes (Annapolis MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Banners to the Breeze: The Kentucky Campaign, Corinth, and Stones River (Great Campaigns of the Civil War) (Hardcover)

One of five of the Great Campaigns of the Civil War volumes, BANNERS follows the series format, presenting a moderately-priced campaign study incorporating recent scholarship to present an operational analysis of a particular ACW theater. BANNERS carries the reader from the Confederacy's bungled Kentucky campaign, through the less well known battles of Perryville, Iuka and Corinth; down to the meatgrinder of Stones River. Hess' story is accompanied by 11 sound maps, good notes, and, my favorite, a solid, well-presented bibliographic essay. I own and recommend the entire series, very accessable even to the general reader and well worth the money. This series is an ideal interim step for the history buff graduating from popular history to the more scholarly (& more expensive) works. Happy campaigning!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Bragg, Just Facts, June 22, 2009

By 

J. Lassiter (Norfolk, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Banners to the Breeze: The Kentucky Campaign, Corinth, and Stones River (Great Campaigns of the Civil War) (Hardcover)

Banners to the Breeze is the second book from the Great Campaigns of the Civil War series that I have read, and I am quite impressed with the product. Each book takes a look at an extended campaign and its strategy and battles, providing a coherent insightful study of a slice of the American Civil War. Banners covers the war in Tennessee and Kentucky from immediately after Shiloh through Bragg's and Edmund Kirby Smith's invasion of Kentucky to Stones River. The author depicts Bragg as an excellent strategist, but worthless as a tactician. My appreciation for the logistical problems in Tennessee and the Civil War in general continues to rise. I guess I am working my way backwards through the series, since I read Crisis in Command (the Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Knoxville campaign) first, and am now reading Struggle for the Heartland (Fts Henry and Donelson through Shiloh). Each book in the series has a different author, but all are excellent.

5 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much speculation, not enough documentation = a mixed bag, July 9, 2004

By 

J. Godbout "Preceptor" (Niagara University, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Banners to the Breeze: The Kentucky Campaign, Corinth, and Stones River (Great Campaigns of the Civil War) (Hardcover)

I am generally just too lazy to write reviews, but in this case I thought I would get off my duff and get to the keyboard.

In graduate school, I was taught the essential importance of backing up information with sources, while leaving personal opinions to the footnotes. Mr. Hess rarely uses supporting evidence even for the numerous quotes sprinkled throughout the text, breaking a fundamental rule of scholarly writing. This absence especially stands out in an historian such as Mr. Hess. I am not sure why the editor(s) of this series allow this kind of sloppiness.

On the positive side, Mr. Hess writes with an interesting and engaging style. He is seldom dry. Mr. Hess makes many a provocative comment about Braxton Bragg, with nary a endnote, but he seldom interacts (if ever?--I would have to read it again to be certain) with other historians whose views might differ from his. The Bragg comments are controversial and need support rather than speculative opinion.

The books in this series are not cheap, and one would hope each volume could live up to its price. A proper bibliography, like the kind required for a graduate thesis, would be appreciated. I haven't seen one in any of the three volumes that I have read in this series.

In conclusion, if you want an entertaining Civil War read, Mr. Hess has written such a book. If you want something scholarly, you will have to look elsewhere, and the pickings appear to be slim, at least for this part of the Western theater.