Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston (Civil War America) [Hardcover]

Nathaniel Cheairs Jr. Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Series: Civil War America | Publication Date: September 30, 1996

The battle of Bentonville, the only major Civil War battle fought in North Carolina, was the Confederacy's last attempt to stop the devastating march of William Tecumseh Sherman's army north through the Carolinas. Despite their numerical disadvantage, General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate forces successfully ambushed one wing of Sherman's army on March 19, 1865 but were soon repulsed. For the Confederates, it was a heroic but futile effort to delay the inevitable: within a month, both Richmond and Raleigh had fallen, and Lee had surrendered.

Nathaniel Hughes offers a full-length tactical study of this important battle. In careful detail, he lays out Confederate and Union troop movements and places the engagement within the larger military framework of the last months of the war. Analyzing the reasons for the initial success and eventual failure of Johnston's offensive, he maintains that Sherman showed great restraint by remaining committed to the larger goal of reaching Goldsboro rather than stopping to pursue or destroy the defeated Confederates.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In March 1865, the Confederacy was dying, and Sherman's army was marching into North Carolina. Joseph Johnston made one last, desperate effort to halt the advance of an army three times the size of his, and on March 19 surprised one wing of Sherman's forces. A single Union corps very nearly won the battle all by itself, however, and when reinforced, drove off the attackers, inflicting heavy casualties. Hughes' excellent battle monograph is oriented toward the scholarly reader but accessible to the general one. Its particular strengths include verbal portraits of many leaders on both sides and eloquently understated descriptions of whole Confederate brigades going into battle with barely the rifle strength of a healthy company. A desirable addition to Civil War literature. Roland Green

From Kirkus Reviews

A highly detailed history of a fierce encounter during General Sherman's march north in the spring of 1865. Hughes (History/Univ. of North Carolina) describes Sherman's tough, battle-seasoned veterans, pumped with victory and foraging off the land, as they moved through North Carolina to link up with General Grant in Virginia and corner General Lee and his decimated Army of Northern Virginia. Sherman's long march through the South had sapped the Confederacy's will to keep fighting and destroyed the resources they needed to do so. Overconfident, the Union forces walked into an ambush at Bentonville. General Joseph E. Johnston's adroit use of his outnumbered forces was successful at first; his surprise attacks through the swampy terrain along the Union army's flanks threatened at first to collapse their line, but the Confederates were eventually worn down by Sherman's counterattacks. Conspicuous bravery was commonplace. Soldiers in both armies, worn down by hunger and lack of sleep, sensing that the war was finally drawing to its close, kept fighting. The author gives brief biographies of leading officers and stories of enlisted men who dignified this desperate fight with their suffering and courage. In time both commanders realized that Johnston could not win and Sherman could not lose. Some rebels, realizing this, simply walked away and went home. Hughes provides a thorough account of this great (and bloody) tactical struggle between two skilled soldiers. Despite his fearsome reputation, Hughes shows, Sherman usually tried to avoid bloody battles and to preserve the lives of his men by strategic maneuvers, and he did so again, successfully, at Bentonville. A month later the war was over. This prodigiously researched book should stand for many years as the definitive account of one of the war's last battles. (9 maps) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (September 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807822817
• ISBN-13: 978-0807822814
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hughes "Bentonville" a distant second to Bradley's work, October 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston (Civil War America) (Hardcover)

If you can only purchase one book on the battle of Bentonville this book should be your second choice. I have read Hughes history of the battle as well as Mark Bradley's book on the same subject. Bradley's book covers the battle in much greater detail and has excellent maps. Hughes book is a good book, but head to head with Bradley's work finishes a distant second. Hughes gives a good overview, but I did not find his writing as engaging as I did Bradley's. Hughes book lacks the passion of the other book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty decent effort on the battle, March 19, 2010

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston (Civil War America) (Paperback)

I found Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes' book on Bentonville to be a nicely written and well researched book. It was a very readable book, informative to me since Bentonville is one of the few Civil War battles, I don't know too much about. This book proves to be detailed in style and structure. I thought the narrative could have been bit more smoother but overall, I enjoyed reading it.

The book find itself conflicted at times. For example, the book made it clear that Bentonville was one battle that should have never been fought. South had little or no chance for victory according to the book. And at the same time, the book praises General Joe Johnston's humanity as an army commander. Ironically, it was this humane general that initiated the battle that should have never taken place. However, the book stated that Johnston attacked because he was pressed by his government and to regained his lost reputation. That sound bit irresponsible for such a humane general as Johnston supposed to be. Strategic situation was totally hopeless for the south and that should be very clear to any general on the field alive back then - may they be wearing blue or gray. The book never did get that straighten out in the end. However, the book made it clear that this was one of Johnston's worst battles as a commander.

Overall, a pretty decent effort on the battle that often get overlooked by many historians. I also thought it could have use some better battlefield maps to show the situation more clearly. This battle is often regarded as Confederate Army of Tennessee's last battle although they were no bigger then a division size force when they entered the battlefield and left even smaller.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of the Battle of Bentonville, April 9, 1998

By 

Aussie Reader ""Rick"" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston (Civil War America) (Hardcover)

This is a very enjoyable book to read and offers a detailed and well researched account of the final battle between Sherman and Johnston at Bentonville fought on March 19-21, 1865. This was the last full scale battle between the two opposing armies. The book has 9 maps which are well presented and the battle ones are very easy to understand and follow. Overall this book is a well documentated account of this very interesting and bloody battle.