Coburn's Brigade [Hardcover]

Frank Johnson Welcher (Author), Welcher (Author), Larry G. Ligget (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

The Northern brigade of John Coburn has gained a reputation both notorious and laudatory. Accused of gross misconduct (as these authors show, improperly) when Thompson's Station was surrendered in Tennessee, they were captured and sent to Libby Prison. Released, they were determined to redeem themselves in the mediocre assignments given to them by the Western army. Then, having regained the confidence of their superiors, this group of Midwesterners fought staunchly and credibly in the Atlanta Campaign--shining particularly at the Battle of Peachtree Creek and were the first unit into Atlanta after its fall. This unusual and detailed history of a brigade which stayed together the entire war shows a little different version of unit solidarity. Not every unit was universally glorious; too often we pretend that is so. This is the story of a unit which failed and then succeeded. 462 pages; 19 detailed maps; 40+ illustrations; nearly 1,500 endnotes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . .Ligget and Welcher saw the need to write the brigade's history because Civil War historians have neglected the unit. That fostered another goal, telling the story of the typical western soldier in the war. . . ."

". . .Coburn's Brigade is a hefty and decidedly scholarly book with 19 detailed maps, 40 photographs, and just under 1,500 footnotes. But it also moves beyond the anonymity of the battlefields to tell the stories of the individual men. . . ." -- Tribune-Star, November 4, 1999.

...a well-researched and interesting book which should appeal to any student of the war's western campaigns. -- The Civil War News, May 2000

By book's end...I had a truer understanding of what really may have been going on... -- Nuvo Newsweekly, May 4-11, 2000

From the Publisher

Early spring bluegrass was just beginning to green up on March 5, 1863, when at the order of Major General Rosecrans, Colonel John Coburn led his own brigade and other troops along the Columbia Turnpike near the little crossroad of Thompson's Station in Tennessee to sound out the Confederate enemy. He was soon confronted by his adversaries under the command of Earl Van Dorn, ably assisted by the likes of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Frank C. Armstrong, and John W. Whitfield. Betrayed by poor artillery support and bad communications, Coburn's men nevertheless fought bravely. By the end of the battle Coburn's forces were outnumbered nearly 3-to-1, and after five hours of determined fighting--in which nearly cartridge box was exhausted--Coburn realized the futility of the situation and surrendered. He and his men were soon on their way to Libby Prison. Their disgrace and subsequent redemption is the story of this book.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 488 pages
• Publisher: Cardinal Publishers Group; 1 edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578600707
• ISBN-13: 978-1578600700
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,470,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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