They Came Only to Die: The Battle of Nashville, December 15–16
by
Sean Michael Chick
I knew of the author long before I saw this book because he is a prolific wargame designer, and a very good one at that. So, I was very curious to see how his writing compared to his game designing skills. Not that I really had a doubt in my mind. I just wanted to see how much of a crossover there actually was.
The Battle of Nashville was certainly a battle that did not need to be fought. Lieutenant General John Bell Hood was in charge of the of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Hood had started the Civil War in Virginia commanding a brigade of Texans. As a brigade, and later division, commander he was in the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee as one of its finest officers. He was wounded in the left arm at Gettysburg; the arm was left pretty much useless. Then his division was sent west with the rest of Lieutenant General James Longstreet's corps to fight under Lieutenant General Braxton Bragg. Hood fought in the Battle of Chickamauga where he was wounded in his right leg, and it had to be amputated. After his recuperation he was first made a corps commander under Lieutenant General Joseph E. Johnston in the Army of Tennessee. He then replaced him and became commander. So, he was a field commander of an army with only one leg and one arm and constantly in pain from his wounds. He fought the Union General William T. Sherman for the city of Atlanta and lost. At this time Hood came up with a plan for his Franklin-Nashville Campaign. In a nutshell, the plan was for Hood's army to go north and in doing so force Sherman to follow him. This did not happen because the size of Hood's army was no more than the Union troops defending Tennessee. This put into motion the terrible battles of Franklin and Nashville.
The author shows us the background to the Battle of Nashville and also the history that led each of the commanders during it. He says that many times Hood has been excoriated in print and that he does not deserve it. He feels he was a commander who was put into a desperate situation and did the best he could under the circumstances. The situation that the Army of Tennessee was in, lacking almost everything that an army needs, even before their invasion of Tennessee, is shown to the reader. The actual battle and the terrible retreat that the Army of Tennessee faced in the middle of winter is explained in detail.
The author also gives us little biographies of every commander that is mentioned in the text. The book is full of black and white pictures of the combatants and the different areas of the campaign. The one thing that I love are the maps. These are as clear and full of information as a reader could possibly want.
This is an excerpt from the book:
"Total Rebel losses in two days of battle were at
least 6,000 with 4,462 prisoners. Fifty-three cannon
were in Union hands. Federal losses were at least
3,000. With most casualties coming within a few hours
at the end of each day, Nashville had a fairly high loss
rate per hour. In addition, it was the most lopsided
victory achieved by an attacking army in the Civil War,
with the possible exception of Five Forks and Sailor’s
Creek, which involved fewer troops and casualties
than Nashville."
The book ends with many descriptions and photos of what the intrepid amateur historian will find when going to the many historic sites mentioned in the book. I have read several of the great books that are in the Emerging Civil War Series from Savas Beatie. I am pleased to say that this volume follows in its older brothers' footsteps. This is a perfect introduction to someone who just wants an overview or a reader who plans to dig into the subject more deeply. Thank You Savas Beatie, for allowing me to review this very good volume on a little-known part of the war in the west.
Robert
Author: Sean Michael Chick
Publisher: Savas Beatie
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