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Storming the Heights: A Guide to the Battle of Chattanooga
written by Matt Spruill, Lowell Forbes
Studio : University of Tennessee Press
by University of Tennessee Press
Publisher : University of Tennessee Press
Released : 2003-10
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781572332379
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 4 reviews)
List Price : $21.00
Our Price : $15.49
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Product Description |
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The Civil War Battle of Chattanooga, Tennessee, took place in late November 1863, after the Confederate victory in the Battle of Chickamauga drove the Union Army of the Cumberland back to the key railroad hub of Chattanooga. In early October it had appeared that all Union gains in southern Tennessee might be lost. But the end of November saw a complete reversal of the previous Confederate triumph. Not only had the Union efforts driven the southern forces out of Chattanooga, but the victory also established a base from which General W. T. Sherman began his famous campaign through northern Georgia to Atlanta. In this guide, Matt Spruill recounts the story of the Battle of Chattanooga using official reports and observations by commanding officers in their own words. The book is organized in the format still used by the military on staff rides, allowing the reader to understand how the battle was fought and why leaders made the decisions they did. Unlike other books on the Battle of Chattanooga, this work guides the reader through the battlefield, allowing both visitor and armchair traveler to see the battle through the eyes of its participants. Numerous tour "stops" take the reader through the battles for Chattanooga: Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain, Orchard Knob, Missionary Ridge, and Ringgold Gap. With easy-to-follow instructions, extensive tactical maps, eyewitness accounts, and editorial analyses, the reader is transported to the center of the action. Storming the Heights offers new insights and covers key ground rarely seen by visitors to Chattanooga. |
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Reading The Terrain |
Visiting Civil War battlefields to try to gain a sense of what happened there can often be tricky. Reading the signage and monument inscriptions only gives you the most basic information. Or as in the case of Chattanooga only a small part (or parts) of the battlefield have been preserved and the rest is obfuscated by urban sprawl. A good guide book can make the difference when visiting a Civil War battlefield. Matt Spruill has written just such a book, "Storming the Heights: A Guide to the Battle of Chattanooga."
When people think of Civil War battles they tend to think in terms of one army attacking another army in one geographic place and the battle is usually over in one day. That indeed is true for some Civil War battles, but not all, especially not for Chattanooga. There isn't one engagement that I could pinpoint and say "That is the Battle of Chattanooga." In reality, however, there were several battles that took place around Chattanooga which culminated in the Union Army's ability to break the Confederate siege lines around the city and the to Confederate Army's retreat from those lines.
Beginning with the opening of a Federal supply line at Brown's Ferry & Wauhatchi, then to the Battle for Lookout Mountain and ending with the Battle for Missionary Ridge Mr. Spruill guides us through these engagements. He has also included side trips to the Lookout Valley, the site of Fort Wood, Orchard Knob, Rossville Gap and Chattanooga National Cemetery.
Mr. Spruil takes us to the site of these engagements with turn by turn directions. There are several tour stops for each engagement. At each stop Mr. Spruill has included topographical maps overlaid with the Union and Confederate troop positions. He lets the participants relay what happened there by relying heavily on official reports. Both Union and Confederate sides are covered for each engagement.
In my opinion Mr. Spruill has leaned too heavily on the official reports for the story telling. I would have liked to read quotes from letters, journals and diaries of the common soldier alongside the official reports of the Union and Confederate officers.
The maps included in the book, drawn by Lowell Forbes, are also a bit problematical. Certainly I wish there were more of them (one can never have too many maps when studying a Civil War battle). I also would have liked to have seen at least a few of them include modern roads, which would be especially helpful when trying to follow Mr. Spruill's turn by turn directions. Also the maps aren't generally oriented so that north is at the top of the page, and Mr. Forbes did not include a directional indicator on any of the maps in the book.
That being said, "Storming the Heights" is an indispensable book for one studying the engagements during the Battles for Chattanooga, and touring its battlefield sites.
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Masterful Guide Book! |
As an avid battlefield tourist, I love nothing more than finding a great battlefield guidebook. In July 2004, I took a trip to Chickamauga and Chattanooga to tour the Civil War sites there. I bought this guidebook, as well as "Guide to the Battle of Chickamauga" written by the same author (also an excellent guidebook, by the way), and found them to be to be the best two I've ever used.
Mr. Spruill overlayed troop movements over topographic maps, making for an excellent set of maps. Mr. Spruill guides the tourist masterfully to the sites in and around Chattanooga, describing what happened at each stop very clearly. He provided plentiful first-person accounts throughout the book to give the tourist extra insight into what happened at each stop. Finally, he scattered through the text photos of commanders, old photos of the battlefield and city, and modern photos of several of the sites. Throughout, it makes for a great guidebook.
This guide really is only for those dedicated enough to travel to all the rather widely dispersed sites around Chattanooga and those who have the time. If you plan on spending several days at Chattanooga, buy this guidebook. It is well worth the money, and finding all those hidden sites associated with the Siege/Battle of Chattanooga is very rewarding. |
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Great Guide Book! |
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This book is really great. The author has included some out of the way places that are part of the Chattanooga Battles. He uses mainly primary resource material centered around the Official Records of the Civil War following the US Army War College style. This guide allows the reader to draw some conclusions on his or her own which makes it really a fun way to tour the battlefields. The maps are clear and concise. Definitely a must have book for Battlefield Trampers! |
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Totally Awesome! |
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This is what historical touring literature is all about. The format in this book is fantastic for touring Civil War battlefields. Following the miliary style of the Staff Ride, the author lets the battle unfold for the reader in a truly unique way that must be experienced. This books covers a complex subject which is not easy to tour without a guide book. The Chattanooga Battlefield is a victim of urban sprawl but this book brings it to life anyway. I highly recommend this book. It is the best tour book on Chattanooga period. One warning though. This book requires some knowledge of the battle if the reader wants to fully experience the tour. Still, the novice will find it easily understandable and well written. The author's experience as a tour guide shines through. In short, if you want to tour the battlefields of Chattanooga, this book will serve you well at a bargain of a price. I cannot give it a higher recommendation! |
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