Banners to the Breeze: The Kentucky Campaign, Corinth, and Stones River

Great Campaigns of the Civil War

by Earl J. Hess

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 Previously unpublished historic photographs of the battlefields are included.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, American History, Military History

253 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Earl J. Hess is Stewart W. McClelland Chair in History at Lincoln Memorial University and the author of numerous books on the Civil War.

Reviews

[Josh Liller · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Banners to the Breeze" looks at the Confederate invasion of Kentucky (including the battles of Richmond and Perryville), the battles of Iuka and Corinth, and the battle of Stones River (aka Murfreesboro) together in one book. These three campaigns are very related to one another and all took place in the same region in the span of 5 months. They have been addressed separately by different authors, but rarely - if ever - together and the rare scope of this book is its main value.

Hess exposes the many issues affecting both sides: Bragg's mood swings and perpetual conflict with subordinates, the messy Confederate command structure, and the often under-appreciated issue of logistics. This book seems pretty unbiased too.

Unfortunately, I feel I can only give this book a mild recommendation. The maps are too few, show too little, and text is angled in seemingly every direction. The campaigns could have been better linked; at times I felt like I was reading three essays put together rather than a more coherent larger work. In general, I thought the writing was only okay and there were several passing comments that I question the accuracy of.

[Mark Levandoski · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a newbie to that theater of operations,this book gave the right amount of strategy and tactics, to make it enjoyable. Enough maps enabled a better understanding of the fields of battle.Slow at first,but picks up to those interested.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. Excellent detail without going over board on the battles that really changed the Civil War.