Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnson

Civil War America

by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr.

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 the battle of Bentonville, the only major Civil War battle fought in North Carolina and the Confederacy's last attempt to stop the devastating march of Sherman's army north through the Carolinas. In careful detail, Hughes 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 General Joseph E. Johnston's offensive, Hughes 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.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, American History, Civil War Western Theater, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 1996

Reviews

[Schoppie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bentonville was a battle which should not have been fought." This is the conclusion reached by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr., and it is difficult to argue against that conclusion. Hughes narrates the events in such a way that the reader is not cheering for either side in the battle, at least I wasn't. I was left with a feeling of sadness that anyone - Union of Confederate - had to die in such a massive battle only a month before the war ended. The pitiful condition of the Confederate Army of Tennessee is skillfully described throughout the book, and I particularly admire the courage of those soldiers who continued to fight for their country, even after their once-proud army of 60,000 had been reduced to 4,500 troops.

Sherman is not much of a presence in the book, despite his portrait featured on the cover. Certainly he performed his duty as an army group commander, but it was a battle that he did not expect and did not want. Sherman wanted to spare his own army any additional suffering, and he, along with Johnston, seemed to know that the end of the war was near.

The chapters rapidly advance through the events and alternate in their perspective - Union, Confederate, and Union again, bringing a good balance to the narrative. The author also has a talent for describing the terrain, which is especially helpful considering the few maps contained in the book.

The Battle of Bentonville is generally overlooked, and Hughes brings long-overdue attention to this last major battle of the Civil War's Western armies. If you are interested in Sherman's campaigns through the Carolinas, this book is a must-read.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The battle of Bentonville between the Union forces commanded by Sherman and the Confederate forces commanded by Johnston was the last major battle between them and one of the last of the war. It took place in March 19-21, 1865, and was after Sherman’s famous march to the sea. By that time, it was clear that the Confederacy had lost the war and many of their soldiers were beginning to desert and go home.
However, the Confederate soldiers that remained were determined to give a good accounting of themselves and they did. Despite his aggressive tendencies and numerically superior forces, Sherman was unable to defeat Johnston on the battlefield. Johnston’s surrender came when it was clear that there was no hope of victory.
In the overall scheme of the war, the battle of Bentonville was rather minor, coming when all hope of victory was gone. These facts are clear, as is the skilled generalship of Johnston. Despite his lack of resources, Johnston was able to stave off defeat on the battlefield and even achieve a few local victories.
This account of that battle, the lead-up to it and the immediate aftermath is thorough and informative. The one thing that is clear is how tenacious the Confederate soldiers were. Even when vastly outnumbered and with inferior weapons, they still fought with great resolve and determination. That goes a long way in explaining how the Confederacy managed to continue the fight for so long.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable book about Joe Johnston's last offensive gasp at in the Carolinas, and of his army as a whole. Johnston chose a strategic location which afforded him the opportunity to strike one of Sherman's two wings while they were separated. The Confederate force by this point was a mixed conglomeration of troops that had survived the carnage at Franklin and Nashville, veterans that had followed Sherman through the Atlanta campaign and the march to the sea, as well as green raw troops. Small units abounded, yet there were a number of senior generals leading to an interesting leadership dynamic. Sherman's power was inevitably too much for Johnston's army to handle, but the book provides solid detail of the tactics involved on both sides of the lines, as well as the impact of the leadership decisions. My biggest issue with the book is that I did not find the transitions between some chapters to be very clean. One chapter may primarily describe the Federal point of view while the next chapter is the Confederate point of view, but the reference to time is not made clear leaving it uncertain where the narrative is picking back up.

[Steven Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Overview of the Civil,War Battle

Nathaniel Hughes' book, "Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston," Is a terrific book on the largest battle of the American Civil War fought in North Carolina during the last weeks of the conflict. If you enjoy Civil War history, or exciting works about major battles, then you will enjoy this book.

Grade: A

[Donovan Lambright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good tactical study of the battle. There are not enough maps to support the detailed narrative which is why I only gave it 4 stars. Still it’s an excellent study of an obscure battle.

[Joe Vonnegut · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read and analysis of the Battle of Bentonville.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Johnston is not generally thought of as an aggressive general in battle. This book does a nice job of showing that he could be aggressive, as he initiated a risky, long-shot battle at Bentonville, North Carolina as the Civil War was nearing its close.

This is a well written description of that battle, showing how the battle itself was designed by Johnston, how it was actually fought, who the better and poorer commanders were.

For those interested in a detailed depiction of the battle, this is a nice resource.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about one of the last battles of the Civil War, with plenty of maps and first person narratives to understand what the battle was like for the soldiers fighting it. The only downside to the book is the format used by the author; a couple chapters would cover a segment of the battle from the Union side only, then the next chapter or two would cover the same period of time from the Confederate side only.

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Features good analysis on a forgotten battle, but the fighting is described in a clumsy manner.