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The Barefoot Brigade
Chronicles the odyssey of a dozen backwoods Confederate soldiers from their recruitment through their hasty training to the horrors of their fiercest battles--Antietam, Gettysburg, and Richmond
313 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
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February 28, 2019
”Weapons came up along the fence now, and in the fusillade that followed, they saw for the first time the disastrous effect of fire enfilading a line of standing troops. They butchered the right flank of the advancing Union divisions with volley fire, and as that fell back in bloody confusion, their bullets found targets farther along the blue formation, collapsing it from end to end like flame eating along the length of a fuse.”
Noah Fawley stole a pig at the wrong, damn time. The powderkeg has just been lit that has set in motion the war between the states. The Southern cause needed every available warm body. The judge, instead of sending him to jail or fining him for the replacement value of the hog in question, told him...son, you are in the army now. Pa Fawley didn’t want to send off his youngest son by himself, so he sent along Zack, the steady hand in the family, who has always found ways to calm down the hot headed tantrums that Noah tended to throw.
They joined an Arkansas unit and were promptly marched off to Virginia to fight the Army of the Potomac. A military unit is sort of like being trapped on an elevator with a bunch of random people. People are frankly fascinating and varied in their outlooks on life. Take for example Martin Hasford, whom the other soldiers called Parson because he read his Bible every night. After each conflict, he would have to pray for forgiveness for all the expletives that passed his lips in the heat of the battle.
Sometimes the heat was more literal than figurative.
”Deeper into the trees then---pressing, charging, the smoke from burning timber stinging his eyes. The roar of Napoleon guns sounded nearby. Canister and grape and rifle bullets sheared off the limbs of trees and the brush, carpeting the woodland floor with a bramble of instant abatis, almost as impregnable as those their own engineers sometimes constructed of sharpened stakes to create barriers to an advancing line. All of it catching fire. Already there was the stink of burning flesh, like bacon dropped in hot embers, and the screams of fallen men caught by the flames and trampled by the rush of others.”
Can you imagine the sheer terror? The booms, the crashes, the screams, and then that cloud sweeps over you like a wet blanket, reeking of that distinctive upchuck inducing stink of burning bodies. Not to mention the glittering bayonets of the advancing blue clad army that you are supposed to repel. Douglas C. Jones paints a distinct picture of the horrors of war. His superb deft sketches of the men who faced these barbaric conditions is one of the many reasons why I rated this book five stars.
The character of Liverpool Morgan might have raised the rating on this book a full star all by himself. He is a big, black Welshman, who could sing like an angel and ring skulls like Thor’s hammer. I kept thinking of him as a wharf rat. A man who could find what his unit needed when they needed it most. He would swim the river and trade tobacco to the Yankees for much needed food. He would scavenge. He would hunt for wildlife so the stew pot had some much needed calories. He was invaluable. Making friends with a guy like this might be the difference between dying and living.
Jones also addressed the other looming issues surrounding the actual fighting. The fact that, when Robert E. Lee crossed into Maryland, pieces of his army melted away. They’d fight to keep Yankees out of the South, but they had no desire to invade the North. Also, men who owned twenty or more slaves were exempt from service, similar to the same exemption the North gave men of means to either pay a fine so their sons didn’t go or found a man to go in his place. These men who were exempt were the men who had the most to gain or lose by the outcome of the war. Jones touched on the unmitigated anger, a searing heat of raw emotion, that Confederate soldiers felt when they were about to face former slaves on the battlefield. One of my favorites was when Noah Fawley read Uncle Tom’s Cabin and became so unsettled that he thought to himself, ”Well, if books is like that, the best thang is to jus’ stay clear of ‘em.”
It is always scary when you discover that something you have always believed is based on a whole wiggling sack of lies.
When the boys reached Richmond, they were issued Confederate script and allowed a short furlough into town. They visited one of the local establishments. The name made me laugh out loud: ”Miz Rozella’s Afternoon Tea Sippin’ Society and Billiard Hall”
I bet you can guess the boys weren’t interested in “Sippin’ Tea.”
By the end of the book, I felt like I’d been on campaign with these guys. I knew their strengths and weaknesses. I can see how men in combat grow to love each other like brothers. There are poignant moments of unexpected humor and fistfights over nothing. The anxieties of war and deprivations affect each of them differently. By the conclusion, I was gritting my teeth, fully immersed in the action, worried about who would survive and who would be missing from the campfire that night. If you want an idea of what the war was really like, this book will have your tongue tasting like gunpowder, your ears ringing with cannon fire, and your stomach growling from hunger. Your toes will tingle for a good pair of boots. Your head will feel vulnerable and exposed without a good slouch hat. You’ll pine the most for a letter from home, just something to remind you of what you are fighting to get back to.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
Noah Fawley stole a pig at the wrong, damn time. The powderkeg has just been lit that has set in motion the war between the states. The Southern cause needed every available warm body. The judge, instead of sending him to jail or fining him for the replacement value of the hog in question, told him...son, you are in the army now. Pa Fawley didn’t want to send off his youngest son by himself, so he sent along Zack, the steady hand in the family, who has always found ways to calm down the hot headed tantrums that Noah tended to throw.
They joined an Arkansas unit and were promptly marched off to Virginia to fight the Army of the Potomac. A military unit is sort of like being trapped on an elevator with a bunch of random people. People are frankly fascinating and varied in their outlooks on life. Take for example Martin Hasford, whom the other soldiers called Parson because he read his Bible every night. After each conflict, he would have to pray for forgiveness for all the expletives that passed his lips in the heat of the battle.
Sometimes the heat was more literal than figurative.
”Deeper into the trees then---pressing, charging, the smoke from burning timber stinging his eyes. The roar of Napoleon guns sounded nearby. Canister and grape and rifle bullets sheared off the limbs of trees and the brush, carpeting the woodland floor with a bramble of instant abatis, almost as impregnable as those their own engineers sometimes constructed of sharpened stakes to create barriers to an advancing line. All of it catching fire. Already there was the stink of burning flesh, like bacon dropped in hot embers, and the screams of fallen men caught by the flames and trampled by the rush of others.”
Can you imagine the sheer terror? The booms, the crashes, the screams, and then that cloud sweeps over you like a wet blanket, reeking of that distinctive upchuck inducing stink of burning bodies. Not to mention the glittering bayonets of the advancing blue clad army that you are supposed to repel. Douglas C. Jones paints a distinct picture of the horrors of war. His superb deft sketches of the men who faced these barbaric conditions is one of the many reasons why I rated this book five stars.
The character of Liverpool Morgan might have raised the rating on this book a full star all by himself. He is a big, black Welshman, who could sing like an angel and ring skulls like Thor’s hammer. I kept thinking of him as a wharf rat. A man who could find what his unit needed when they needed it most. He would swim the river and trade tobacco to the Yankees for much needed food. He would scavenge. He would hunt for wildlife so the stew pot had some much needed calories. He was invaluable. Making friends with a guy like this might be the difference between dying and living.
Jones also addressed the other looming issues surrounding the actual fighting. The fact that, when Robert E. Lee crossed into Maryland, pieces of his army melted away. They’d fight to keep Yankees out of the South, but they had no desire to invade the North. Also, men who owned twenty or more slaves were exempt from service, similar to the same exemption the North gave men of means to either pay a fine so their sons didn’t go or found a man to go in his place. These men who were exempt were the men who had the most to gain or lose by the outcome of the war. Jones touched on the unmitigated anger, a searing heat of raw emotion, that Confederate soldiers felt when they were about to face former slaves on the battlefield. One of my favorites was when Noah Fawley read Uncle Tom’s Cabin and became so unsettled that he thought to himself, ”Well, if books is like that, the best thang is to jus’ stay clear of ‘em.”
It is always scary when you discover that something you have always believed is based on a whole wiggling sack of lies.
When the boys reached Richmond, they were issued Confederate script and allowed a short furlough into town. They visited one of the local establishments. The name made me laugh out loud: ”Miz Rozella’s Afternoon Tea Sippin’ Society and Billiard Hall”
I bet you can guess the boys weren’t interested in “Sippin’ Tea.”
By the end of the book, I felt like I’d been on campaign with these guys. I knew their strengths and weaknesses. I can see how men in combat grow to love each other like brothers. There are poignant moments of unexpected humor and fistfights over nothing. The anxieties of war and deprivations affect each of them differently. By the conclusion, I was gritting my teeth, fully immersed in the action, worried about who would survive and who would be missing from the campfire that night. If you want an idea of what the war was really like, this book will have your tongue tasting like gunpowder, your ears ringing with cannon fire, and your stomach growling from hunger. Your toes will tingle for a good pair of boots. Your head will feel vulnerable and exposed without a good slouch hat. You’ll pine the most for a letter from home, just something to remind you of what you are fighting to get back to.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
September 28, 2018
The harsh realities of war play out in this fine novel. The focus is on a small group of men in the 3rd Arkansas Infantry. They have made their way to Virginia to fight the Yankees. The familiar rebel yell rings out emphasizing the bravado, both false and real. Starvation rations, body lice, soldiers' feet wrapped in rags, boots and socks a distant memory. And still they march to the next skirmish, and to the one after that. The bonds that are formed between these raggedy men provide the main thrust of the story. Exceptional.
November 17, 2017
UPDATE:
Here is a link to Michael’s outstanding review and overview of Elkhorn Tavern, which is an account of the trials and tribulations of the Hasford family at home in Arkansas during the war:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here is a link to Diane's excellent review of Elkhorn Tavern: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And my review of Elkhorn Tavern: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
One of the best Civil War novels I have ever read. -- James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom
Torn between his love of family and a devotion to their welfare, Martin Hasford, out of a sense of loyalty toward his state, enlists in the Confederate army.
It is his hope that his unit will remain in Arkansas and defend it from a Yankee invasion. As fate would have it, his regiment is sent to Virginia and a major battle erupts in his backyard back home. To add insult to injury, he learns that his daughter has married a wounded Yankee officer (see above links).
Meanwhile, Hasford's regiment sees action in some of the biggest, most significant, and most lethal battles of the war -- Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness. They even spend some time west of the Appalachians and see action at Chickamauga.
Among Hasford's closest friends in his company are the Fawley brothers -- Zack and Noah -- and a Black Welshman by the name of Liverpool Morgan. This is their story, too.
In a brief introduction, Jones writes a perfect summation of the book:
This is a story of the common soldiers. It is not a story of causes or politics or social systems, not of generals and grand strategy, but of simple soldiers and how they were in some ways amazingly different from modern soldiers, and in others amazingly the same. There were a great many like these who, despite all odds, at least attempted to do whatever was asked of them.
...this is a sturdy, above-average Civil War fiction -- strong on unromanticized detail and day-to-day grit -- Kirkus Review
Here is a link to Michael’s outstanding review and overview of Elkhorn Tavern, which is an account of the trials and tribulations of the Hasford family at home in Arkansas during the war:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here is a link to Diane's excellent review of Elkhorn Tavern: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And my review of Elkhorn Tavern: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
One of the best Civil War novels I have ever read. -- James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom
Torn between his love of family and a devotion to their welfare, Martin Hasford, out of a sense of loyalty toward his state, enlists in the Confederate army.
It is his hope that his unit will remain in Arkansas and defend it from a Yankee invasion. As fate would have it, his regiment is sent to Virginia and a major battle erupts in his backyard back home. To add insult to injury, he learns that his daughter has married a wounded Yankee officer (see above links).
Meanwhile, Hasford's regiment sees action in some of the biggest, most significant, and most lethal battles of the war -- Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness. They even spend some time west of the Appalachians and see action at Chickamauga.
Among Hasford's closest friends in his company are the Fawley brothers -- Zack and Noah -- and a Black Welshman by the name of Liverpool Morgan. This is their story, too.
In a brief introduction, Jones writes a perfect summation of the book:
This is a story of the common soldiers. It is not a story of causes or politics or social systems, not of generals and grand strategy, but of simple soldiers and how they were in some ways amazingly different from modern soldiers, and in others amazingly the same. There were a great many like these who, despite all odds, at least attempted to do whatever was asked of them.
...this is a sturdy, above-average Civil War fiction -- strong on unromanticized detail and day-to-day grit -- Kirkus Review
January 11, 2018
To my mind, the best Civil War novels focus on the men themselves, not the battles, not the generals, not the politics. Just the common soldier, who fights because that's what is expected of him, not for "The glory of the cause", not to free the slaves, not because they necessarily hated the men they were fighting, but because when they shoot at you, you have to shoot back.
This is the story of those men from Arkansas who joined the Army of the Confederacy for many different reasons; some voluntarily, others not so much. Whatever the reason, once they were there, they took care of each other, in small ways and big. They fought together, starved on strict rations together, froze in the cold, endured the heat, slogged through the mud, endured whatever the weather and the enemy threw at them, all together. Four years of this, less for some, then those who are left set out to walk back home, having nothing to show for their time but diminished bodies and memories of carnage and suffering. These were a different breed of men.
This author made me a member of that brigade. I felt every death, every hunger pain, smelled the smoke, heard the cannons, slaked my thirst from their canteens when there was water. I was with them til the end, felt their love and regard for "ole Bobby Lee", longed for home where I could finally get clothes that weren't rags, shoes for my feet, and decent food on a regular basis.
What a war. What a book.
This is the story of those men from Arkansas who joined the Army of the Confederacy for many different reasons; some voluntarily, others not so much. Whatever the reason, once they were there, they took care of each other, in small ways and big. They fought together, starved on strict rations together, froze in the cold, endured the heat, slogged through the mud, endured whatever the weather and the enemy threw at them, all together. Four years of this, less for some, then those who are left set out to walk back home, having nothing to show for their time but diminished bodies and memories of carnage and suffering. These were a different breed of men.
This author made me a member of that brigade. I felt every death, every hunger pain, smelled the smoke, heard the cannons, slaked my thirst from their canteens when there was water. I was with them til the end, felt their love and regard for "ole Bobby Lee", longed for home where I could finally get clothes that weren't rags, shoes for my feet, and decent food on a regular basis.
What a war. What a book.
February 10, 2017
copied and pasted "KIRKUS REVIEW
To an even greater degree than Thomas Keneally's Confederates, Jones' new Civil War novel strives for a close-up, life-sized evocation of the conflict--as it follows the men of a self-formed squad within the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment. Among the soldiers: the Fawley brothers, tightlipped Zack and raw innocent Noah; genteel but broke Beverly Cass, cousin of despised, fashionable company-captain Maurice Gordy; Liverpool Morgan, a worldly-wise Welsh gambler and slyboots forager with a gift of gab; Martin Hasford (cf. Elkhorn Tavern, 1980), whose beloved family straddles the Arkansas-Missouri border pestered by Yankees; Lt. Guthrie Scaggs, circuit-rider judge turned rebel officer; old drinker Sidney Dinsmore; and Captain Gordy's halfcaste batman Tug (Bev Cass' whelp by a Gordy house slave). Some of the men sail together downriver to Virginia to enlist in the Arkansas regiment, then march and entrain with the regiment to Lynchburg for training--hellbent to kill Yankees and get the war over in a month or two. But once into the Shenandoah valley, General Stonewall Jackson keeps them moving, until the impatient troops have passed through five states without firing a shot in anger; their shoes are ragged, toes out, bodies liceridden. And then in Maryland, at Antietam, they find themselves facing tens of thousands of the Army of the Potomac (which becomes a beloved enemy). Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Richmond follow--some men falling, some wounded, some taken prisoner. There's gambling and whoring between bouts of bloodshed. And, while less eloquent and less firmly focused than Keneally's intense evocation, this is sturdy, above-average Civil War fiction--strong on unromanticized detail and day-to-day grit.
To an even greater degree than Thomas Keneally's Confederates, Jones' new Civil War novel strives for a close-up, life-sized evocation of the conflict--as it follows the men of a self-formed squad within the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment. Among the soldiers: the Fawley brothers, tightlipped Zack and raw innocent Noah; genteel but broke Beverly Cass, cousin of despised, fashionable company-captain Maurice Gordy; Liverpool Morgan, a worldly-wise Welsh gambler and slyboots forager with a gift of gab; Martin Hasford (cf. Elkhorn Tavern, 1980), whose beloved family straddles the Arkansas-Missouri border pestered by Yankees; Lt. Guthrie Scaggs, circuit-rider judge turned rebel officer; old drinker Sidney Dinsmore; and Captain Gordy's halfcaste batman Tug (Bev Cass' whelp by a Gordy house slave). Some of the men sail together downriver to Virginia to enlist in the Arkansas regiment, then march and entrain with the regiment to Lynchburg for training--hellbent to kill Yankees and get the war over in a month or two. But once into the Shenandoah valley, General Stonewall Jackson keeps them moving, until the impatient troops have passed through five states without firing a shot in anger; their shoes are ragged, toes out, bodies liceridden. And then in Maryland, at Antietam, they find themselves facing tens of thousands of the Army of the Potomac (which becomes a beloved enemy). Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Richmond follow--some men falling, some wounded, some taken prisoner. There's gambling and whoring between bouts of bloodshed. And, while less eloquent and less firmly focused than Keneally's intense evocation, this is sturdy, above-average Civil War fiction--strong on unromanticized detail and day-to-day grit.
August 2, 2019
A drop too much to drink at a country wedding, a pig stolen as a prank, and young Noah Fawley* finds himself before Judge Scaggs in court. The outcome? He is sentenced to enlist in the Arkansas militia until the end of the war. ““Where’s this war at?” Noah asked." ““What’s it about?”” Never mind where or what, and so, ignorant but able bodied, 17-year old Noy and older brother Zak set out, meeting along the way first Martin Hasford** and later the colourful character Liverpool Morgan (also known as the Black Welshman due to his black hair, beard and heavy black eyebrows) under whose direction they join not the militia, but the Third Arkansas Infantry of the Confederate States.
They will march many, many miles in this novel, wearing out their footwear until they are truly a barefoot brigade, and eventually they will learn about the true horrors of war at the great battles of Antietam***, Gettysburg and Spotsylvania. Home will recede into the dim and distant past and their comrades in arms will become their families in their absence. There will be acts of bravery and loyalty, but courage can be fragile and there will be fear as well as exhaustion, body lice, illness and death, death, death. But it is not all gloom and doom. Oh no, there are many lighthearted moments when they sing and banter as they march, or the occasion when they visit the prosaically named “Miz Rozella’s Afternoon Tea Sippin’ Society an’ Billiard Hall” which of course is anything but.
Douglas C. Jones writes very well, and his characterisation is excellent. Noy, Zak, Morgan, Martin, little drummer boy Billy Dick Hysel, Beverly Cass and young cheeky Tug are memorable characters. This is what the author says about this novel in his Author’s Note:
“This is a story of common soldiers. It is not a story of causes or politics or social systems, nor of generals and grand strategy, but of simple soldiers and how they were in some ways amazingly different from modern soldiers, and in others amazingly the same. There were a great many like these who, despite all odds, at least attempted to do whatever was asked of them.”
There is a final ghastly twist to the tale. You might well shed tears when you read The Barefoot Brigade; I did!
Notes:
*The Fawley's brother Tyne is a character in a later novel in the series: Roman: A Novel of the West
**Martin Hasford is the patriarch of the Hasford family who are in Elkhorn Tavern and Roman: A Novel of the West.
The Barefoot Brigade overlaps with Elkhorn Tavern, giving the story of those such as Martin and the Fawley brothers who went away to fight elsewhere. Roman: A Novel of the West tells the story of young Roman Hasford, Martin's son.
***The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest single day of war in American history.
###
There are so very many great lines to quote that for once I'll abstain from doing so.
They will march many, many miles in this novel, wearing out their footwear until they are truly a barefoot brigade, and eventually they will learn about the true horrors of war at the great battles of Antietam***, Gettysburg and Spotsylvania. Home will recede into the dim and distant past and their comrades in arms will become their families in their absence. There will be acts of bravery and loyalty, but courage can be fragile and there will be fear as well as exhaustion, body lice, illness and death, death, death. But it is not all gloom and doom. Oh no, there are many lighthearted moments when they sing and banter as they march, or the occasion when they visit the prosaically named “Miz Rozella’s Afternoon Tea Sippin’ Society an’ Billiard Hall” which of course is anything but.
Douglas C. Jones writes very well, and his characterisation is excellent. Noy, Zak, Morgan, Martin, little drummer boy Billy Dick Hysel, Beverly Cass and young cheeky Tug are memorable characters. This is what the author says about this novel in his Author’s Note:
“This is a story of common soldiers. It is not a story of causes or politics or social systems, nor of generals and grand strategy, but of simple soldiers and how they were in some ways amazingly different from modern soldiers, and in others amazingly the same. There were a great many like these who, despite all odds, at least attempted to do whatever was asked of them.”
There is a final ghastly twist to the tale. You might well shed tears when you read The Barefoot Brigade; I did!
Notes:
*The Fawley's brother Tyne is a character in a later novel in the series: Roman: A Novel of the West
**Martin Hasford is the patriarch of the Hasford family who are in Elkhorn Tavern and Roman: A Novel of the West.
The Barefoot Brigade overlaps with Elkhorn Tavern, giving the story of those such as Martin and the Fawley brothers who went away to fight elsewhere. Roman: A Novel of the West tells the story of young Roman Hasford, Martin's son.
***The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest single day of war in American history.
###
There are so very many great lines to quote that for once I'll abstain from doing so.
April 22, 2016
The Barefoot Brigade is the story of a group of poor Arkansas farmer's kids who go off to fight in the Civil War. The long marches, pitiful food options, tough terrain, and brutality of war is told through their eyes. It's an interesting take on things as it has no scenes of Generals making grand plans, but instead shows us what it was like to play a bit part in the war. It has some brief action scenes and a couple of emotional scenes that help tie it all together, but I felt like the book was lacking something in a way that I just wasn't endeared to the characters. I felt sorry for them, really. And maybe that was the author's intention. Overall, it's a short read and I did like the alternate perspective since most Civil War novels tend to be big picture kind of stories.
July 13, 2011
This the story of several men who join the 3rd Arkansas Infantry regiment during the Civil War. It is well written and presents up close, in-your-face descriptions of what it was like to be a Confederate soldier in the eastern theater of that conflict. The characters are well developed.
The book closes with the remaining few surrendering at Appomattox. The author could have stopped there but he didn't. ...I did not like the last five pages.
I am a Civil War re-nactor, Company A, 3rd Arkansas. I do know their story.
The book closes with the remaining few surrendering at Appomattox. The author could have stopped there but he didn't. ...I did not like the last five pages.
I am a Civil War re-nactor, Company A, 3rd Arkansas. I do know their story.
May 15, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and the story line flows well. I felt like I knew the men in the brigade and the plot kept me turning pages from beginning to end. There were also some twists and turns and an ending I did not see coming.
This book is not as gritty as some I have read but it does not detract from the story and could be read by all ages without offending anyone.
I have definitely added this author to my list of favorites.
This book is not as gritty as some I have read but it does not detract from the story and could be read by all ages without offending anyone.
I have definitely added this author to my list of favorites.
February 16, 2015
A great piece of historical fiction shedding light on a little-known part of the Civil War, and focusing on the lives of ordinary Confederate soldiers and their families in their home community. This really brings out the human side of that and every war, and the quality of the author's research shines from this story without being labored or bogging it down.
October 10, 2019
Jones writes a decent period piece about a group of confederate soldiers seeking to survive the turbulence of the American civil war. The details are fantastic. The characters speak plenty of southern slang and these southernisms are spot on and sometimes even explained.
It is a moving story and as always Jones does his research.
It is a moving story and as always Jones does his research.
September 3, 2022
One of the better Civil War novels that I've read. It focuses on the Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment and the men who fought in it. If you enjoy realistic fiction about that time period, then give it a read.
October 25, 2016
Novel about the trials and tribulations of backwoods country boys during the American Civil War told from the perspective of the common soldier. It puts me in mind of The Red Badge of Courage.
October 19, 2017
Really well done story about the lives of rebel soldiers during the latter part of the American Civil War.
November 27, 2017
A well written, compelling, civil war story that doesn't make the common mistake of getting too caught up in battle scenes...
February 21, 2016
sad tale of a small group of rebel soldiers, from the beginning of the war through surrender. I've never read anything from this point of view. warning: the cover of the paperback is not indicative of the contents
July 17, 2012
Good novel about rural men from Arkansas who became Confederate soldiers and fought from the beginning to Appomattox. It is the story of the men, their character, and their loyalty to each other.
Read
January 27, 2013Much better than expected, and definitely captures the perspective of the trench, life during the times, and the unit camraderie that I found appealing.
March 14, 2014
It is a decent book and is fairly accurate with history. It was a bit showing instead of telling. I think people who like history will enjoy it.
April 2, 2016
Notmy favorite Douglas C. Jones book, that would be "Elkhorn Tavern", but a brutally honest depiction of a squad of 3rd Arkansas soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia. Depressing at times.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews