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Never Smile Again
After the loss of both Kentucky and Tennessee, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston has one last chance to save his reputation and his nation. He must destroy Federal General Ulysses S. Grant’s army before he is reinforced by General Don Carlos Buell. Together the two Federal armies will outnumber Johnston’s army by more than two to one. Confederate President Jefferson Davis has sent General Gustave Toutand Beauregard, the Hero of the Confederacy, to assist Johnston. Together, they must stop the Federal invasion before Mississippi and Alabama also fall to Union control. Never Smile Again takes you on the campaign from Corinth to Shiloh Church and beyond. This is the second book in the series by Civil War historian Tim Kent. A must read for any Civil War enthusiast.
143 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 22, 2022
A real confederacy of dunces
VS.
A union of arrogance and complacency.
Outstanding informative, enthralling, fictionalized account of the battle of Shiloh also known as Pittsburgh Landing. The facts of the battle are accompanied by well imagined conversations and thoughts.
"After Shiloh, the South never smiled again." - George Washington Cable. Gettysburg and Vicksburg may have been the death knells of the Confederacy but Shiloh was the harbinger of what was to come. Most attention is usually given to Lee, Jackson, etc. and the war in the East, but the war was lost in the West.
At Shiloh, the "great" general Albert Sydney Johnson didn't even devise his own attack plan. He left that little detail to P.G.T. Beauregard who left it to his chief of staff, Colonel Thomas Jordan, who decided to copy one of Napoleon's plans because Beauregard considered himself to be another Napoleon. Unfortunately the only one of Napoleon's plans he had available was for... WATERLOO.
Napoleon's plan may have been suitable for the generally open, rolling countryside around Mont St. Jean and Waterloo. However, the country between Corinth and Shiloh, and indeed around Shiloh, was thickly wooded and choked with frequently tangled underbrush with limited visibility. The plan for the three corps of Johnson's army to march and attack in echelon was remarkably ill suited for the terrain and the abilities of the corp commanders - Braxton Bragg, Leonidas Polk and William J. Hardee.
I could go on and on about the failings, shortcomings and general incompetence of the five commanders of the Confederate Army of Mississippi but read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that the five made up a true confederacy of dunces.
Now for the inept actions of the shortsighted, complacent Union commanders, Grant and Sherman:
Grant was under orders from his commander and enemy, General Henry Halleck, to not engage the Confederate army until General Don Carlos Buell arrived with his army. Halleck disliked and distrusted Grant. He had previously tried to fire Grant but President Lincoln intervened.
Grant, apparently afraid of Halleck, took his orders to mean that he should not move toward the Confederates or provoke them in any way. Consequently he limited reconnaissance to the point that it was nonexistent for all practical purposes. He also restricted the placing of pickets at any distance from his army. He did move Sherman's division forward of the rest of the army. That left Sherman in an exposed and unsupported position.
Sherman placed few if any forward pickets and did no sensible reconnaissance. He apparently relied on Grant's arrogant assertions that there were no Confederate troops anywhere nearby. The Confederate attack, despite the bungling of Albert Sidney Johnson and his subordinates, took Sherman and Grant completely by surprise. It was the Confederates' battle to lose. Which they did. The Union army was saved mostly by continuing Confederate bungling and the timely arrival of Buell's troops during the night.
VS.
A union of arrogance and complacency.
Outstanding informative, enthralling, fictionalized account of the battle of Shiloh also known as Pittsburgh Landing. The facts of the battle are accompanied by well imagined conversations and thoughts.
"After Shiloh, the South never smiled again." - George Washington Cable. Gettysburg and Vicksburg may have been the death knells of the Confederacy but Shiloh was the harbinger of what was to come. Most attention is usually given to Lee, Jackson, etc. and the war in the East, but the war was lost in the West.
At Shiloh, the "great" general Albert Sydney Johnson didn't even devise his own attack plan. He left that little detail to P.G.T. Beauregard who left it to his chief of staff, Colonel Thomas Jordan, who decided to copy one of Napoleon's plans because Beauregard considered himself to be another Napoleon. Unfortunately the only one of Napoleon's plans he had available was for... WATERLOO.
Napoleon's plan may have been suitable for the generally open, rolling countryside around Mont St. Jean and Waterloo. However, the country between Corinth and Shiloh, and indeed around Shiloh, was thickly wooded and choked with frequently tangled underbrush with limited visibility. The plan for the three corps of Johnson's army to march and attack in echelon was remarkably ill suited for the terrain and the abilities of the corp commanders - Braxton Bragg, Leonidas Polk and William J. Hardee.
I could go on and on about the failings, shortcomings and general incompetence of the five commanders of the Confederate Army of Mississippi but read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that the five made up a true confederacy of dunces.
Now for the inept actions of the shortsighted, complacent Union commanders, Grant and Sherman:
Grant was under orders from his commander and enemy, General Henry Halleck, to not engage the Confederate army until General Don Carlos Buell arrived with his army. Halleck disliked and distrusted Grant. He had previously tried to fire Grant but President Lincoln intervened.
Grant, apparently afraid of Halleck, took his orders to mean that he should not move toward the Confederates or provoke them in any way. Consequently he limited reconnaissance to the point that it was nonexistent for all practical purposes. He also restricted the placing of pickets at any distance from his army. He did move Sherman's division forward of the rest of the army. That left Sherman in an exposed and unsupported position.
Sherman placed few if any forward pickets and did no sensible reconnaissance. He apparently relied on Grant's arrogant assertions that there were no Confederate troops anywhere nearby. The Confederate attack, despite the bungling of Albert Sidney Johnson and his subordinates, took Sherman and Grant completely by surprise. It was the Confederates' battle to lose. Which they did. The Union army was saved mostly by continuing Confederate bungling and the timely arrival of Buell's troops during the night.
May 22, 2015
Excellent book about the Battle of Shiloh shown from both sides.
Read
December 5, 2015really enjoyed the book only problem to dam short, think author could have made this longer on this battle and would definitely 5 star
November 16, 2017
Tim Kent is currently my favorite Civil War writer by far. Being a historian, he beautifully combines factual with excellent dialogue. He has made the battles and characters come alive.
January 22, 2016
Great telling of the Battle at Shiloh. Tim Kent doe an excellent job of taking facts and making them very readable.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews