Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign, November 1862-January 1863

by Daniel A. Masters

The waning days of 1862 marked a nadir in the fortunes of the Union. After major defeats at Fredericksburg in Virginia and Chickasaw Bayou in Mississippi, it fell to Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans and his Army of the Cumberland to secure a victory that would give military teeth to the Emancipation Proclamation set to take effect on January 1, 1863. Rosecrans moved his army out of Nashville on the day after Christmas to Murfreesboro, met Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee, and fought one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the war. The full campaign, with extensive new material and coverage, is the subject of Daniel Masters' new Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign, November 1862-January 1863.

The opposing armies, 44,000 men under Rosecrans and 37,000 under Bragg, locked bayonets on December 31, 1862, in some of the hardest fighting of the war. Bragg's initial attack drove the Federals back nearly three miles, captured 29 cannons, and thousands of prisoners. Somehow the Union lines held firm during the critical fighting along the Nashville Pike that afternoon against repeated determined attacks that left both armies bloodied and exhausted. The decisive moment came two days later when, in the fading afternoon of January 2, 1863, Bragg launched an assault on an isolated Union division on the east bank of Stones River. Once again, the Confederates enjoyed initial success only to be repulsed by 58 Union guns arrayed along the west bank and a daring counterattack. This repulse broke Bragg's hold on Murfreesboro. He retreated the following night, leaving Rosecrans and his army victors of the field.

Stones River was the quintessential soldiers' battle. Prior books focus more on the generalship and high-level commands than the often-forgotten men in the ranks. Masters constructed his study from the ground up by focusing on the experiences of the front-line troops through hundreds of archival and firsthand accounts, many of which have never been published. Hell by the Acre is an unparalleled soldier's view of Civil War combat and tactical command. Stones River marked a turning point for Federal fortunes in the Western Theater, and this fresh and original study sets forth the hefty cost of securing that victory for the Union.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, American History

672 pages, Hardcover

Published November 21, 2024

Reviews

[Jon Stallings · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding historical read of the Civil War battle at Stones River (Murfreesboro TN). Lots of firsthand accounts and the author explores great detail on the decision  actions of the battle 

[W Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This book is a tour de force and that is not hyperbole. Daniel Masters has provided the best account of the Stones River Campaign to date. He carefully crafted the narrative to largely reflect what those on the field doing the fighting saw and felt during this very bloody battle. You do get to see into the heads of Rosecrans and Bragg before and after the armies engage but the narrative is solidly based on the rank and file up to brigade commanders. Masters has meticulously mined newspapers, letters and diaries , and regimental histories to bring the reader a panoply of ground level views about the fighting. Interspersed in the narrative is a wealth of solid analysis about the performance of the armies and notable people. If you are a reader interested in the Civil War, the Battle of Stones River, or in the experiences of soldiers in combat; this is a must read. Enjoy!

[Aubrey Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can tell Daniel Masters wrote this with his heart as the Battle of Stones River is near and dear to him in many of his blog posts. I think Masters writes a wonderful narrative about the battle and the characters who played a major part in shaping it. He gets into the weeds and is able to track the units who fought in the battle to the most fine detail as you will see in the book. He addresses a lot of the controversies and mysteries still causing debate amongst historians about the significance of the battle and brings to bear its larger role in the American Civil War. Many of the literature written on the battle has cast its result in the light of a tie between Union and Confederate forces. While the battle of Stones River is often overshadowed by the fighting that happened in December 1862 at Fredericksburg, I think Masters has done a good job in advocating in the book for Stones River to be considered a significant Union victory separate from the more notable fighting that happened in the Eastern Theater at the same time.


Being able to visit the battlefield itself and using parts of what Masters wrote as a guide to understand what happened there truly relished the experience for me.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masters has produced a thorough, well researched, comprehensive history of the Stones River campaign that tells the story of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War and places that battle in context to the larger Civil War.
Masters provides context on what brought the two armies together into conflict near Murfreesboro. He offers a well organized discussion of the battle that followed, mixing in first person accounts and how smaller actions on the battlefield impacted the overall result.
Masters covers a lot of ground (600+ pages of text) and has organized it well and has a clear writing style.
The book has a number of informative and appealing maps that helps to explain the actions throughout the battle.
Masters also offers analysis on the importance and impact of the battle.
An excellent history of the Stones River campaign.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed account of the battle, with great insight into the minds of the commanders and soldiers. Brings together a ton ofr memoirs, soldiers' correspondence, etc to get a ground-based view of those fateful days.