Promise of Glory: A Novel of Antietam

by C.X. Moreau

Robert E. Lee knew that he had to keep the momentum of the Confederate forces moving forward, bringing the Army of Northern Virginia and the war itself northward into Union territory. A decisive string of victories might embolden foreign allies to join the Confederacy's fight.
On September 13, a piece of paper marked Special Orders No.191 fell into Union General McClellan's hands. On it was a message from Lee to his generals detailing his master plan for opening an invasion of the North...but could it be trusted?
This is the story of the battle of Antietam and the events leading up to the fateful day where Union casualties topped 12,000 and Confederate casualties topped 11,000, where not just such memorable figures of military history as Lee and McClellan, but also Burnside, Longstreet, Hooker, and Jackson all took part.

Genres: Civil War, Historical Fiction, Fiction

302 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2000

Reviews

[Joe Sobek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall very good. Historically accurate for the most part. The lead up to the battle was almost as good as the battle itself which was told a bit vaguely, I think on purpose. Author did a good job of showing just how close Lee came to getting wiped out.

[Patrick Ewing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical novel. Owes a lot stylistically, structurally, and tonally to The Killer Angels, but doesn’t quite reach the literary heights of Shaara’s novel.

[Zeus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author transports you to the battle through masterful storytelling. I could not put it down. Brilliant work.

[Nathan Schielke]

1-C.X. Moreau is a U.S. Navy solider who is now retired and all the books he has written are all about a war story or a specific point in the U.S. history like the civil war

2-The book "Promise of Glory" was release in 2000

3-The setting of book is in the United States but in the Civil War and many people volunteered what they think is right but even some people don't believe that some of these policy are right at all . Those people are the Confederation and The Union fights to have rights against the Confederation.

4-Their are not any main characters because in each chapter in this book, It goes back to Union soldiers and next chapter goes to the Confederation soldiers. After that it goes back to the Union and so on.

5-The theme of the book is Non-Friction and the reason I say that is because the author C.X. Moreau book is based during the late 1800's and at that time point was the worst war that america has been in, The CIvil War.

6-The plot of book is that it talks about to groups of people that are fighting against each other.
The Confederation of the South and The United States Union. They are both are trying to win what is right to them, To the confederates its slavery and they want their slave trade keep going until the union say that we are all equal people and the Confederates think "No we want the trade on slaves to keep going and later on it boils down to the Civil War.

7-In the book some of the soldiers we'll have their own personal journal and what they do is talking about how their live is going during the war and how bad or good it can be. '

8-Some of the famous quotes in the book are "Pack your things boys, were heading to gettysburg"
"If we win , Ill have to make some of the finest shrimp of all time"

[Paul Haspel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Promise of Glory, C.X. Moreau chronicles the Battle of Antietam by focusing on the perspectives of leading figures on both sides: George McClellan, Robert E. Lee, Ambrose Burnside, James Longstreet, and various others. The literary strategy deployed here seems similar to the way Michael Shaara told the story of Gettysburg in his novel The Killer Angels, particularly when Moreau focuses on Lee's or Longstreet's perspective (both officers were also featured in Shaara's book). The novel achieves greater distinctiveness when Moreau presents the point of view of a leading officer who died during the Maryland Campaign: e.g., Union Generals Jesse Reno, killed at South Mountain, and Israel Richardson, fatally wounded at Antietam’s “Bloody Lane.” One gets to know these officers, to understand their personal histories and thought processes, and then watches them die. Focusing more on those who died would have emphasized well the uniquely bloody nature of the Battle of Antietam.

[zack Zimmer]

1- he likes writing about nonfiction books
2- 1861-1865
3- the time was in 1861-1865 and they were in a war so it was mostly battles in fields and a lot of bloodshed.
4- Robert E Lee - the american general for commanding the confederate army on vergara
Abraham lincoln - president of the united states
5- the theme was really just a lot of battles of the civil war and how it was being in the south fighting your brother in the north it was a really horrifying battle and was one of the worst in my book.
6- when the north fired shots at fort sumter
7-
8-"Here, in the dread tribunal of last resort, valor contended against valor. Here brave men struggled and died for the right as God gave them to see the right."
-Adlai E. Stevenson I

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, it was good Civil War military fiction. I found most of the characters to be quite compelling, especially (and weirdly enough) Fitz John Porter. I really disliked George McClellan as a character in this book. The author sympathize with Fitz John Porter and reinforced my dislike of George McClellan. It's always for me a mark of good Civil War military fiction when you can get a new perspective on people from real life, and while I have always found McClellan to be fairly awful, I used to think the same of Porter. Not anymore.

The battle scenes were well written. Overall an enjoyable novel for a Civil War buff like myself.

[Patrick]

A Killer Angels-style account of the Battle of Antietam. Not quite Shaara-worthy, but almost.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating story of the battle of Antietam. The author finds just the right words and thoughts for the major characters of the battle.

[Cori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about Antietam through a historical fiction lens, but felt the author took a bit too much liberty getting into the heads of real characters.