Bright Starry Banner: a novel of the Civil War

by Alden R. Carter

“The fascinating story of a ferocious three-day battle, among the bloodiest ever fought on US soil. Six months before Gettysburg, there was Stones River, near Nashville, in which 44,000 Union troops and 37,700 Confederates hammered away at each other, savagely and unremittingly, and yet so indecisively that at the end, both sides could claim victory. . . . Carter’s theme––war is hell––is familiar enough, yet ever fresh when rendered, as it is here, with the kind of creative force that amounts to a sense of mission. Buffs will love it.”–– Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Monumentally ambitious. . . . For a depiction of war, this is as good as it gets.”— Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Carter brings not only Stones River, but also all Civil War conflict to life in a manner that no novelist since Josepeh Pennell has done. . . . It’s a wonderful book all the way around.”––Peter Cozzens, author of No Better Place to The Battle of Stones River

“ Bright Starry Banner transports me into the thick of the Stones River campaign and enables me to see the tragic battle and its personalities in a new and dramatic way. Bravo!”––David J. Eicher, author of The Longest A Military History of the Civil War

With Bright Starry Banner , Alden R. Carter adds an invaluable chapter to the war’s legend, presenting not only a great battle, but also the terror and courage of the men who fought it.

Alden R. Carter ’s nine novels and 20 nonfiction titles have won numerous honors, including six ALA Best Book awards.

Genres: Historical Fiction

462 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Battle of Stones River, fought for three days near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was a great, bloody conflict. Fought between the Union Army of the Cumberland and the Confederate Army of Tennessee from December 31, 1862 through January 2, 1863, Stones River isn’t one of the marquee battles of The Civil War, but it was certainly consequential. It came hard on the heels of the disastrous Union defeat at Fredericksburg. President Lincoln made clear what this technical victory meant in a telegram he sent to Union Commanding General Rosecrans:
“I can never forget, if I remember anything, that at the end of last year and the beginning of this, you gave us a hard earned victory, which had there been a defeat instead, the country scarcely could have lived over.”

Bright Starry Banner is a historical novel of this battle that combines the accuracy of a campaign history with the drama and suspense of a compelling novel. With painstaking attention to maneuvers, tactics, regimental names, casualties — all the details of a military engagement — Bright Starry Banner contains all the elements of a top notch battle history save for the maps. But it allows us to view the progress of the battle through the multiple perspectives of the men who fought on both sides. From the commanders of the army, down through division and brigade commanders, junior officers, and the fighting men, the author humanized and personalized the conflict. Bright Starry Banner is a compelling drama of ambition, terror, honor, bravery, cowardice, foolishness and farce.

Author Carter vividly transforms historical names into compelling characters in this drama. Union Generals Rosecrans, Thomas, and Sheridan, along with Confederate Generals Bragg, Hardee, Polk, and Cleburne, are all dramatized in starring roles. Even Ambrose Bierce, a young Union junior officer, provides a point of view.

Only with Confederate General Polk did I feel that the author struck a false note. Though history leaves us little to admire about Polk, a man whose incompetence as a general was matched only by his disloyalty and ambition — Carter goes far over the top in his portrayal of him. Carter creates in Polk a Machiavellian monster of a man, false not only to his commander, but also to his God (Polk was a bishop in the Episcopal Church), and a ghoul who derived a perverse spiritual and sexual elation from the carnage of battle. Unlike even the most unlikable of the rest of his characters, Carter allowed no human element into this gross caricature of General Polk. In a cast of humanized characters, Polk stands out as a cartoon villain.

Bright Starry Banner is a book of the horror of war, and the multitude of ways that humans respond to it. It does not attempt to be anything else; there are no sub plots of romance, nothing to soften the story and give a wider appeal. It is a book for those who would see terrible history brought to life and presented with all of its human emotion and drama restored to the cold facts and casualty figures of the history books.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always considered Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels the finest piece of Civil War fiction I'd ever read but after finishing Alden Carter's Bright Starry Banner I revise my judgement. The Killer Angels is a fine book and a wonderful evocation of the battle of Gettysburg but Carter manages to get closer to what seems like the hard reality of war. Carter's canvas is the three day battle of Stones River and the ferocious fighting there. There are heroes and villains, men of great religious faith and craven drunkards all mixed together in this wonderful novel.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book (fiction, but based on the battle) on the battle of Stones River. The author really brought out the characteristics of the various officers and troops. One of the best books on the Civil War I have read in a long time.

[Steven Raszewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical fiction. This is what historical fiction should be! Great story.