Nothing But Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865

by Steven E. Woodworth

Book Overview

Composed almost entirely of Midwesterners and molded into a lean, skilled fighting machine by Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, the Army of the Tennessee marched directly into the heart... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375412182
• ISBN13: 9780375412189
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 760 Pages
• Weight: 2.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Excellent! Not just another retelling of the history of the Army of the Tennessee.

With Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865 Dr. Steven E. Woodworth continues showing he is an excellent writer. This is a long book, 641 pages. It took me about thirty two days to read it. Woodworth's writing is a refreshing, narrative style. His goal of giving attention to all levels of the army from private to general was accomplished. The thoughts, actions, and attitudes of the soldier he sought to communicate rang clear in his writing. My undergraduate degree in history included course work in US Military History, Antebellum History, Civil War and Reconstruction History. I am well read in the area of personal memoirs and definitive biographies of key persons in the US Civil War. My point in sharing my background is this - Dr. Woodworth certainly heavily leaned on the Personal Memoirs of US Grant. I had read that book recently so it was very fresh in my memory. It would have been interesting to see more sources from the southern soldiers who fought the Army of the Tennessee. In some battles I found that some of the other Union Armies' contributions or lack of contribution were not covered in the detail I would have enjoyed. I believe this is a definitive work on the Civil War in the west. With the above opinion stated, I still strongly recommend the book and will read it again. Steven Woodworth's writing style is so enjoyable that I fear academic historians may be jealous of him as has happened with other best selling historians. The story of how the army develops is shared with many sources. I was distracted initially by all the footnoting, but after a while ignored most unless I was curious about the statement. It was interesting to learn of the training of the soldiers and the logistical skills of the leadership - Grant and Sherman. Some may think there is too much focus on General Grant prior to his promotion in March of 1864. Grant was such a key figure that the coverage is merited. At times the author seems like a Grant apologist. I found the treatment of General Henry Halleck's leadership role over Grant enlightening. I was previously unaware of General John A. McClernand and his never ending politicking and rumor spreading. Seeing the roles of generals like Dodge, Hampton, McPherson and Logan sowed the seeds for further reading on some of these men. The narrative made feel like I was there with the army as they moved from Cairo to Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson, to Shiloh, to Corinth, to Vicksburg and that whole complex campaign including Port Gibson, Jackson, Champions Hill, Vicksburg and Meridian. The battles around Chickamauga and Chattanooga were as clearly explained as I have every read. The coverage of the Atlanta campaign and movement through Georgia were excellent. There were had points of view and information I have not encountered. I twice have lived in Georgia (mid 1970's as a new second lieutenant and early 1980's fresh with Master's in hand living in Atlanta). I was always a

A Monumental and Fitting Tribute

At first glance, the general reader may think this book is just a boring and pedestrian narrative of a Union field army in the Civil War. Not so. Steven Woodworth has penned a riveting account of the Army of the Tennessee, which, as he notes in his introduction, "won the decisive battles in the decisive theater of the war." Yet despite its pivotal role in the War, the Army of the Tennessee has never received its historical due. Woodworth corrects that oversight in a manner that wonderfully befits his subject matter. Like the soldiers of the Army of the Tennessee, Woodworth exhibits pluck, good humor, a wry wit, and an overwhelming sense of purpose and dedication in his book. Yes, the book is long but the Army of the Tennessee fought for nearly the entire length of the War. And it did so with a verve and elan that Woodworth's colorful prose captures nicely. By liberally spicing his book with quotes from the contemporaneously written letters and journals of the Army's soldiers, Woodworth makes their experiences truly come alive to the reader. Of course, to accomplish that feat, Woodworth had to conduct an enormous amount of research. It takes an immensely gifted historian to translate the fruits of a painstaking research project into a narrative that is both gripping and informative but Woodworth does so with seeming ease. While spending three years at Harvard University earning a J.D. degree, I witnessed some impressive intellects in action. I know intellectual firepower when I see it and, in this book, Woodworth opens up the big guns. The book is a monumental and fitting tribute to the men of the Army of the Tennessee. But most of all, it is simply a great read.

A quality, well written history of an army with a unique civil war experience

"Nothing But Victory" is one of the finest and most ambitious books on the Civil War to be published in recent memory. The book is a comprehensive, one-volume operational history of the Army of the Tennessee, the Union army which operated in the the Mississipi valley and was, amazingly enough, successful in almost all of its battles. Woodworth covers campaign material, the experience of soldiering, of the army's day to day life, and the inner workings of the army's leadership as well, striking a balance between the army's commanders and the stories of individual field soldiers. Woodworth's central thesis is that the success of the army came from its cohesiveness - soldiers that trusted their commanders, commanders that aggressively used their command, and leaders that trusted each other and the abilities of the Army. The Army of the Tennessee's coherence and confidence were powerful force multipliers. Woodworth argues convincingly that the AotT was a standout force due to its aggressive commanders, notably Grant and Sherman, working within in an atmosphere of mutual trust. Woodworth highlights a counterexample -- General McClernand and his scheming and politicking -- to illustrate internal conflicts that were far more prevelant in the Army of the Potomac. McClernand was the exception in the AotT, though. The other aspect of the Army's success was that Grant's strategy was built to take advantage of success. In other words, Grant's military options assumed that his forces were capable veterans, and that used aggressively they would unbalance their opponent. After initial Union victories and Confederate defeats, the cycle become self-fulfilling, as Confederate morale plummeted and Grant kept pressing this advantage. In addition the thesis of coherence and morale, Woodworth convincingly explores the other entirely unique aspect of the AotT -- that it was an army built around foraging for its provisions, in duration and to an extent of no other army in the war. The book explores the destructiveness involved in foraging, and the complexity of the soldier's opinions on their path through the South. As a final note the lack of maps (mentioned in the other reviews here) is a very real, genuine problem. I would suggest that McPherson's "Atlas of the Civil War" would be a very useful companion to this book to make up for this.

History As It Should Be Written

Steven Woodworth has produced a book about the Union's most successful army that will stand the test of time. He has managed to show us both the big picture - the grand strategy and the movements of the armies, as well as the lives of the individual private soldiers. There is enough detail in "Nothing But Victory" to satisfy even the most detail-oriented Civil War buff, but the great sweep and panorama of the war are not lost in a morass of minutiae. Most of all, the Civil War is a great story - and Steven Woodworth is a great story teller. "Nothing But Victory" is beautifully written and will take its well-earned place on my bookshelf next to Catton's Army of the Potomac Trilogy and Freeman's "Lee's Lieutenants".

Better Than Advertised

I chanced upon this book in the new non-fiction section of our local branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. My great-great grandfather was a private in the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, so the title immediately caught my attention. After I read it, I purchased a copy for my personal library and intend to give copies to several of my relatives at Christmas. Over the years, I have read quite a few books about the Civil War. This book gives the reader a unique appreciation of what it must have been like for the average soldier to serve in the Army of the Tennessee. It is not a book about generals or specific troop movements during famous battles. It is a book about an entire Army, and how it was raised, fed, supplied and commanded, and how it triumphed during difficult times. I think Woodworth's description of the preparations leading to the siege and capture of Vicksburg is particularly exceptional. I highly recommend the book.