This appealing narrative history of one of the Civil War’s most pivotal campaigns analyzes how the western Confederate army under John B. Hood suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of George H. Thomas’s Union forces.

Ideal for general readers interested in military history of the Civil War as well as those concentrating on the western campaigns, The 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign: The Finishing Stroke examines how the strategic and tactical decisions by Confederate and Union commanders contributed to the smashing Northern victories in Tennessee in November-December 1864. The book also considers the conflict through the lens of New Military History, including the manner in which the battles both affected and were affected by civilian individuals, the environment, and common soldiers such as Confederate veteran Sam Watkins.

The result of author Michael Thomas Smith’s extensive research into the Civil War and his recognition of inadequate coverage of the final western campaigns in the existing literature, this work serves to rectify this oversight. The book also questions the concept of the outcome of the Civil War as being essentially attributable to superior Northern organization and management-the organized war to victory theory as termed by its proponents.

Emphasizes that the Northern high command suffered from serious dissension and divisions just as its Southern counterpart did-a historic reality often obscured by the ultimate Union victory

Presents detailed information about the 1864 Franklin-Nashville campaign that suggests that Northern leadership was remarkably disorganized and often seriously at odds with one another, even during the war’s last major campaign in the western theater

Provides readers with rare insights into the often chaotic workings of the Civil War high commands, which suffered from deficiencies stemming from personal rivalries and honor-related conflicts as well as confused, ineffective organization and communication