**Winner, 2016, Richard Harwell Award, Given by the Civil War Round
Table of Atlanta
**
"Now in paperback, Glory or the Grave: The Breakthrough, the Union
Collapse, and the Defense of Horseshoe Ridge, September 20, 1863 is the
second volume in The Chickamauga Campaign, David Powell's magnificent
three-volume study of this overlooked and often misunderstood
campaign.
Chickamauga (Cherokee for "River of Death"), lived up to its grim
sobriquet in September 1863 when the Union Army of the Cumberland and
Confederate Army of Tennessee waged a sprawling bloody combat along the
banks of West Chickamauga Creek. This installment of Powell's tour de
force depicts the final day of battle, when the Confederate army
attacked and broke through the Union lines. The massive rout that ensued
was ameliorated somewhat by an incredible defensive stand atop Horseshoe
Ridge, which Powell carefully dissects at the regimental level. No one
understands Chickamauga like Powell, whose crisp prose and cogent
analysis are based upon some 2,000 primary accounts. The result is a
rich and deep portrait of the fighting and command relationships on a
scale never before attempted, let alone accomplished.
The third and final volume, Analysis of a Barren Victory, covers the
confused retreat and pursuit into Chattanooga, insight into the fighting
and its impact on the war as a whole, a detailed examination into the
strengths and losses of the two armies, and an exhaustive
bibliography.
Powell's magnum opus, complete with 37 original maps and 40 photos and
illustrations is the culmination of more than a decade of research and
study and a complete understanding of the battlefield's complex terrain
system. For any student of the Civil War in general, or the Western
Theater in particular, Powell's trilogy is a must-read."
