What is a good book on "Tullahoma through Atlanta"?

MikeyB

Sergeant
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
I'm looking for a book that really lays out for me what happened between Rosecrans Tullahoma campaign, Chickamauga, Chattanooga through Atlanta and March to the Sea.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm not looking for anything overly complex or analytical, just a nice narrative that's a friendly read that really describes everything that happened. Thoughts?
Mike
 

Powell, David A. and Wittenberg, Eric J. Tullahoma: The Forgotten Campaign that changed the Civil War, June 23 - July 4, 1863. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2020.

Powell, David A. The Chickamauga Campaign, A Mad Irregular Battle: From the Crossing of Tennessee River Through the Second Day, August 22-September 19, 1863. Eldorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2015.

Powell, David A. The Chickamauga Campaign, Glory or the Grave: The Breakthrough, the Union Collapse and the Defense of Horseshoe Ridge, September 20, 1863. Eldorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2015.


Powell, David A. The Chickamauga Campaign, Barren Victory: The Retreat to Chattanooga, the Confederate Pursuit and the Aftermath of the Battle, September 21 to October 20, 1863. Eldorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2016.

Woodworth, Steven E. Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.

Davis, Stephen. A Long and Bloody Task: The Atlanta Campaign from Dalton through Kennesaw Mountain to the Chattahoochee River, May 5 – July 18, 1864. Emerging Civil War Series. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2016.

Davis, Stephen. All the Fighting They Want: The Atlanta Campaign from Peachtree Creek to the City's Surrender, July 18 – September 2, 1864. Emerging Civil War Series. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2017.
 
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I don't think there's any one book that covers all those campaigns, except for broad histories of the whole war. The Union army's composition changes to much from Tullahoma & Chickamauga to Chattanooga to the Atlanta Campaign to the March to the Sea.

If you're looking for short works your best option is probably the Emerging Civil War series or the History Press Civil War Sesquicentennial series.

Without going into multi-volume works (like Powell's Chickamauga trilogy), my recommending reading list is:

Tullahoma: The Forgotten Campaign that changed the Civil War by David Powell & Eric Wittenberg
This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga by Peter Cozzens
The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga by Peter Cozzens
Decision In The West: The Atlanta Campaign Of 1864 by Albert Castel
Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea by Noah Andre Trudeau
 
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I think you'll have difficulty finding a book that covers Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga and the Atlanta Campaign. Generally speaking:
  • Tullahoma is the orphan child of campaigns
  • Chickamauga and Chattanooga are sometimes covered together, but usually separately. You can find them together in a multi-volume work
  • The Atlanta Campaign is treated separately then all the rest (size and length of campaign imposing restrictions on the work being done)
  • The March to the Sea is also usually treated separately.

The suggestions in the two posts above this are all good ones, IMHO.
 
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As others have said there is not really a 1 volume that covers both sides of this time period, mostly because of how long it is. As others have said I would endorse

powell/Wittenberg for Tullahoma
Chickamauga if you want a 1 volume then cozzens, Powell did a multivolume work on chickamauga in the last 3 years.
Chattanooga cozzens or Powell. Powell’s is an ECW book so not as detailed
I don't think there's any one book that covers all those campaigns, except for broad histories of the whole war. The Union army's composition changes to much from Tullahoma & Chickamauga to Chattanooga to the Atlanta Campaign to the March to the Sea.

If you're looking for short works your best option is probably the Emerging Civil War series or the History Press Civil War Sesquicentennial series.

Without going into multi-volume works (like Powell's Chickamauga trilogy), my recommending reading list is:

Tullahoma: The Forgotten Campaign that changed the Civil War by David Powell & Eric Wittenberg
This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga by Peter Cozzens
The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga by Peter Cozzens
Decision In The West: The Atlanta Campaign Of 1864 by Albert Castel
Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea by Noah Andre Trudeau
this.


This is the list.

now if you want a multi volume work on chickamauga, Dave Powell just did one in the last 3 years. Cozzens book is over 20 years old.

for chickamauga I highly recommend you find a good battle map as a reference it is a really confusing battle.
 
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As others have said there is not really a 1 volume that covers both sides of this time period, mostly because of how long it is. As others have said I would endorse

powell/Wittenberg for Tullahoma
Chickamauga if you want a 1 volume then cozzens, Powell did a multivolume work on chickamauga in the last 3 years.
Chattanooga cozzens or Powell. Powell’s is an ECW book so not as detailed

this.


This is the list.

now if you want a multi volume work on chickamauga, Dave Powell just did one in the last 3 years. Cozzens book is over 20 years old.

for chickamauga I highly recommend you find a good battle map as a reference it is a really confusing battle.
For maps I recommend Dave Powell’s “The Maps of Chickamauga“. This includes the Tullahoma Campaign and covers the period of June 22, 1863 thru September 23, 1863.
 
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