The Confederacy's Last Hurrah

Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville

By: Wiley Sword

Narrated by: Tom Parks

The rise of Civil War general John Bell Hood, his command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, and the decisions that led to its downfall.

Though he barely escaped expulsion from West Point, John Bell Hood quickly rose through the ranks of the Confederate army. With bold leadership in the battles of Gaines' Mill and Antietam, Hood won favor with Confederate president Jefferson Davis. But his fortunes in war took a tragic turn when he assumed command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee.

After the fall of Atlanta, Hood marched his troops north in an attempt to draw Union army general William T. Sherman from his devastating "March to the Sea." But the ploy proved ruinous for the South. While Sherman was undeterred from his scorched-earth campaign, Hood and his troops charged headlong into catastrophe.

In this compelling account, Wiley Sword illustrates the poor command decisions and reckless pride that made a disaster of the Army of Tennessee's final campaign. From Spring Hill, where they squandered an early advantage, Hood and his troops launched an ill-fated attack on the neighboring town of Franklin. The disastrous battle came to be known as the "Gettysburg of the West." But worse was to come as Hood pressed on to Nashville, where his battered troops suffered the worst defeat of the entire war.

Winner of the Fletcher Pratt Award for best work of nonfiction about the Civil War, The Confederacy's Last Hurrah chronicles the destruction of the South's second largest army. "Narrated with brisk attention to the nuances of strategy - and with measured solemnity over the waste of life in war," it is a groundbreaking work of scholarship told with authority and compassion (Kirkus Reviews).

©1992 by Wiley Sword. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Great battle descriptions

Wiley Sword’s syntax can get a bit muddled, especially in describing the factors leading up to a battle. His strength is in depicting the grisly experience of battle, using diaries and letters of actual participants. The audiobook is marred by the reader, who for some reason insists on pronouncing the word “a” as “ay” like the name of the letter, instead of “uh” as the word is pronounced by English speakers. A small thing, you’d think, but it occurs so often that it really detracts from the recording.

Detailed, well paced, and competently narrated

For how long this audiobook was, I felt like it was a breeze to get through. The book is very well written, detailed, and paced appropriately. The narrator maintained a great cadence and did well to hold my attention.

Embrace THIS Angry Wind

The reason I picked up this book is because a historical wargame I’m playing by “The Gamers” from 1992 is titled after this book and credited as one of the main sources of research for the game. And to my delight this author is one of the best I’ve listened to. In particular, his moment by moment descriptive account of the battle of Franklin and the fight at the famous Cotton Gin that day, is one of the most gruesome I’ve heard in any book. Not only is the detail incredible, but the author seamlessly flows from first hand accounts to what overall was happening at that moment. It is both inspiring with the brave men on both sides, and so incredibly sad. We lost so many brilliant and courageous souls on both sides of the conflict. This is THE definitive book for anyone who wants to learn about this late campaign and these battles late in the war.

A great read and now a fantastic listen.

If this is your first introduction to the Wiley Sword Classic then I hope you enjoyed the story and the narration. Very well done in both the written and spoken version, Last Hurrah was a thoroughly researched and assembled story. Mr. Sword painted a masterpiece by description and vividly portrays the horrors of Franklin and Nashville. He wraps up the saga as few Civil War history writers can do and fortunately for the readers/listeners, we are able to benefit from his literary gift. Enjoy.

So we’ll told. Hi by

From the view of the great army that always came in 2nd to Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The tragic story of Army of Tennessee. The poor leadership these magnificent soldiers deserved so much better than they got. Wonderfully told by Wiley Sword and read by Tom Parks they at least finally got the attention they deserved.