Winston Groom is best known for his book (and the hugely successful movie), Forrest Gump. He is the author of six books as well as the co-author of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize nominee, Conversations with the Enemy. In this excellent book, he focuses on the Confederate General John Bell Hood and his invasion of Tennessee late in the Civil War.
During that campaign, he attempted to distract Union General William Tecumseh Sherman from his famous campaign which burned out the very heart of the Confederacy during his march from Atlanta to the sea. Hood was unsuccessful in deterring Sherman and managed at the same time to destroy his army in futile attacks against Union forces.
His failure was not preordained, for his record prior to the Battle of Atlanta had been one of a brave and ferocious fighter. Although not the brightest of the Confederate generals (he graduated 44th out of a class of 52), he had served well in several campaigns and was until the Battle of Atlanta, considered a dashing and rising Confederate star.
Although Hood was criticized for his failure to hold Atlanta, one must remember that he entered the campaign late in the game as his predecessor General Joseph E. Johnston had failed to stop Sherman as he advanced on Atlanta. Yet, despite Hood’s experiences with the power of defensive firepower, Hood threw his army at Sherman in an effort to sweep him from the field. The attack resulted in thousands of Confederate casualties at a point in the war where they could not be easily replaced. Hood had to leave Atlanta and some of his glory was lost.
The invasion of Tennessee was a prime example of “what might have been”, as within a short span of forty-eight hours, Hood lost not one, not two, but six opportunities to destroy the Union army that would later turn and destroy his army. The battle of Franklin decided the campaign but there would be one more defeat at Nashville and with it, the fate of the South was sealed.
Groom provides excellent cameo descriptions of many Union and Confederate leaders throughout the book and his descriptions of the battles will keep the reader going back to read passages for their excitement and detail. He also goes into the politics and schemes of various senior officers as they attempt to enhance their reputations and positions through a variety of nasty and dubious tricks.
I have often wondered why, aside from an attempt to sooth Southern feelings, a major military based was named after a General who after years of war, did not understand the days of massed Napoleonic charges were over. He, like General Lee, seemed to have a blind spot to the realities of not having a numeric advantage and the deadliness of “modern” weapons. Perhaps it is well that the name of Fort Hood has been changed. Hopefully it is to the name of a more realistic General.
