New York Times bestselling author Jeff Shaara returns to the
Civil War terrain he knows so well, with the latest novel in
the series that started with A Blaze of Glory and A Chain of
Thunder. In The Smoke at Dawn, the last great push of the
Army of the Cumberland sets the stage for a decisive
confrontation at Chattanooga that could determine the
outcome of the war.
Summer, 1863. The Federal triumph at Vicksburg has secured
complete control of the Mississippi River from the
Confederacy, cementing the reputation of Ulysses S. Grant.
Farther east, the Federal army under the command of William
Rosecrans captures the crucial rail hub at Chattanooga. But
Rosecrans is careless, and while pursuing the Confederates,
the Federal forces are routed in north Georgia at
Chickamauga Creek. Retreating in a panic back to
Chattanooga, Rosecrans is pursued by the Confederate forces
under General Braxton Bragg. Penned up, with their supply
lines severed, the Federal army seems doomed to the same
kind of defeat that plagued the Confederates at Vicksburg.
But a disgusted Abraham Lincoln has seen enough of General
Rosecrans. Ulysses Grant is elevated to command of the
entire theater of the war, and immediately replaces
Rosecrans with General George Thomas. Grant gathers an
enormous force, including armies commanded by Joseph Hooker
and Grant’s friend, William T. Sherman. Grant’s mission is
clear: Break the Confederate siege and destroy Bragg’s army.
Meanwhile, Bragg wages war as much with his own
subordinates as he does with the Federals, creating
dissension and disharmony in the Southern ranks, erasing the
Confederate army’s superiority at exactly the wrong time.
Blending evocative historical detail with searing depictions
of battle, Jeff Shaara immerses readers in the world of
commanders and common soldiers, civilians and statesmen.
From the Union side come the voices of Generals Grant,
William Tecumseh Sherman, and George Thomas—the vaunted
“Rock of Chickamauga”—as well as the young private Fritz
“Dutchie” Bauer. From the Rebel ranks come Generals Bragg,
Patrick Cleburne, and James Longstreet, as well as the
legendary cavalry commander, Nathan Bedford Forrest. A tale
of history played out on a human scale in the grand Shaara
tradition, The Smoke at Dawn vividly recreates the climactic
months of the war in the West, when the fate of a divided
nation truly hangs in the balance.
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