The legacy of one of the Civil War's greatest leaders is shamelessly misrepresented in this book about one of the war's forgotten battles. Rather than present the reader with an unbiased and accurate depiction of the Battle of Franklin, the authors relentlessly rant about John Bell Hood, smothering
unsuspecting readers with unqualified speculation, rumor mongering, and unflattering conjecture under the guise of historical fact.

Hood's almost superhuman accomplishments as a brigade and division commander under Lee and Jackson, and his short but successful tenure as a corps commander at Chickamauga made him Jefferson Davis' candidate to save the fading fortunes of the Confederacy in late 1864. Replacing the tentative
Joe Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennessee, Hood launched several bold attacks on Sherman in an unsuccessful attempt to save Atlanta.

Burdened by disloyal and incompetent subordinates, and troops unaccustomed to offensive warfare, Hood nevertheless embarked on an ambitious invasion of Tennessee, in a last ditch effort to destroy Sherman's supply lines, and provide relief for R. E. Lee's exhausted Army of Northern Virginia. At Franklin, with the Federal army fleeing to the safety of Nashville, and having absolutely no other realistic alternative, Hood ordered a frontal
attack. The assault failed, with the Confederates suffering frightfully high casualties.

Authors McDonough and Connelly deny readers the mountain of historical record that clearly and concisely details the quite rational and logical reasons for the attack. They mislead readers with overt mischaracterization of historical facts, and present opinions that are not supported by facts or statistics.

It is bad enough when readers invest time in nonfiction literature and gain no knowledge, it is even worse when readers are provided inaccurate information and propaganda that results in incorrect knowledge. Reading this work will result in an inaccurate understanding of the Battle of Franklin, and General John Bell Hood.

This book, awash in prejudice and misrepresentation, should be avoided!

In a telegram to J. Davis dated 12 July 1864 from his headquarters near Petersburg Va

Telegram of today received. I regret the fact stated. It is a bad time to release the commander of an army situated as that of Tennessee.We may lose Atlanta and the army too.

Hood is a bold fighter.
I am doubtful as to other qualities necessary

This is a well written, easy to read account of the Battle of Franklin. The authors put the battle into focus, not only in a geographic sense but from the state of mind of the men and commanders who fought there. This work helps to explain much about General Hood (a proven leader and fighter of the war's earlier days) and his decisions made there. From this book it is easy to see the "why" and "how" of the fight at Franklin.