CHATTANOOGA - A DEATH GRIP ON THE CONFEDERACY. by McDonough, James Lee - 1984

Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1984. 298 pp, large 8vo (9 1/4" H). B&w photographs, reproductions, maps/battle plans. "In the wake of the bloodshed at Chickamauga, the struggle for Chattanooga became a decisive engagement of the Civil War. McDonough reconstructs the siege and battles as they appeared to both Rebels and Yankees, giving the reader a front-row seat at one of the major dramas in American history. The tale culminates in the complex bid for Missionary Ridge, which ended with the collapse of the Confederate line at its center. Reversing their situation in one final, dramatic hour, Union forces emerged victorious. The Rebels forfeited the advantage offered by the triumph of Chickamauga and now found the tables turned. With Chattanooga in their grasp, the Federals stood in a position to carry the fight deep into the South. The river and railroads both made the city important as a natural passageway that provided the Union with a staging base for military operations. The Rebels, on the other hand, found their railway communications crippled. The Confederacy had earlier been split along the Mississippi River; now it was to be severed by a second line that passed from Nashville to Atlanta via Chattanooga." Very light edge wear, small bump at top edge of front board, minor wrinkling at top/bottom of spine. Dust jacket has minor wrinkling at top/bottom of spine and flap-folds. . Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good+.