Mud, Blood and Cold Steel

Book excerpt: Mud, Blood & Cold Steel: The Retreat from Nashville, December 1864 takes a fresh look, for the first time with campaign and battle maps, at the unprecedented and brutal pursuit of the Army of Tennessee by Federal troops following the decisive Battle of Nashville. The non-stop action begins at Compton's Hill and surges 120 miles in ten days over rugged terrain and in horrendous winter conditions to the final showdown between Wilson's blueclad troopers and Forrest's stubborn rearguard. This thrilling tale, written by historian Mark Zimmerman, author of Guide to Civil War Nashville, is told largely in the words of the participants themselves and draws from the research and opinions of other historians and authors. Well-organized chapters help explain the complicated flow of events as they happened. Designed not as a scholarly definitive reference, Mud, Blood & Cold Steel is written for general audiences interested in thrilling American history, as well as for Civil War and military buffs.