rapidfire
Visiting a Novel in Tennessee
T
wo books by Peter Cozzens painstakingly as the bullets would
capture the Civil War near Chattanooga, Tenn., strike them. Every-
between June and November of 1863. This Terrible thing seemed to be fl y-
Sound (University of Illinois, 1992) portrays the Battle ing, but the Rebels and
of Chickamauga, while The Shipwreck of Their Hopes they was busy shoot-
(University of Illinois, 1994) relates the Battles for Chat- ing at the Yanks.”
tanooga, including Lookout Mountain in November 1863. The numbers of
More histories than novels, these books read easily and Union and Confeder-
draw quotes from personal histories, memoirs, and similar ate troops were pretty
sources with real characters and dialogue. even, but the Union
For instance, a 30th Ohio soldier writes in a letter, “The troops’ new repeat-
fi re we was under was terrible. The leaves was fl ying up ing rifl es made a huge
difference, and ulti-
mately, the fall of the
key river-and-rail hub
of Chattanooga dashed
any lingering hope of
Confederate victory.
Today, the 9,000-plus-acre Chickamauga and Chat-
tanooga National Military Park is the nation’s oldest and
largest military park, and people still visit to study the
battlefi eld action. Historical plaques mark hour-by-hour
troop placements, and monuments commemorate units
from the 29 states involved in the campaign.
For more information, visit www.nps.gov/chch.
— Col. Glenn Pribus, USAF-Ret., and Marilyn Pribus
26 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2009 IMAGES: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP, SHUTTERSTOCK; SHUTTERSTOCK; LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
NNov_RF.indd 26ov_RF.indd 26 110/8/09 4:33 PM0/8/09 4:33 PM
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96