"Their tattered flags became the symbol of a defeated class, and Vandiver's description of aristocratic Southern leadership in crisis is a real contribution to the literature of the Civil War."--New York Times Book Review " . . . goes beyond the legendary heroism of the Lees and the Johnstons and the fabled soldiers in gray and shows how and why these men were unable to create an independent Southern nation."--Bruce Catton "A Southern mirror to Bruce Catton's splendid books on the Civil War . . . written with the pace of a Confederate infantry charge."--Robert K. Massie