I consider Dave Powell one of the leading current Civil War history writers. And I'm a Rosecrans fan and recognize the Tullahoma campaign as a great strategic achievement. The problem is, it just doesn't carry enough weight for 356 pages of text. You can only describe so many marches and rain and mud, with repetitive personal accounts. The cavalry actions - the triumphs of Wilder and Minty and the failures of Wheeler, Morgan and Forrest - are the most compelling parts. One problem seemed to be too much narrative and not enough analysis (until the final chapter).

It's interesting to compare similar maneuvering prior to Chickamauga as depicted in volume 1 of Powell's magisterial trilogy. There, the narrative is much more compelling, perhaps because the stakes seem higher, the possible destruction of Negley at McLemore's Cove plus we know it is leading to the big battle. With Tullahoma, it seems as if Bragg is hopelessly outclassed from the start and never has a chance. There's never even really much of a danger that he is going to be cut off and forced to fight. Just more retreat through the mud.

It's deeply ironic to give a review like this, since Rosecrans heard very similar complaints from Lincoln and Stanton in the light of the simultaneous victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Rosecrans retorted that he had captured all of Middle Tennessee, just without all the blood and glory. It's true...but 356 pages is just too much to tell the story. ( )