Richmond Views the West

Larry J. Daniel is the author of Conquered: Why the Army of Tennessee Failed, Battle of Stones River: The Forgotten Conflict between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland, and five other books of Civil War history.

"A refreshing new look at the important Western theater of the Civil War from the perspective of the Confederacy 82 7 s capital city, where genuine concern for its fate was filtered through layers of divisive criticism, malcontent, and often bitterly expressed emotions. Events unfold like a Greek drama as bad news repeatedly rolls in from the West, producing angst and blame-fixing that intruded on the Virginia-centered mindset of Richmond. Daniel 82 7 s deep research combined with his forceful writing produces excellent narrative history." 82 2 Earl J. Hess, author of July 22: The Civil War Battle of Atlanta "Larry Daniel 82 7 s imaginative approach in Richmond Views the West is refreshing and insightful, offering tantalizing questions about Richmond 82 7 s political/military/cultural parochialism in Southern defeat. The Confederacy may have been inevitably doomed from the outset, but that its demise came on the heels of its catastrophic losses west of the Appalachians demands an understanding of just what Rebel leaders knew 82 2 or thought they knew 82 2 of affairs in those Western theaters. Daniel meets that demand squarely in a book that will have long legs and lasting impact on Lost Cause historiography." 82 2 William C. Davis, coeditor of The Whartons 82 7 War: The Civil War Correspondence of General Gabriel C. Wharton and Anne Radford Wharton, 8 3 82 8 5 "Perception was not always reality as a collection of politicians, bureaucrats, editors, and statesmen all combined to form the knowledge (or ignorance) Richmond had of the Western Theater of the Civil War. Set in the Confederate capital, Richmond Views the West gives a real-time consideration of what the Confederate high command was collectively thinking about the important theater of operations hundreds of miles away. Like no other book before it, Daniel 82 7 s latest effort is a significant addition to Civil War historiography by one of the Western Theater 82 7 s most capable historians." 82 2 Timothy B. Smith, author of The Inland Campaign for Vicksburg: Five Battles in Seventeen Days, May 82 7, 8 3 and Shiloh: Conquer or Perish "By depicting events in the Civil War 82 7 s western theater through the lens of the Confederate capital, Richmond Views the West provides a fresh perspective on key decisions that profoundly affected the course of the conflict. This blow-by-blow account of the perceptions and deliberations in Richmond, often fueled by imperfect information and shaped by discord among the major figures, is a welcome addition to the understanding of not only the events in the west but the entire war as well." 82 2 Hampton Newsome, author of Gettysburg 82 7 s Southern Front: Opportunity and Failure at Richmond "Government policy is frequently formed in reaction to events, and this was certainly true for the Confederacy. Larry Daniel reviews 82 real time 82 7 reaction to military events in the West in the context of what the politicians and public in Richmond heard (whether accurately or not), and expected, and the policy that often resulted, arguing that one cannot fully understand developments in the Western Theater without understanding how they were perceived in Richmond. An innovative approach that fosters understanding of crucial events without the burden of modern hindsight." 82 2 Sam Davis Elliott, author of Isham G. Harris of Tennessee: Confederate Governor and United States Senator