The military autobiography of the Confederacy's most controversial general, from his 1853 graduation from West Point and subsequent duty in California and Texas (mainly on exploratory missions). Born a southern aristocrat, Hood unswervingly supported the Confederacy but was widely viewed as reckless with his commands. Hood lost an arm at Gettysburg, a leg at Chickamauga and Atlanta to Sherman.

John Bell Hood was one of the most notorious Confederate generals of the Civil War, arguably the best division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia and also arguably the worst overall army commander of the Confederacy. The big Texan and his brigade were crucial at Antietam, and he fought hard and was injured at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, but when he took over the Army of Tennessee in 1864, he made disastrous decisions that wrecked the army at Franklin and Nashville. Hood died in 1879, fairly shortly after the war, but his generalship was so controversial that he felt compelled to defend it in a hastily written memoirs. In addition to talking about his own experiences, it rebuts General Joseph E. Johnston's writings, as the two men traded blame over the Atlanta campaign against Union general William Tecumseh Sherman.

When John Bell Hood entered into the services of the Confederate Army, he was 29 years old, a handsome man and courageous soldier, loyal to the ideal of Confederate Independence and eager to fight for it. He led his men bravely into the battles of Second Manassas, Gaines's Mill, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Chickamauga. He rose fast, attaining the temporary rank of full general, only to fall faster. Hood emerged from the war with his left arm shattered and uselss, his right leg missing, his face aged far beyond his 33 years, and with his military reputation in disgrace. Blamed by contemporaries for contributing to the defeat of his beloved Confederacy, Hood struggled to refute their accusations. His most vehement critic, General Johnston, charged Hood with insubordination while serving under him and, after succeeding him in command, of recklessly leading Confederate troops to their “slaughter” and “useless butchery.” Sherman, too, in his Memoirs,took a harsh view of Hood. Born of controversy, Advance and Retreat is of course a highly controversial book. It is also full of invaluable information and insights into the retreat from Dalton in early 1864, the fighting around Atlanta, and the disastrous Tennessee Campaign in winter of that year. Far from being a careful, sober, objective account, this book is the passionate, bitter attempt of a soldier to rebut history's judgment of himself as general and man.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1880 Edition.

'I can assure you, that the gallant hearts that throb beneath its sacred folds, will only be content, when this glorious banner is planted first and foremost in the coming struggle for our independence.' John Bell Hood. In the years following the Civil War a new war erupted in America, a war of words, with the men of both sides writing their memoirs and offering opinions on the recent conflict. While unfinished at the time of his death, in Advance and Retreat Hood sought to justify himself in response to what he deemed unfair treatment by J. E. Johnston and W. T. Sherman. From the outset Hood proved himself industrious and displayed conspicuous bravery in battle, and was quickly promoted to the command of the renowned Texas Brigade in 1862. A man who liked to lead from the front, Hood was severely wounded on two occasions in 1863, at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, where he would lose a limb. In 1864 he became the youngest man, Federal or Confederate, to command an army in the field, given the temporary rank of General. Driven along by communiqués and the considerable correspondence exchanged throughout the war, Hood's memoir adds another rich layer of understanding to the conflict that defined a nation. John Bell Hood (1831-79) graduated from West Point in 1853 and served in the U.S. Army until 1861. While his home state of Kentucky remained inactive, Hood resigned his commission to join the Confederates, in the service of his adopted state, Texas. Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.