The Last Stronghold: The Campaign for Fort Fisher (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series.)

Rating:
Summary: Short history of Fort Fisher
Review: An ok book, though I think a novice or someone who wasn't familiar with the battle(s) may get a little confused. Thats the problem. It was written for the novice. The narrative jumped around too much with the writer on a certain subject or event one second, then changing course the next. Surprising since I've liked his other work. Some rare photographs are to be found in the book. A few, I've never seen before. It was disappointing to see the captions reversed on two photographs of the fort. Maps are few and far between with very little detail. A decent map is required to understand combat, especially in the Cape Fear/Wilmington area. Considering the unique topography of that locale, and throw in Fort Fisher's garrison, and a mobile Confederate Division outside the fort, with a Federal assaulting force made up of a portion of the Army of the James and a Naval "landing party" sandwiched in the middle, things can get a little confusing. Also to understand CS General Braxton Bragg's motivation or lack there of, it would be helpful to see the Federal warship positions in relation to his entrenchments at Sugar Loaf, and the ground he had to cover in order to attack the Federal rear.

But this book was made to hit the high spots and not get caught up in deep details or specifics. If you choose to read this book, I suggest when you finish, pick up Rod Gragg's book "Confederate Goliath" (the first and best) or Chris Fonvielle's "The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope" (fantastic maps and excellent narrative of the entire campaign).