Civil War - Chain of Thunder: Siege of Vicksburg, Battle for the Mississippi

 

Another chunkster from Jeff Shaara as part of the great American Civil War deep dive, A Chain of Thunder details the siege of Vicksburg and the overall U.S. Grant campaign to gain full access of the Mississippi River for the Union.

As with his other war novels, Shaara's narrative shifts among various players on both sides, generals and other officers (of course) Grant and Sherman for the North and Pemberton for the South, as well as a Union soldier from Wisconsin (Fritz aka Dutchie Bauer) whom I met in the previous novel, A Blaze of Glory, about Shiloh, and several civilians from Vicksburg who remained until the final surrender of the fort by the Confederates. 

The main civilian given voice in this novel is Lucy Spence, a young woman, only 18 years old, who is on her own after her mother dies (her father had already abandoned the family). She is taken in by neighbors when the town's residents move into caves to shelter from the constant shelling by the Union Army, but she volunteers as a nurse and so through her eyes we see first-hand the horror and pain of the battlefield survivors.

All of the military personnel featured in the novel as well as Dutchie and Lucy and her neighbors were real people, and at the end of the book, as always, the author provides a glimpse into their lives post-war.

These novels are really such an excellent way to learn about not only the details of the campaigns and the military strategy, which I do find fascinating, but also how the people actually lived through the experience, including the politics, the rumors, and the hopes and fears that are not tempered by hindsight. For example, I have read several non-fiction accounts of the Vicksburg campaign, and they all rather glibly mention how the town's residents lived in caves, but reading a fictional account of how the residents actually had to live (i.e., digging out the caves, putting up supporting timbers, figuring out how cook and what to cook as food stores ran out and starvation set in, how to clean themselves, etc.) brings home so much more powerfully what was endured and what was sacrificed.

I also really enjoyed reading about the role that the engineers played on both sides in devising ingenious solutions to tough military problems. In particular, the "Coonskins Tower," constructed by a lieutenant out of discarded railroad ties and that enabled Union sharpshooters to have a clear shot at the Confederate ramparts is a great example. Another is the second earthen wall constructed overnight by the Confederate soldiers under the direction of their chief engineer after the Union artillery blasted through one of the outer walls late one afternoon in preparation for a massive assault the next morning.

As you can tell, I'm not nearly through with my deep dive, and this book was another exceptional piece of balanced writing by a wonderful historical fiction author who respects his source material.

And yes, at 562 pages, this book most definitely is part of the #BigBookSummer of 2024.