Prolific and distinguished author Cameron Judd (whose books tend to focus
on the early frontier and Tennessee history) couldn’t pick an absolute
favourite of his books (I know it’s a tough question!) but does have a
particular fondness for his American Civil War/ Mountain War trilogy. His
favourite character is Ben Scarlett, the town drunk of Knoxville, Tennessee,
who is central to the trilogy.
The 2nd in the series, THE
PHANTOM LEGION, deals with events of 1863, when the war in Tennessee and North
Carolina goes underground and soldiers use signalling points like Clinch Mountain
and Lookout Mountain.
Lookout Mountain
It continues the story of Amy Deacon, Ben Scarlett, Sam
Colter and Greeley Brown as they wage an underground war on the side of the
Union. This reflects how Tennessee, although part of the Confederacy, had a
large minority of Union supporters, particularly in the east of the state.
Confederate soldiers
Battles fought in this area at this time included actions at Fort
Sanders at Knoxville, the Battle of Bean’s Station, Chattanooga and Chickamauga.
Artists depiction of the Battle of Chattanooga 1863
Confederate leaders included
General Braxton Bragg
and General James Longstreet.
Their Union opponents included
Generals Ambrose Burnside,
Joseph Hooker
and U.S. Grant – who later
became President, of course.
Publishers Weekly on CAMERON JUDD: ‘A keen observer of the human
heart as well as a fine action writer.’
REVIEWS of THE
PHANTOM LEGION:
‘Draws
attention to a part of the Civil War that little has been written about.’
‘Historically
accurate, fast paced, easy reading.’
‘This is
just as good as the first one.’
No comments:
Post a Comment