≡ Download Judgment at Appomattox A Novel The Battle Hymn Cycle Ralph Peters Books

Judgment at Appomattox A Novel The Battle Hymn Cycle Ralph Peters Books

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Judgment at Appomattox A Novel The Battle Hymn Cycle Ralph Peters Books

A moving finale to Peters's Battle Hymn series. Once again, his character portrayals are deeply realized and quite real. I am particularly taken with the author's gift for stripping away the popular myths surrounding the titans of this struggle. Robert E. Lee emerges not as the bigger-than-life hero of the Lost Cause, but a troubled and, at times, a very frail and flawed human being. U.S. Grant earns even more of my respect when portrayed by Peters, here's a man with a remarkable mind and a deep sense of honor and, yes, compassion. The evolution of John Brown Gordon over the course of the series has been remarkable to watch and makes me want to read more about this lesser-known leader of Confederate forces. There's also return appearances by Phil Sheridan--a brilliant fighter but a contemptible human being--George Custer who, in modern parlance would be called a hot dog, and Francis C. Barlow. So much to discuss and praise in this novel and the entire series. I recommend these books and see them as essential reading if you care about history and the stories of men and women confronting horrific situations while wrestling with questions of honor and courage.


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Judgment at Appomattox A Novel The Battle Hymn Cycle Ralph Peters Books Reviews

Another home run by Ralph Peters completes his 5 book story of the Civil War. I am glad I went this route in reading up on the topic of the Civil War. There are many books out there and I started on some of them. Then I discovered Peters had done his Gettysburg through Appomattox series.

Peter's mixture of reality and presumed reality (based upon reality) makes for very entertaining and non-tedious reading. He provides characters you cannot wait to keep up with the goings on of (such as Riordan in this latest book). The overall scenarios are based upon factual dates, times and events. Peters polishes them up and delivers riveting renditions.
Excellent read. I have read all of Peters' Civil War novels in this series and found them to be engrossing. This novel is no exception. Keeping in mind that this is fiction, the author takes us on a well researched journey into the past, allowing us to share in the events of this dreadful war that reshaped the American cultural landscape. We are guided through the battle fields and frustrations and victories of the participants. Peters gives us a taste of what it might be like to be in battle from the enlisted man's perspective as well as the officers. What was going on in their minds? What were the relationships like between the officers and their men? What were their aspirations? Why did they fight with such passion? All of these plus other issues of the war are addressed in these novels. If you are a fan of this genre you cannot afford to miss reading this book. I would recommend, if you haven't already, first read the other four novels in this series beginning with "Cain at Gettysburg."
If you have been lucky, and persistent, enough to read Shelby Foote’s intimidating "The Civil War A Narrative," you already know that that is how he finished up, in his note at the end of volume three. I get the same feeling finishing up Ralph Peters’ series of novels about the Civil War, starting in Gettysburg and ending at Appomattox. So there now. The story is told.

From the get-go, Peters went against the received wisdom of Civil War books, which insisted that you concentrate on the early days of the War, when the South—the flamboyant underdog and thus often the one many want to root for—was doing well. Gettysburg was the high-water mark of the Confederacy, and after that it was a long, terrible slugging match leading to an inevitable end. That was the standard view, and Peters, true to form, took his own path, and in doing so he gives an enormous amount of flair and excitement and tension to that inevitability.

Having followed the repulsed southrons south from Pennsylvania he shows how tetchy and tough they were, slugging it out through the Overland Campaign ("Hell or Richmond") making a desperate sally and an almost last stand in the Shenandoah ("The Valley of the Shadow") and digging in desperately at Petersburg ("The Damned of Petersburg"). You can say that their expulsion from Petersburg was the end, but history and the narrative impulse both demand that the story be brought down to its conclusion, and "Judgment at Appomattox" does just that. One would think there is not much left to tell after Richmond was taken and the rebels were pushed out of Petersburg, but there is still a hell of lot more, and Peters narrates it deftly and with emotional impact. Lee and his beleaguered army scrambled away from the shattered cities and headed west, dreaming of uniting with Joe Johnston down in North Carolina and getting back into the fight. But the brute realities of warfare, plus the all too common mistakes and misapprehensions of men in battle, and the cumulative cost of the previous years, brought even that wish to naught. How it happened is a fascinating story, and, as usual, Peters tells it brilliantly, moving from the mountaintop view down to the experiences of the men in the line, and hitting all the points of interest in between.

Don’t believe me go read it for yourself. I guarantee that if you are not a Civil War aficionado, and maybe if you are, you will learn things. And you will enjoy the journey while you are learning them. I know I did.
A well done conclusion to the series, and I've read all five. It is not pleasant to read the end, and what had to be done to crush Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. I often wonder if descendants of the key players are offended by Col. Peters portrayal of them. The final days reminded me of the fall of South Vietnam. I was a CIA officer at the Saigon Embassy and North Vietnam was acting as Gen Grant did in 1865 Lets get this war over with. There is no honor to be one of the final casualties of the losing side. South Vietnamese military were deserting and fleeing southward; they did not reform into military units in the Saigon area; their time was done. We were not coming to their aid this time. So as I was reading this book, I was transported back to similar events of 1975. Losing is losing, and Gen. Gordon was always refering to the Iliad and comparing the fall of the South to the fall of Troy. However bad an individual day was, the following day would be worse.
A moving finale to Peters's Battle Hymn series. Once again, his character portrayals are deeply realized and quite real. I am particularly taken with the author's gift for stripping away the popular myths surrounding the titans of this struggle. Robert E. Lee emerges not as the bigger-than-life hero of the Lost Cause, but a troubled and, at times, a very frail and flawed human being. U.S. Grant earns even more of my respect when portrayed by Peters, here's a man with a remarkable mind and a deep sense of honor and, yes, compassion. The evolution of John Brown Gordon over the course of the series has been remarkable to watch and makes me want to read more about this lesser-known leader of Confederate forces. There's also return appearances by Phil Sheridan--a brilliant fighter but a contemptible human being--George Custer who, in modern parlance would be called a hot dog, and Francis C. Barlow. So much to discuss and praise in this novel and the entire series. I recommend these books and see them as essential reading if you care about history and the stories of men and women confronting horrific situations while wrestling with questions of honor and courage.