CLYDE HEDGES NEWS RELEASE
2013 marks the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Chattanooga, fought in 1863 as a vital part of the America Civil War. This great battle has been overlooked by most historians and was greatly played down by General Grant, who commanded the Union Forces fighting in Chattanooga. Yet it was of great strategic importance, for Chattanooga was a great rail junction. Union control would sever contact between the Eastern and Western Confederacy. As President Abraham Lincoln once said, “As long as we hold Chattanooga, we’re a thorn in Rebel’s side.”
The battle itself is very remarkable, maybe the most remarkable in the war. First, General Rosecrans and his Army of the Cumberland were besieged for more than a month by General Bragg and The Confederate Army of Tennessee. Rosecrans had to reduce his men to quarter rations, and they came perilously close to starving and surrendering.
Second, the battle was the most panoramic of the war. It was on the third and final day of the battle when the Army of the Cumberland crossed Chattanooga Valley to confront the Confederates on Missionary Ridge that the full panorama of the battle came into play. Both armies were in plain view of their commanding generals, much more than any other battle during the war.
Yet, the most remarkable aspect of the battle was yet to happen. When the Army of the Cumberland reached the base of Missionary Ridge, they went without orders on to take the ridge itself and drive the Army of Tennessee back to Georgia.
This was the most remarkable and largest charge of the war. Ten thousand more men charged at Chattanooga than Pickett led at Gettysburg. And the men of the Army of the Cumberland took the initiative in their own hands and assaulted Missionary Ridge without orders from any officer, let alone General Grant who sat on his horse, dumbfounded by what he was seeing.
“The Boys of Chattanooga,” a book by Clyde Hedges, tells the story of this little known, yet remarkable battle. In his novel, Hedges writes the story of Chattanooga from the viewpoints of President Lincoln, General Grant and three of the common soldiers who made that miraculous charge up Missionary Ridge. The novel is available on Amazon.Com in Kindle or printed page. You can read more about the Battle of Chattanooga at http://booksbyclyde.com/all-of-clydes-books/the-boys-of-chattanooga/ and keep up with Hedges’ ongoing blog about “The Most Heroic Charge of the Civil War” at http://booksbyclyde.com/the-most-heroic-charge-of-the-civil-war/.
If you would like to speak with Hedges about his novel or would like to receive a copy of the book for review or library use, please email him at [email protected].
About Clyde Hedges
Clyde Hedges was born in Evansville, Indiana. He left home in 1964 for the Army and was assigned to Germany. He left the Army in 1969 and graduated from Fitchburg State Teachers College in 1972. Since then, he has published five books published on Create Space and Kindle Direct Publishing: “Frisky Fairy Tales” I and II, “The Boys of Chattanooga,” “Virtual Christmas”and “Coyote.” “Frisky Fairy Tales” I and II are satires of the old fairy tales and are strictly for fun. “The Boys of Chattanooga” is a novel concerning the most miraculous charge made during the Civil War and the siege and three-day battle for Chattanooga. “Virtual Christmas” is a modern retelling of “A Christmas Carol.”
