The New York Times bestselling authors of Gettysburg continue their inventive series with this remarkable answer to the great “what-if” of the American Civil War:
After his great victories at Gettysburg and Union Mills, General Robert E. Lee’s attempt to bring the war to an end by attacking Washington, D.C., fails. However, in securing Washington, the remnants of the valiant Union Army of the Potomac are trapped and destroyed. For Lincoln, there is only one hope left, that General Ulysses S. Grant can save the Union cause.
It is August 22, 1863. Pursuing the Union troops up to the banks of the Susquehanna, Lee is caught off balance when news arrives that Grant, in command of over seventy thousand men, has crossed that same river. The two armies finally collide in Central Maryland and a bloody weeklong battle ensues along the banks of Monocacy Creek. This must be the “final” battle for both sides.
A Fitting End To A Great Story Through three novels, Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen have told the story of a Civil War that might have been. It started with Gettysburg, where Robert E. Lee withdraws from the field of battle in Pennsylvania and forces the Army of the Potomac to fight a battle on his terms, with devastating results. Then, in Grant Comes East., Lee is forced to deal with the unknown as a new General, Ulysses S. Grant, begins to build a new Army near Harrisburg, though Lee still manages to capture Baltimore and inflict what would seem to have been a death blow on the Army of the Potomac.
In Never Call Retreat. Gingrich & Forstchen bring their Civil War trilogy to a close with a tale of the clash of two titans -- Lee and Grant -- in a battle that will decide the fate of the Union, and end the war, in September 1863 rather than April 1865.
Everything that made the first two volumes of this trilogy so good are here in the final volume as well. The historical research is impeccable, and the writing once again makes you feel like you're reading accounts of an actual battle, rather than a story about one that never took place.
The ending, which I won't reveal, may strike some as implausible, but I don't think it is. Even in 1863, the enmities that the Civil War created had not grown deep. All of the main players -- Lincoln, Grant, and Lee -- said more than once in their own words how much they hated war in particular, and the death and destruction of that war specifically. Given the chance to end it earlier, on terms that might not have caused such divisiveness in the post-war era, I think they all would have jumped at it.
In the end, Gingrich & Forstchen have created a work of historical fiction that deserves to be read, and re-read, for a long time to come.
Fails to Deliver After reading the first 2 books, I really looked forward to the final book in the series Never Call Retreat. I thought Newt Gingrich had done well with Alternate history and its an area we all know it can be hard to pull off and I thought he had done well with the characters especially with Gettysburg. All of a sudden I felt in Never Call Retreat it seemed General Grant comes in with one master plan to defeat Lee not just in one battle but with one battle that settles the whole war. I felt that Newt Gingrich had written himself into a corner with the first 2 books and this was the only way he could write himsself out of it successfully. Everyone knows how successfull how Lee was in real life and we are introduced to this in the first book and it continues on into the second book. We don't get this with General Grant Like a previous reviewer said with him you get omni-potent powers where everything just falls into place for Grant. I was disappointed with this book. If anything I could have seen the third book having a series of inconclusive battles between Grant and Lee that happened in real life that could have set up a fourth book that ended up at Appomatix. Not a book where it writes Grant has arrived the War is over now. Sorry General Lee but you're really a second rate general now that I've arrived, but that is my take.
Those believing Lee's victory at Gettysburg seals the war are in for a bloody surprise William R. Forstchen and Newt Gingrich continue and end the marvelous Civil War alternate-history trilogy in the same style and sensitivity shown in the previous two volumes. As with the previous two, battle scenes can sometimes be compared to a Steven Pressfield novel, and the emotion and drama is more potent and straining than the previous two novels.
After all but destroying the remnants of the Army of the Potomac along Gunpowder River, Lee is alerted to the Army of Susquehanna under Grant moving from Pennsylvania and attempting to enter Virginia. Rapid maneuvering brings the Army of Northern Virginia to cut them off near Frederick, Maryland, more specifically on the banks of Monocacy Creek.
What transpires is a week-long battle that would make the two month earlier battle of Gettysburg-Union Mills look like a bloody skirmish.
Several well-known American heroes end up dying in the battle who would not have in real history, and others surviving, but each one is done in a surprising, never needless manner. George Armstrong Custer sacrifices his life to seeing the bridges over Monocacy Creek destroyed, severing the Confederate's chance to storm into Frederick unopposed.
While the battle is unfolding, many obstacles stand in the path of a clear victory for Lee, including an unknown saboteur sabotaging locomotives outside of Baltimore, needed to rush the Army of Northern Virginia to Frederick, as well as the removal of the Washington Garrison, now commanded by Winfield Scott Hancock, to march along the Potomac and secure the river to prevent Lee from escaping into Virginia, and the remaining 10,000 of the Army of the Potomac snatching back Baltimore while Lee is fully engaged at Monocacy Creek.
Since it's no secret that the book ends with Lee's defeat, I should say that that defeat does not come anywhere near lightly. The final scene on the battlefield is a heartwrenching one in which the surrounded Army of Northern Virginia, in one last desperate attempt to break free, aims to attack Grant head-on and escape through the Cacoctin Mountains. Just as they are about to charge, Grant's infantry move aside, to reveal fifty artillery cannons pointed directly at Lee's army. He has no choice but to surrender.
From start to finish, heroes are recognized on both sides of the conflict, and in battle lulls, there are times when Confederates and Federals behave more like long lost friends than enemies, just as in history. Heroes are made out of Confederates and Federals alike, including US politicians like Elihu Washburne, CS politicians like Judah Benjiman, and others.
Even if it weren't alternate history, this book and the other two would have been classics in Civil War literature. I am certain of that.
Great series I thoroughly enjoyed this series and strongly recommend it for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I also recommend the audio version of this book, which is narrated exceptionally well. I was sad for the series to end and to leave the characters behind. Well done.
Imaginary History This trilogy of "what if" history, ending with "Never Call Retreat", is so well written, attributing logical alternate courses of action to historical characters, that if readers do not have a firm understanding of what actually happened, they may be convinced that the events described are factual.
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