Stones River was the quintessential soldiers' battle. Masters constructed his study from the ground up by focusing on the experiences of the front-line troops through hundreds of archival and firsthand accounts, many of which have never been published.
"After major defeats at Fredericksburg in Virginia and Chickasaw Bayou in Mississippi, it fell to Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans and his Army of the Cumberland to secure a victory that would give military teeth to the Emancipation Proclamation set to take effect on January 1, 1863. The full campaign was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the war. This is an unparalleled soldier's view of Civil War combat and tactical command. Stones River marked a turning point for Federal fortunes in the Western Theater"--
