A Chain of Thunder

Name: A Chain of Thunder
Rating: 4.5 (2013 reviews)

by Jeff Shaara Book 2 in the The Civil War in the West series.

First published 2013

Amazon

4.5(2,013)

Spring 1863. Ulysses S. Grant abandons repeated attempts to reach Vicksburg from the north and moves his army down the west bank of the Mississippi. After crossing below the city, he drives inland, defeats the forces gathering against him and turns back towards the Confederate fortress before John C. Pemberton can escape or receive effective reinforcements.

The novel follows Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Pemberton and the soldiers and civilians caught inside the tightening siege. Assaults fail, trenches advance and Vicksburg’s population takes shelter in caves as food and ammunition disappear. The campaign becomes a contest of logistics and endurance whose outcome will give the Union control of the Mississippi River.