April through December 1878, a summary of battles from Sherman's memoirs, diaries, letters, and reports of officers, Tennessee Historical Society papers, and a chronological summary of engagements and battles in the western armies of the Confederacy.

In Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee Larry Daniel offers a view from the trenches of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. his book is not the story of the commanders, but rather shows in intimate detail what the war in the western theater was like for the enlisted men. Daniel argues that the unity of the Army of Tennessee--unlike that of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia--can be understood only by viewing the army from the bottom up rather than the top down. The western army had neither strong leadership nor battlefield victories to sustain it, yet it maintained its cohesiveness. The "glue" that kept the men in the ranks included fear of punishment, a well-timed religious revival that stressed commitment and sacrifice, and a sense of comradeship developed through the common experience of serving under losing generals. The soldiers here tell the story in their own rich words, for Daniel quotes from an impressive variety of sources, drawing upon his reading of the letters and diaries of more than 350 soldiers as well as scores of postwar memoirs. They write about rations, ordnance, medical care, punishments, the hardships of extensive campaigning, morale, and battle. While eastern and western soldiers were more alike than different, Daniel says, there were certain subtle variances. Western troops were less disciplined, a bit rougher, and less troubled by class divisions than their eastern counterparts. Daniel concludes that shared suffering and a belief in the ability to overcome adversity bonded the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee into a resilient fighting force.

The performance of an army is often evaluated by its achievements as a whole, or by that of its commanders or perhaps even its divisions. Often lost in the equation is the small unit. After the great plans are complete and the logistics preparations are accomplished, it is the collective performance of the small unit that ultimately decides the battle. This thesis analyses the campaigns, soldiers, organization, equipment, and performance of just one regiment: the 48th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry. Material concerning the 48th includes numerous primary sources: the Official Records, Confederate Veteran, The Southern Historical Papers, Southern Bivouac, local histories, and the CARL microfiche library of unit histories (Note: the 48th is not included in these unit histories). Other primary references include war diaries of two officers, three enlisted men, and copies of the 48th's Quartermaster records. This thesis concludes that, while training and equipment of the 48th was sometimes poor, it was effective in numerous engagements, despite its relative small size. The ultimate demise of the unit was due to personnel losses.