Historian Wiley Sword offers a richly detailed account that captures the vivid personalities behind the battle for Chattanooga. Grant, Thomas, Bragg, William Tecumseh Sherman, Phil Sheridan, William Rosecrans, Pat Cleburne, Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln - all come alive in a narrative that combines furious battle action with behind-the-scenes political maneuvering and astute analysis. Sword's storytelling gifts are augmented by a wealth of contemporary sources - including diaries, letters, and other unpublished material - where generals, officers, soldiers, and politicians offer their perspectives. A saga of war, power, charged rivalries, and small cogs driving great events, Mountains Touched With Fire tells the absorbing story of a turning point in American history.

Includes maps of: Theater of Operations, Chattanooga Campaign, September-November 1863; Siege of Chattanooga, October-November 1863; Logistical Situation, Siege of Chattanooga; Chattanooga, East Tennessee Operations, October-November 1863; Brown's Ferry, Wauhatchie Actions, October 27-29, 1863; Assault on Orchard Knob, November 23, 1863; Assault on Lookout Mountain, November 24, 1863; Sherman's Assault on North Missionary Ridge, November 24-25, 1863; Situation at 4 P.M., November 25, 1863 - Thomas' Assault; Union Breakthrought on Missionary Ridge, 5 P.M., November 25, 1863; Confederate Retreat from Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863; Action at Ringgold Gap, November 27, 1863.

Part I. The Generals. To serve one's ambition -- We have met with a serious disaster -- "What does he fight battles for?" -- "Nothing but the hand of God can save us" -- "Everything will come out right" -- A "Dazed and mazy commander" -- "What does it mean?" -- Whom should the soldiers trust?" -- Bragg's "Least favorable option" -- Part II. The men. "One of the wildest places you ever saw" -- "Ain't that a queer kind of war?" -- "This is starvation camp" -- "Oh, what suffering this war entails" -- Brown's Ferry and Smith's Pontoons -- "General Hooker's balloon" -- Jenkins's patrol to pick up wagons and stragglers -- "What were your orders, General Schurz?" -- "We have the river" -- "I don't think there will be much left after my army passes" -- "I have never felt such restlessness before" -- "Can't you spare me another division" – Part III: The Fighting. "Kicking up such a damned fuss" -- "The ball will soon open -- What is "wrongly laid down" -- "A sickle of Mars" -- The battle within the clouds -- Fireflies in the night -- "I mean to get even with them" -- Hell turned loose on Tunnel Hill -- An Ascent into Hell -- Time for a demonstration -- One of the greatest blunders -- A matter of survival -- "Who in hell is going to stop them?" -- "You kills me mit joy!" -- "Give 'em hell, boys!" -- "Here's your mule!" -- The night of the long shadows -- "The unaccountable spirit of the troops" -- In the wake of the stampede -- "Have you an troops that won't run away?" -- "Such is civilized war" -- "Let the past take care of itself."