Peter Cozzens meticulously traces the chain of events as the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of Tennessee meet in Middle Tennessee on New Year's Eve 1862 in one of the bloodiest encounters of the Civil War. He has traced the campaign in its entirety, from its beginnings in Bragg's disastrous invasion of Kentucky to the dissension that rent the Army of Tennessee in the months following Stones River. He has tried to address in detail the movement and combat of individual regiments, the character and generalship of commanders, the choices and constraints confronting leaders as the battle developed, and the larger impact of Stones River on the outcome of the war. - Publisher.