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James E. Wise
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On Sherman's Trail: The Civil War's North Carolina Complex Kindle Edition

by Jim Wise (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
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Join journalist and historian Jim Wise as he follows Sherman's last march through the Tar Heel State from Wilson's Store to the surrender at Bennett Place. Retrace the steps of the soldiers at Averasboro and Bentonville. Learn about what the civilians faced as the Northern army approached and view the modern landscape through their eyes. Whether you are on the road or in a comfortable armchair, you will enjoy this memorable, well-researched account of General Sherman's North Carolina campaign and the brave men and women who stood in his path.
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Previous page
  1. ISBN-13
    978-1596293571
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Arcadia Publishing
  4. Publication date
    May 25, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    9891 KB
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in Georgia, raised in Florida and resident of North Carolina since 1966, Jim Wise is an alumnus of Duke University (BA, English) and the University of North Carolina (MA, folklore). He has been a reporter, editor and/or columnist for newspapers in Durham, North Carolina, for more than twenty-eight years and has taught adult classes on local and Southern history for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke. His previous History Press books are On Sherman's Trail: The Civil War's North Carolina Climax and Durham Tales: The Morris Street Maple, the Plastic Cow, the Durham Day that Was and More. He and his wife, Babs, live in Durham with an aging dog and cat.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B012Q1Q5UO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arcadia Publishing (May 25, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 25, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 9891 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

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James E. Wise

James E. Wise

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
18 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J P. Rich
5.0 out of 5 stars It’s “Climax” not “Complex”
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2022
Good book. It would be nice if Amazon could get the name right! Sherman did not have a North Carolina “Complex”. LOL.
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Ncnovembergrl
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2018
A bit dry but an otherwise good investigative tool for genealogists. Answers questions about battles that are rarely mentioned in other accounts. Would have liked a little more information on the battles here but it's a good starting point. Thanks to the author for his research.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Hard to follow
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
Interesting, but hard to follow. Needs better maps and place descriptions. GPS coordinates would help a lot.
One person found this helpful
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William W. Mellette
5.0 out of 5 stars Connect the Dots
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2008
Most of us have stood in some little spot - maybe just a crossroads or a church - and studied a marker commemorating that place. We think about it for a bit and move on. Over time, we accumulate memories of a dot here, a dot there, each worthy in its own right, but forming at best only a vague shape, at worst no shape at all.

Jim Wise connects the dots to reveal for us the full picture of William Tecumseh Sherman's trail through North Carolina. I suspect that even Civil War buffs will whisper "Well, I'll be doggoned" to themselves. The rest of us can say it out loud.

The only problem I have with the book is where to keep it: on the bookshelf or in the glove compartment. I suggest the latter. Mr. Wise has skillfully blended history in with a travelogue. He takes us from interstates through back roads and even along dirt roads when necessary, giving precise driving instructions. At each stop he tells us what we are looking at, and how that place, whether humble or significant, fits into the grand scheme of things. As the outline forms, he oftimes puts shading inside the spaces by using anecdotes and letters and other correspondence (plus lots of pictures) to take us back in time.

The author's droll wit keeps him mindful of situations that a portentous historian might be inclined to let slide: go with Mr. Wise along a dirt road to the small hexagonal brick meeting place of the Richmond Temperance and Literary society. There, on the ceiling, a gold star was painted for each member. The star was painted silver for those deceased. If a member fell off the wagon, his star was painted black. Some stars have been repainted... several times.

What you might want to do is start out lazy, like me, and kick back with an easy, pleasant read as you ride along Sherman's Trail without leaving your chair. Then put the book in the glove compartment. You never know.
8 people found this helpful
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Loren B. Mead
5.0 out of 5 stars Lost Chapter Discovered
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2008
Civil War addicts have always had one big gap in knowledge. That's expecially true for those of us from the South.

What happened to Sherman after he burned Columbia? He shows up a few weeks later with his men marching up Pennsylvania Avenue as the Grand Army of the Republic celebrates the victory of the Union, but what happened to him and his men after they left South Carolina's capitol?

Finally, the mystery is solved. Jim Wise, historian and newspaperman from North Carolina's Triangle Area is the sleuth who has ferretted out the truth. ON SHERMAN'S TRAIL is the answer. He opens up this hidden period of our history with a clear, direct, description of the weeks as the big war wound down. Skirmishes, pitched battles, marches through swamps and fields of North Carolina are laid out as the desperate troops of the South tried to block the massive army that had conquered Tennessee and Georgia, sweeping all before it up to the center of South Carolina. Grim fighting. Deadly. Incessant. Some brilliant efforts. Some hopeless stands. Jim tells the whole story down to the last gasps in the outskirts of Durham, N.C., where he lives.

Jim Wise tells the story, but there's an extra I can't wait to test -- he connects all the places and events to the geography of today. The book can be used as a traveller's guide to the back roads of North Carolina -- roads, villages, and cities that Jim knows like the back of his hand. One can take this book and follow what Sherman's men did. See where he forded the creeks or got stuck in the swamps. Visit the cross-roads and farms he marched by and fought over.

The BIG story is just beyond this one. The story about Lee's effort, ended at Appomatox, to break through and join Johnson for a renewed struggle. We KNOW THAT story -- but this is the critical piece that's been missing.

Thanks to Jim Wise for giving us this lost chapter of the story.

Loren B. Mead
4 people found this helpful
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Michael Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Little Book On Sherman's March In North Carolina
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2009
Since I live in Union County NC, close to where Sherman entered North Carolina, I have a natural interest on the subject.

"On Sherman's Trail" is a delightful story on Sherman's army entering North Carolina and of the several skirmishes, battles, encampments, etc. they encountered. For example, I enjoyed reading of the skirmish at White's Store NC, close to my home. What Wise wrote is much more than I ever knew of this brief skirmish.

But that's not all. Wise also includes accounts of the Union army's encampment at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church, battles at Monroe's Crossroads, Averasboro, Bentonville, encampments at Fayetteville and Goldsboro, and ultimately receiving Confederate General Joseph Johnston's surrender at Bennett Place, close to Durham.

The book is an easy read and flows very smoothly with accounts of the Yankees' encounters with civilians and Confederate troops. I also enjoyed reading about out of the way places that history seems to have forgotten (Sneadesboro, Morven, etc.).

A great read whether or not you are particularly interested in the subject. Would like to see more such titles (perhaps actions in Eastern North Carolina 1862-1864?).

Read and enjoy. Highly recommended!
5 people found this helpful
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George Davis
3.0 out of 5 stars History good. Narrative spotty
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2016
Well done except the author's insistence of providing turn by turn directions to nothing of value. It gets in the way of the narrative.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Mr. R. E. J. Hyson
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2017
Verified Purchase
Great read. Full of human interest (from both sides)
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