Bright Starry Banner
A Novel of the Civil War

Alden R. Carter

Soho Press March, 2004

A Review
by PVT Gary L. Willford, Jr.

    Bright Starry Banner is a historical novel based on the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River to those of you of the Yankee persuasion).  The story encompasses the actions of the western armies from Christmas Day, 1862 to January 2, 1863.  Its author, Alden R. Carter, has done a remarkable job of depicting not only the generals (Bragg, Hardee, Rosecrans, Thomas, etc.), but also the common soldier.  The dialogue will remind readers of The Killer Angels in that in places it almost seems to be a verbatim transcript of what could have passed between these giants of history.  Every level of participation is covered, from the private, through the sergeant, up to the staff officers and commanding generals.  The novel is a page turner and a good read -- with a few jarring and disappointing exceptions.

    The novel begins with both the Army of Tennessee and the Army of the Cumberland preparing to undertake their respective operations.  The reader is introduced to the generals of the Army of the Cumberland (Rosecrans, Thomas, Crittenden, and McCook) through the eyes and ears of Lieutenant Colonel Julius Garesche, General Rosecrans' chief of staff, as the commanders are engaged in finalizing their Murfreesboro movement plans.  Through Lieutenant Colonel Garesche, the reader receives some background on each man and a bit of foreshadowing as to how they will behave in the upcoming battle.

    Their opponent, General Braxton Bragg, on the other hand, is introduced through a bit of flatulence as the irascible commander of the Army of Tennessee suffers through another bout with his bowels.  While this may strike the reader as odd, it is indicative of the outstanding research performed by Carter in writing this novel.  It is also the first of Carter's efforts to reduce his larger than life subjects to mere human beings grappling with the mighty events of the day while simultaneously battling issues common to us all. Through Bragg's reminiscence, Carter provides the reader with a quick overview of Bragg's history -- which includes his service in the Mexican war and his earlier experiences with men who will play key roles in the Civil War.  Of critical importance is the presentation of Bragg's subordinate commanders and his relationship with them.

With three or four exceptions, Bragg despises all of his generals.  First, among them in rank and mutual antipathy, is Bishop Leonidas Polk, who resigned his West Point Commission with its ink barely dry to study for the Episcopal clergy.  Now, three and a half decades later, he is a lieutenant general and commander of the right wing of the army.  It is absurd: Polk knows little of war, less of obeying orders.  Yet he is untouchable, twice consecrated by church and government.

Lieutenant General William J. Hardee commands the army's left wing . . . During the army's foray into Kentucky, the widower Hardee insisted on kissing every comely farmwife and farmgirl he met.  Then, if the response was sweet, he would detail a staff officer to arrange a more private encounter once the army camped for the night.  Bragg, devoted both to his wife and to the concept of womanly virtue, is appalled and would have Hardee relieved for conduct unbecoming his rank and station.  Yet, like Polk, Hardee is unassailable because of his connections among the powerful in Richmond.

Among his division commanders, Bragg reserves a particular loathing for Major General John C. Breckinridge . . .

    For the remainder of the novel, Carter demonstrates how well he has researched his subject.  The movements of the armies are detailed and authentic.  I found that Carter's descriptions tracked well with the commonly understood sequence of events.  His attention to detail shows through authentic descriptions of uniforms, equipment, orders, and maneuvers.  There are one or two inaccuracies that the discerning reenactor will easily find, but overall Carter does a fine job.

    .Now for the troubling parts.  As noted above, this is a work of historical fiction.  Given that, Carter has taken a great deal of literary license in imparting many of his characters, both large and small, with too much human frailty.  Some of these -- particularly Carter's version of Leonidas Polk -- border on character assassination.  Lest southern partisans reading this review gain the impression that Carter is attempting to denigrate the South, let me assure all that Carter's literary license is exercised on both the Blue and the Gray.  Without going into a great deal of detail, suffice to say that in Bright Starry Banner, Polk dramatically loses his faith (and appears to nurse some latent homosexual tendencies), Union General Joshua Sill exercises some overt homosexual tendencies, and a confederate private finds himself the victim of a Deliverance-like attack by a rather psychotic Confederate soldier, who in turn, winds up meeting an Apocalypse Now end.  I found these portions of the book extremely disturbing, and frankly, it ruined the book for me.

    Carter, who graciously provided me with an advanced copy of Bright Starry Banner for this review,  was also kind enough to discuss his book with me at length -- particularly the passages that I found to be rather repulsive.  When challenged on the accuracy of these, Carter freely admitted that some areas were indeed made up out of whole cloth, but others had factual backing.  Regarding Polk, Carter uncovered a contemporary description of the Bishop General in which it was stated that Polk was, at best, "spiritually ambivalent."  Carter also has sound justification for his depiction of William Hardee as a bit of a womanizer.  However, Joshua Sill's bisexuality and the Deliverance scene were the results of liberal employment of literary license.  Carter's goal in all of this was to step outside of traditional Civil War story telling in an effort to make the characters more human. 

    In my opinion, Carter succeeds in part.  This is NOT The Killer Angels.  However, Carter goes too far in his attempt to reduce these historical figures to mere mortals.  Some, like General Polk, are sick demented  caricatures of the persons on which they are based.  To my mind, this takes the story outside the realm of historical fiction.  Furthermore, to those who know something about these persons, Carter's characterization of them takes the informed reader out of "the moment" and leaves one wondering, "what did he put this in here for?"  For me, several of these passages were so disturbing I had to put the book down for as much as a day before I could come back to it.

    To conclude, I believe Bright Starry Banner can best be summed up as a raceway with knee-high speed bumps spaced around the track at irregular intervals.  Carter's obvious skill as a story teller has one racing about, quickly turning pages, until jarred suddenly and dramatically back into the real world after hitting what can only be described as an abuse of literary license.  If the speed bumps were removed, Bright Starry Banner would be fast-paced entertainment that I would heartily recommend.  Unfortunately, these impediments destroy what is an otherwise wonderful story, and force me to suggest that those in the reenacting community let Bright Starry Banner pass by unobserved.   

Please read Mr. Carter's response to this review.

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