Worthy opponents: William T. Sherman. USA ; Joseph E. Johnston. CSA

The school of the soldier -- The brightest of the lot -- War and love -- Dead cock in a pit -- Two resignations -- Sleeping on a volcano -- The shock of battle -- Self-inflicted wounds -- Threats real and imagined -- My God! We are attacked! -- Recuperation and redemption -- Retaking the field -- I am too late? -- War in earnest -- I've got Joe Johnston dead! -- A failure to communicate -- And fairly won -- Reunion in the Carolinas -- Epilogue : warriors in peacetime.;William T. Sherman's burning of Atlanta helped reelect Abraham Lincoln. In contrast, if Confederate President Jefferson Davis had left Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, one of its most effective generals, in command of Atlanta's defenses, the city might have been preserved. This book offers a new perspective on Sherman's and Johnston's military histories, including their clashes at Vicksburg, Kennesaw Mountain, and Bentonville, where they negotiated surrender terms. After the War they became friends, to such an extent that Johnston was a pallbearer at Sherman's 1891 funeral.