Never Call Retreat
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''Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory'' is the conclusion of an alternate history trilogy by former
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U ...
Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen, and Albert S. Hanser. It was published in 2005 by
Thomas Dunne Books Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction. History The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...
. The other two books are '' Grant Comes East'' and '' Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War''. The novel is illustrated with actual photographs of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, taken somewhat out of context.


Plot

General Lee's army has defeated the
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...
at Gunpowder River. General Grant, having transported his army from the west and refitting it in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, makes the first move. As the newly minted Army of the Susquehanna, his troops match southward down the Cumberland Valley toward Virginia. General
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
learns of Lee's movement of the pontoon train from a loyal Union railroad man. Custer decides it is an important enough prize that he must abandon his current mission, leaving General Darius N. Couch without proper screening forces. The novel goes into extensive detail regarding battle plans, troop movements, and military strategies over a period of three days. In the end, Grant wins, but barely. After Lee's surrender, Grant paroles Lee and his army, and declares a 30-day, unilateral truce, ostensibly to give the paroled Confederates time to return home, but more so to give Confederate President Jefferson Davis time to "come to his senses" and realize the war has been lost. Without an army, Davis is left with no choice but to surrender, ending the war.


Reception

'' Kirkus Reviews'' said that this novel was "reasonably well-written and plausible, with excellent period photographs as a bonus. Still, there's so much good Civil War history to read that this what-if exercise seems more than a touch unnecessary." Brad Hooper in his review for ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'' said that "as in the previous volumes in the trilogy, the authors' research is impeccable, and their presentation brings events down to a personal level, and, as in any good alternative vision of history, the reader is left believing it could really have happened this way."


Historical figures

*
Judah Benjamin Judah Philip Benjamin, QC (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English ba ...
,
Confederate secretary of state The Confederate States Secretary of State was the head of the Confederate States State Department from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. There were three people who served the position in this time. Secretaries of State See also *Unit ...
*
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
, U.S. general * Jefferson Davis, Confederate president *
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, U.S. general *
Winfield Scott Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...
, U.S. general * Robert E. Lee, Confederate general *
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, U.S. president * James Longstreet, Confederate general * James B. McPherson, U.S. general * Phillip Sheridan, U.S. general *
George Sykes George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and served in numerous conflicts, ...
, U.S. general * Elihu B. Washburne, U.S. congressman *
Henry Jackson Hunt Henry Jackson Hunt (September 14, 1819 – February 11, 1889) was Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was ...
, U.S. chief of artillery * Ely S. Parker, U. S. colonel, aide to General Grant.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Never Call Retreat: Lee And Grant: The Final Victory 2005 American novels American alternate history novels Collaborative novels Novels by Newt Gingrich Novels by William R. Forstchen Novels set during the American Civil War American Civil War alternate histories Thomas Dunne Books books