Product Description

The Black Flower A Novel of the Civil War

By Howard Bahr Fourth Printing

This powerful story of a young rifleman's agony during the Battle of FRanklin in 1864 ranks with the foremost novels of the Civil War. It has already won praise for it's originality and power in the New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Southern Living and many other journals. The black flower symbolizes the rifleman's sense of doom in the misdst of Union cannons firing upon John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee. That army literally dissappears in a hail of rifle and cannon fire from the Union entrenchments. Bushrod Carter's senses record the Confederate charge and it's deadly consequences with the clarity of Michael Shaara's Killer Angels and the poetry of Stephen Vincent Benet's epic "John Brown's Body"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #224590 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 267 pages

Amazon.com Review
Howard Bahr compresses this moving Civil War novel into 48 hours--two short days filled with grim deaths and the prelude, at least, to a love story. First issued by a small Baltimore press in 1997,The Black Flower was nominated for four major awards, including one from the Academy of Arts and Letters, but failed to garner the attention paid to Cold Mountain. Civil War buffs will rejoice in Bahr's vivid retelling of the November 1864 Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. More to the point, The Black Flower transcends its historical fiction niche and deserves a wider audience. Confederate rifleman Bushrod Carter, the novel's protagonist, is wounded during the battle and taken to a nearby house. In this makeshift hospital, he and two childhood friends huddle together, "shivering with cold and exhaustion, ignoring the ghostly shapes still shuffling through the coiling smoke around them, calling the names of men who would never answer." Bahr has poured 20 years of research into his novel, but this haunting portrayal of suffering and death is the product not merely of historical diligence but also an impressive literary imagination. --Eugenia Trinkle

From Booklist
The senseless agony of armed conflict is expertly evoked in this elegiac Civil War novel. As Bushrod Carter, a seasoned Confederate rifleman, grimly anticipates his next battle, he experiences both the mind-numbing terror and the detached resignation characteristic of most common foot soldiers. Shortly after the infamous Battle of Franklin commences, Gen. John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee is quickly overwhelmed by the firepower of the superior Union forces. Before succumbing to his own wounds, Carter bears witness to the grim aftermath of combat as he roams through the carnage haunted by the visages of his departed comrades and horrified by the gruesome reality of the slaughter. The mournful tone of the narrative serves to underscore the powerful drama of this harrowing tale. Margaret Flanagan

From Kirkus Reviews
Bahr makes an impressive debut with a haunting tale of a brief but bloody encounter on the road to Nashville, which helped put paid to the Confederate cause in the latter stages of America's Civil War. Although a university graduate, Bushrod Carter is a private soldier in the 21st Mississippi, a storied regiment in the battered Southern army commanded by General John Bell Hood. Scattered by Sherman's march to the sea, Bushrod and his fellow veterans (wearied by three years of unremitting combat) find themselves facing fresh Union forces outside Franklin, Tenn., in late November of 1864. Ordered to attack, they advance across an open field to meet their entrenched foe on a fine autumn afternoon. After a fierce battle (seen only through the eyes of women and children in the farmstead Rebel officers have requisitioned as a hospital), the real horrors begin. Bandsmen bearing wounded from the battlefield by the light of guttering torches find Bushrod (who's sustained a concussion and lost a finger) almost by chance beneath a pile of corpses, but his two best friends did not survive the engagement. Meantime, under cover of darkness, scavengers roam the killing ground stripping the dead of their valuables, and a former teacher crazed by the carnage prays that God will forgive the South. Apparently little the worse for wear, Bushrod eventually manages to locate and bury his dead mates. Assisting him in this sad business is Anna Hereford, a relative visiting the family that owns the farm. While nearly dehumanized by what he's been through, the young--and doomed--rifleman feels attracted to Anna, who warily returns his interest. He soon follows his fallen comrades, however, leaving Anna to grieve for what might have been. A bleakly effective and economical account of men and women caught up in a bestial conflict. (Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Book Club alternate selection) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Better than "Cold Mountain"
I don't know how this one slipped through the cracks. I am a student of the War and fairly widely read, yet I have never encountered a work of Civil War fiction that moved me the way "The Black Flower" has. Truly a masterpiece. The language is exquisite, the characters well drawn and believable. Unlike in "Cold Mountain," I have been unable to find any historical inaccuracies. Bushrod, Jack, Virgil C., and Anna became as real to me as my best friend. They made me laugh, cry, and love them all, and I was immensely sorry when this well-crafted book ended. Surely someone should turn this story into a feature film. After reading this, I will read anything by Mr. Bahr, no questions asked.

Absolutely Worth the Effort!
Many people who read this book when it was first released by a small publishing company were certified Civil War buffs. It seems that word then began leaking out by word of mouth through their spouses and "regular" (i.e. NOT CW fanatics) friends that this was quite a good book for even "the masses". Four major literary award nominations in quick succession didn't hurt either!

You can count me in as one of those "regular" folks. I've read and adored "The Red Badge of Courage" and "The Killer Angels" but, have not found myself obsessed with the Civil War era genre of historical fiction. I appreciate well written material that will hold my attention and am not a slave to literary trends or best-seller lists. A good friend's constant raving about how great this book was is what caused me to put it on my reading list. Needless to say by my five-star rating, "The Black Flower" did not disappoint!

First and foremost, this 267 page book is just plain FUN to read. It is not over-detailed or dumbed down but, manages to walk the fine line keeping you steadily turning the pages. There are no maps or need to draw a flowchart to remember all the characters, nor do you need a Masters in American History to understand what is going on. The writing style is such that you feel you are WATCHING the events rather than reading a book and you almost become emotionally involved with the events and characters. I drove through the battlesite in Tennessee once on vacation before reading this book and would now very much like to return.

Definitely click on the "Back cover" link Amazon provided above for an excellent plot summary. The average reader will likely find this book to be "5 star". Real literate types will hand out four while the most brutal critics will still give three stars. Basically, you can't go wrong with this book especially now that it is available in paperback! GO FOR IT!!!

Effective Depiction of the Personal Nightmare of War
Fans of Civil War literature who are weary of reading the many books out there about major military leaders and their campaigns, battles, weapons, tactics and strategies will discover something of great value in "Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War." The author, Howard Bahr, applies his narrative skills to a haunting and memorable depiction of the slaughter and carnage of war and its harrowing effects on the common soldier. We briefly discover Bushrod Carter, a 26-year old Confederate soldier from Mississippi and his "pards" preparing for the 1864 Battle of Franklin, Tennessee and then find them again after the battle is over, changed forever. Descriptions of the horrors of war, the wounded and their medical treatment, the nightmare scenes in the plantation house commandeered as a hospital, the tragedies of the lives affected, all serve to make "Black Flower" a most powerful and emotional novel