Hood's Defeat Near Fox's Gap

“The bitter fights for the vital gaps in South Mountain during the Maryland Campaign are largely overshadowed by the subsequent battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American military history. Underreported and often misunderstood, the struggle for Fox's Gap was a crucial part of the South Mountain fighting. Author Curtis Older has taken the primary sources, terrain features, and on-the-ground inspection and woven those elements into a first-rate, compelling analysis of Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood's ultimately unsuccessful defense of Fox's Gap. This is a must-read for anyone interested in one of the Civil War's pivotal campaigns.” ~Scott L. Mingus, Sr., co-author of Unceasing Fury

"Curtis Older is one of the premier students of the battle of South Mountain, He has studied the tactics and traversed the slopes of Fox's Gap. In his new book he has some new thoughts and insights into the action of John Bell Hood on September 14th, 1862." ~John W Schildt, author of Drums along the Antietam

"Curtis Older’s concise, action-packed book presents a geographical, physical, and tactical account of Confederate defeat at Fox’s Gap, Maryland, and the Battle of South Mountain.  His exacting micro-research in battlefield land features corrects previous historians’ accounts of Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood’s move south from Old National Pike towards Old Sharpsburg Road on the late afternoon of September 14, 1862.  Fast-paced and accessible, Hood’s Defeat Near Fox’s Gap provides an important prelude to what President Abraham Lincoln considered the Rebels’ strategic defeat at Antietam, the Civil War’s bloodiest single day." ~John David Smith, author of Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops

“Readers may find Older’s minute on-the-ground analysis and conclusions overwhelming, but they must admire his research, attention to detail, and perceptiveness in presenting his views.” ~The Journal of America's Military Past

“[An] important new comprehensive work that should be read by serious history buffs of the Maryland Campaign. Older makes extensive use of primary sources, bringing readers eyewitness accounts from many soldiers from both armies, and an impressive number of maps, which support his argument that many authors have not always understood the landscape features of the battlefield at the time of the fighting.” ~The NYMAS Review

“Curtis Older’s research on the Battle of South Mountain re-examines and reinterprets the Maryland campaign, finally quelling all further discussion on why Lee lost his first major battle action. Highly recommended.” ~ARGunners.com

“Utilizing over a dozen participant accounts, official records, and an extensive knowledge of the terrain and the transportation network on South Mountain at the time of the battle, Older systematically picks apart earlier interpretations of the fight for control of Fox’s Gap.” ~Emerging Civil War