The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War (ISBN 187785350X)

Book 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"

No old battlefield:
With a scholar's accuracy and attention to detail, Howard Bahr portrays the terrible Battle of Franklin, but his attention is on the people caught in this frightful scene. With great artistry, Bahr allows us to walk with them on the sacred ground of Carter House and the town of Franklin. Under Bahr's pen, this battlefield becomes the proxy for all battlefields, and the experiences of the people the proxy for all who are caught in the killing fields of war.

Darkly Beautiful:
"The Black Flower" is one of the most depressingly heartbreaking Civil War novels I have ever read - and one of the best. Mr. Bahr's use of mystical imagery and his chilling unflinching descriptions of the battlefield in the aftermath of the battle of Franklin haunted me like a bad dream. This is no romantic glorification of war yet there is a dark romanticism to be found amidst the chaos and humor-tinged irony of some of his vignettes. I particularly loved the burial scene at Kennesaw Mountain and his depiction of the three grim reaper-like drummers clad in black frock coats beating mournful time as the Southern line advanced to meet their almost certain death at Franklin. Another incredibly powerful scene which I found very touching occurred on the McGavock family's estate the day following the battle. It concerned a tintype of the three soldier companions (Bushrod - the central character - and his two childhood friends) discovered by the little McGavock boy Winder as he secretly examined the contents of Bushrod's haversack which he was carrying. The boy had wandered away from the house and was found by his family after dark where he had fallen asleep amidst a nightmarish landscape of horror. As he is carried back to the house, the tintype fell from his pocket into the shadows lost in the darkness presumably for eternity. The characters are quite unforgettable - even the minor ones. They represent a full spectrum of good and evil, insanity and innocence. I loved how Mr. Bahr wove Bushrod Carter's Episcopal faith into the story from beginning to end like an artist adding subtle brush strokes to a portrait to round out his subject. This book requires courage to read for it takes you to a very dark place; however it is well worth your time and I know I shall read it again. I highly recommend it.

Lyrical prose & gritty realism - a masterpiece:
Though not without its flaws, "The Black Flower" is probably the best Civil War novel I have read to date. Set during the Battle of Franklin, it tells the story of Bushrod Carter, a Mississippi lad fighting with the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Wounded during the fighting, he is carried to a makeshift field hospital where he catches the eye of Anna, a young woman visiting her relatives who own the house. Be forewarned, this isn't a happy story, but the melancholy tone didn't seem depressing; perhaps the best way to describe the tone is "pensive" or "sweetly sad". Howard Bahr spins his tale with poignancy and insight, and he wields the English language like a master swordsman. He conveys the ironies of war beautifully, and has an uncanny knack for getting inside the mind of the common Southern soldiers and civilians and revealing what makes them tick. Bahr gets the little details of soldier life right, and as a Civil War reenactor myself, I thought the book really rang true. There are some problems. The language is foul at times, which is the only reason I decided not to keep the book in my library. There are a couple of sexual situations portrayed, too, and though I found them to be tastefully done, some may find them objectionable. Some may also dislike the supernatural element in the story (a mysterious horseman who is more or less the Angel of Death appears throughout), but I thought it was an interesting approach. Bahr also includes a few too many weird characters, a quirk that he shares with Charles Frazier (unfortunately, he takes this to an extreme in "The Year of Jubilo"). All things considered, "The Black Flower" is superb historical fiction, and (with the cautions mentioned above) I highly recommend it as a moving portrayal of the tragedy that was the Civil War.

Franklin's Savage Battle:
Unless you are from Tennessee or a Civil Buff you may not have heard of the battle in Franklin,Tennessee. Here fierce hand-to-hand combat occurred and there were 5,500 Confederate casualties and 1,300 Union casualties. One of the bloodiest battles of the war was over in a few hours. Bahr takes you to Franklin and describes the savage fighting and the horrors of death of that battle. A must read! By Ruth Thompson author of "Natchez Above The River" and "The Bluegrass Dream"

civil war:
I enjoyed this novel very much, and yes they cuss alot, but wouldnt you in war.