Product Description

It is late summer 1862 and the Confederacy is at last invading the

United States of America. Nathaniel Starbuck, the northern preacher's son who fights for the rebel South, is given command of a punishment battalion, a despised unit of shriekers and cowards. His enemies expect the appointment to be his downfall. To prove them wrong, Starbuck must lead the ramshackle unit against thenorthern garrison at Harper's Ferry and then across the frontier to the bank of the Antietam Creek. There he will fight in what will prove to be the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6291 in Books
• Published on: 1997-01-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 417 pages

Daily Mail
" The best so far in Cornwell's American Civil War series … The cacophony of the cornfield slaughter is stunningly conveyed"

Synopsis
This book continues the story of a nation torn apart by civil war and the life of Nathaniel Starbuck, a northerner fighting for the southern cause that was started in "Battle Flag". All the military and personal intrigues are continued here, but the main event of the novel is the Battle of Antetum.

From the Publisher
A superbly exciting novel which vividly captures the horror of the battlefield, The Bloody Ground is the fourth volume in the Starbuck Chronicles

Customer Reviews

The best of the Starbuck series
The best (and as the title suggests) most bloody of the series. Cornwell depicts one hell of a scrap in this one and leaves us wanting more from young Starbuck. A must for fans of this series.

Over before it Began
'The Bloody Ground' is the last in the Starbuck chronicles and describes the events that saw the start of the South's retreat. Starbuck's numerous enemies have put him in charge of a group known as the Yellowlegs, due to their cowardness. Starbuck, along with his friend Lucifer, must fight against internal corruption as well as the Northern forces if they are to reach what was to become one of the bloodiest battles of the war in time.

I feel that 'The Bloody Ground' is a well written book that suffers from a couple of large problems. Firstly, the entire second half of the book describes a battle. As a fan of Cornwell I do like reading his battle scenes, but there was far too much here. Also this book was written in 1996 so we can safely assume that Cornwell has given up on writing any more Starbuck novels. However, rather than concluding Starbuck's career we are left with a hint of his future. I found this annoying and too open ended. Despite these flaws the rest of the book is pacey and exciting. It may not be up with the best of the Sharpe novels, but fans of Cornwell should check this out all the same.

Great read!
I recently re-read The Bloody Ground, the last Starbuck novel before Cornwell abandoned the series to cash in on the tv popularity of Sharpe by reinventing & rehashing the series (is it really almost 10 years!).
I had almost forgotten how much I enjoyed the Starbuck novels....this one is full of twists & turns as we follow Nate & all the various colourful characters that all come to life in the pages of this great read.
If you like Historical fiction...give this series a go!
Shame on Bernard Cornwell for selling out and shafting fans of this series...Sharpe should have been left alone. If you read the original series as I did in the eighties, you won't recognise Sharpe in the new books....it's Sean Bean!