Various things

1.  I liked the first edition of A Masterful Retreat well enough, a book that summarized the Union capture and occupation of Cumberland Gap but covered in detail the 200-mile Union retreat from the Gap after the garrison was bypassed and cut off during the summer 1862 Confederate invasion of Kentucky. I missed that an expanded edition [A Masterful Retreat: The Story of 7th Division's Retreat Across Eastern KY Sept 17 - Oct 3 1862] with new material that, among other things, addresses some of my complaints with the original book (e.g. no bibliography and poor maps) was published last year. If page count is an accurate representation the Cumberland Gap sections have been expanded significantly, which would be a welcome development given the subject matter's more general lack of coverage in the literature.

2. Dan Vermilya posted recently on his author blog Our Country's Fiery Ordeal about a book's he's nearly completed that will focus largely on James Garfield's Civil War service. The release date is in November and the title will be James Garfield and the Civil War: For Ohio and the Union.

3. The Savas Beatie newsletter mentioned that two titles will be out this month, the second volume of David Powell's Chickamauga trilogy The Chickamauga Campaign - Glory or the Grave: The Breakthrough, the Union Collapse, and the Defense of Horseshoe Ridge, September 20, 1863 and "To Prepare for Sherman's Coming": The Battle of Wise's Forks, March 1865 by Mark Smith and Wade Sokolosky. This won't be the first book about Wise's/Wyse Fork but it will undoubtedly be the best.

4. Hail & High Water: The Battle of Elkins' Ferry, Arkansas, Joe Walker's self-published study of a small battle fought during the 1864 Camden Expedition, was released late last month.