Craig S. Chapman – författare

Experience the adventures of the pirate George Lowther and learn how he was "resurrected" as a Royal Navy officer, nearly 20 years after his alleged death by suicide in 1723.

A compelling history of the savage combat that turned a single forested ridge into the scene of a disappointing attack, a humiliating surrender, and a final grinding victory.In the bitterly cold forests along Germany’s western frontier, the 8-mile ridge of the Schnee Eifel became the unlikely site of three brutal battles. A harsh, unforgiving landscape, it offered little strategic advantage yet became the focal point of a desperate struggle between US and German forces. Historian Craig S. Chapman chronicles these overlooked battles that raged across this desolate terrain.This is a gripping account of the US 4th Infantry Division’s ill-fated assault in September 1944, their months-long stalemate with German forces, and the catastrophic consequences of tactical misjudgments that led to one of the largest American surrenders of the war. The narrative shifts to the winter of 1944–45, as the Germans launch a massive counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge, only for the Americans to return in February 1945, determined to retake the Schnee Eifel. Extensive archival research and personal testimonies create a blow-by-blow description of combat teams penetrating defensive lines, destroying pillboxes, and diving for cover as shrapnel rained down.Discover the gritty realities of combat and the leadership decisions that shaped these battles.

More Terrible Than Victory is the poignant history of the 1st North Carolina Volunteers (later designated the 11th Regiment North Carolina Troops), which figured prominently in many of the most famous campaigns of the American Civil War. Better known as the Bethel Regiment, it was a distinguished but tragic unit that suffered the South's first battlefield death and, remarkably, was still serving proudly when the end came at Appomattox. Craig Chapman's unit-focused tour of the war's Eastern Theater provides fresh insights into the enigmatic character of the Southern soldier, a man who fought valiantly, suffered horribly, and ultimately lost a war that just could not be won.