But all the recent writing pales dreadfully when compared with the books written in the mid-20th century by Bruce Catton ... Swift Sword”; “Never Call Retreat”; “U. S.

NEVER CALL RETREAT by Bruce Catton. 555 pages. Doubleday. $7.50. On May 13, 1865, one month after Appomattox, a few hundred Union soldiers fought it out with a tiny Confederate force on the Rio ...