This book discusses the relationship between geology and fighting during the American Civil War. Terrain was largely determined by the underlying rocks and how the rocks weathered. This book explores the difference in rock type between multiple battlegrounds and how these rocks influenced the combat, tactics, and strategies employed by the soldiers and their commanding officers at different scales.

"Scott Hippensteel's Rocks and Rifles succeeds admirably in bringing a renewed appreciation of geology to Civil War military history. It is certainly true that intimate knowledge of the ground is an essential prerequisite for comprehensive mastery of any given battle history, and Hippensteel's study offers readers and experts alike a series of fresh and informed glimpses of yet another layer of understanding."(Andrew Wagenhoffer, Civil War Books and Authors)