Synopses & Reviews
In the spring of 1864, Robert E. Lee faced a new adversary: Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Named commander of all Union armies in March, Grant quickly went on the offensive against Lee in Virginia. On May 4, Grantand#8217;s army struck hard across the Rapidan River into north-central Virginia, with Leeand#8217;s army contesting every mile. They fought for forty days until, finally, the Union army crossed the James River and began the siege of Petersburg.
The campaign cost more than 100,000 menand#151;the largest loss the war had seen. While Grant lost nearly twice as many men as Lee did, he could replace them. Lee could not, and he would never again mount a major offensive. Leeand#8217;s surrender at Appomattox less than a year later was the denouement of the drama begun in those crucial forty days.
Review
"[Wheelan's] prose fairly gallops across the page."andmdash;
Wall Street Journal"Well-written, diligently researched, and highly readable"andmdash;Seattle Times
and#147;Well-researched and arguedand#151;a text that Civil War scholars and buffs will consume with glee.and#8221;and#151;Kirkus Reviews
and#147;Entertaining and informativeand#8221;and#151;Roanoke Times
and#147;In clear, concise, journalistic prose, filled with energetic verbs and colorful adjectives, Wheelan vividly recreates those critical days that permanently turned the tide of the war in the East. [The authorand#8217;s] rock-solid research and instructive anecdotes put events and personalities into a context that brings clarity to the bloodiest spring of the war.and#8221;and#151;Civil War Roundtable of Washington, DC
Synopsis
A unique and compelling examination of the Civil Warand#8217;s and#147;turning pointand#8221;and#151;forty crucial days in the spring of 1864 that turned the tide for the Union
Synopsis
For forty crucial days they fought a bloody struggle. When it was over, the Civil War's tide had turned. In the spring of 1864, Virginia remained unbroken, its armies having repelled Northern armies for more than two years. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had defeated the campaigns of four Union generals, and Lee's veterans were confident they could crush the Union offensive this spring, too. But their adversary in 1864 was a different kind of Union commander -- Ulysses S. Grant. The new Union general-in-chief had never lost a major battle while leading armies in the West. A quiet, rumpled man of simple tastes and a bulldog's determination, Grant would lead the Army of the Potomac in its quest to destroy Lee's army.
During six weeks in May and June 1864, Grant's army campaigned as no Union army ever had. During nearly continual combat operations, the Army of the Potomac battered its way through Virginia, skirting Richmond and crossing the James River on one of the longest pontoon bridges ever built. No campaign in North American history was as bloody as the Overland Campaign. When it ended outside Petersburg, more than 100,000 men had been killed, wounded, or captured on battlefields in the Wilderness, near Spotsylvania Court House, and at Cold Harbor. Although Grant's casualties were nearly twice Lee's, the Union could replace its losses. The Confederacy could not.
Lee's army continued to fight brilliant defensive battles, but it never mounted another major offensive. Grant's spring 1864 campaign had tipped the scales permanently in the Union's favor. The war's denouement came less than a year later with Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.
About the Author
Joseph Wheelan is the author of six previous books, including the highly acclaimed
Terrible Swift Sword and
Jeffersonand#8217;s War. Before turning to write books full time, Wheelan was a reporter and editor for The Associated Press for twenty-four years. He lives in Cary, North Carolina.