The first book-length study of two overlooked engagements that helped turned the tide of a pivotal Civil War battle.By May of 1863, the stone wall at the base of Marye's Heights above Fredericksburg, Virginia, loomed large over the Army of the Potomac, haunting its men with memories of slaughter from their crushing defeat there the previous December. They would assault it again with a very different result the following spring. This time the Union troops wrested th...

A Civil War historian recounts the first battle between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee—a bloody and horrifying conflict in the Wilderness of Virginia.Known simply as the Wilderness, soldiers called the seventy square miles of dense Virginian forest one of the "waste places of nature" and "a region of gloom." Yet here, in the spring of 1864, the Civil War escalated to a new level of horror.Ulysses S. Grant, commanding all Federal armies, opened the Overlan...

Recounts the often-overlooked fight that secured the Union position and set the stage for the Gettysburg battle's fateful final day. July 1, 1863, was a disaster for the Union army's XI Corps. Shattered in battle north of the Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, the battered and embarrassed unit ended the day hunkered at the crest of a cemetery-topped hill south of the village. Reinforcements fortified the position, which extended eastward to include another key piece of high ground: Culp's Hi...

A detailed study of the brutal and pivotal battle at Spotsylvania Court House, May 8–21, 1864. May 1864. The Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia spent three days in brutal close-quarter combat in the Wilderness that left the tangled thickets aflame. No one could have imagined a more infernal battlefield—until the armies moved down the road to Spotsylvania Court House. Even the march itself was unprecedented. For three years the armies had fought battles and disengaged aft...

This Civil War history and guide offers a vivid chronicle of this dramatic yet misunderstood battle, plus invaluable information for battlefield visitors.The battle of Fredericksburg is usually remembered as the most lopsided Union defeat of the Civil War. It is sometimes called "Burnside's folly," after Union commander Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside who led the Army of the Potomac to ruin along the banks of the Rappahannock River. Confederates, fortified behind a stone...

"An unmatched collection of brilliant, compelling, and insightful essays that convincingly establish Grant as . . . 'The Man Who Saved the Union.'" —General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, U.S. Central Command, and NATO/Forces in Afghanistan and former Director of the CIA, The NYMAS ReviewProceeds from this volume will go to support the Ulysses S. Grant Association and the Grant Monument Association....

"An outstanding read for anyone interested in the Civil War and Gettysburg in particular . . . innovative and thoughtful ideas on seemingly well-covered events." — The NYMAS ReviewThe largest land battle on the North American continent has maintained an unshakable grip on the American imagination. Building on momentum from a string of victories that stretched back into the summer of 1862, Robert E. Lee launched his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia on ...

The American Civil War left indelible marks on the country. In the century and a half since the war, Americans have remembered the war in different ways. Veterans placed monuments to commemorate their deeds on the battlefield. In doing so, they often set in stone and bronze specific images in specific places that may have conflicted with the factual historical record. Erecting monuments and memorials became a way to commemorate the past, but they also became important tools for remembering...

"A comprehensive, eminently readable, lavishly illustrated, and historically accurate account" of this important yet overlooked Civil War battle ( Civil War News).Jackson, Mississippi, was the third Confederate state capital to fall to Union forces. When Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant captured the important rail junction in May 1863, however, he did so almost as an afterthought. Drawing on dozens of primary sources, contextualized by the latest scholarship on G...

“The man to whom the country is most indebted for the great measure of independence is Mr. John Adams. . . . I call him the Atlas of American independence.”So attested one of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress, moved to support independence in July 1776 after months of angst, indecision, dithering, and fear. Thomas Jefferson called Adams “our colossus on the floor,” arguing with power, passion, and persuasive force of reason why America needed to take the extraordinar...

His friends called him “Sam.” His wife called him “Lyss” or “Victor.” His initials inspired a nickname tied to one of his greatest battlefield triumphs: “Unconditional Surrender Grant.” He quietly told his brother in April of 1861, while walking home after a recruiting meeting in Galena, Illinois, “I am in to do all I can.” And so he did. The unassuming Grant never expected to play a significant role in the Civil War, yet by its end, commanded every soldier in the United States armed force...

"Gives the reader an excellent readable narrative of the first day of battle . . . [and] an incredible driving tour which closes each chapter." —Matthew Bartlett, Gettysburg ChronicleDo not bring on a general engagement, Confederate General Robert E. Lee warned his commanders. The Army of Northern Virginia, slicing its way through south-central Pennsylvania, was too spread out, too vulnerable, for a full-scale engagement with its old nemesis, the Army of th...