A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8–21, 1864

by Chris Mackowski, Kristopher D. White

A gripping narrative of one of the Civil War’s most consequential engagements.   In the spring of 1864, the newly installed Union commander Ulysses S. Grant did something none of his predecessors had done He threw his army against the wily, audacious Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia over and over again.   At Spotsylvania Court House, the two armies shifted from stalemate in the Wilderness to slugfest in the mud. Most commonly known for the horrific twenty-two-hour hand-to-hand combat in the pouring rain at the Bloody Angle, the battle of Spotsylvania Court House actually stretched from May 8 to 21, 1864—fourteen long days of battle and maneuver. Grant, the irresistible force, hammering with his overwhelming numbers and unprecedented power, versus Lee, the immovable object, hunkered down behind the most formidable defensive works yet seen on the continent. Spotsylvania Court House represents a chess match of immeasurable stakes between two master opponents. This clash is detailed in A Season of The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May –21, 1864.  A Season of Slaughter is part of the new Emerging Civil War Series offering compelling, easy-to-read overviews of some of the Civil War’s most important stories. The masterful storytelling is richly enhanced with hundreds of photos, illustrations, and maps.   “[A] wonderful book for anyone interested in learning about the fighting around Spotsylvania Court House or who would like to tour the area. It is well written, easy to read, and well worth the price.” —Civil War News  

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, Nonfiction, American History

343 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2013

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book that is written very well overall with the perfect amount of narrative and first-hand accounts of this bloody battle.

One of the things I enjoyed about this publication was for an ACW neophyte such as myself. I appreciated that every time the author introduced a commander or leader, he included a picture of them. It helped me a lot put literal faces to names.

The other pictures included are a nice mix of modern ones from today's battlefield and period pieces. The current images accompany a guided tour section; each chapter as the battle unfolds, the author gives you driving/walking directions along with GPS coordinates so you can read the book as you explore and walk the battlefield.

[Sarah Bierle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid overview of this battle with good tour details and directions.

[R. Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm fairly certain I was using this book wrong. Still liked it, though.

In terms of raw media, A Season of Slaughter does what any battle on the Civil War ought to do. A healthy combination of maps, photographs, and artistic visual aids not only help me understand what's happening half the time, but serve to bring the battle to life. Several pages per chapter are also dedicated to leading the reader around the real-life battlegrounds, complete with directions at the end. Directions! Like with exit numbers and everything! So quaint I just wanted to pinch Mackowski's cheeks.

Spotsylvania Court House isn't too far from where I live, but, I read to kill time, from the comforts of home. So unfortunately, these details served me no purpose and I just skipped them. I can't comment on whether they're helpful in any way or not, but, if I ever do visit the battleground, I'd like to bring the book with me and find out.

The rest of it was good, if brief. One of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War, due to the twenty-four hour hand-to-hand melee that erupted at the Bloody Angle, Spotsylvania is otherwise just a stepping stone in the Overland Campaign between Grant and Lee. I liked the brevity. I really only read it because of the aforementioned melee; it's Spotsylvania's claim to fame in my humblest of opinions. I wouldn't have minded a few more pages dedicated to it. Although, I guess I understand - you can only mention how people punched and stabbed and beat each other with guns like clubs so many times before it gets repetitive.

[John Matthew IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to an overlooked battle.

p. x: History through Eyes of Stone
p. 1: Grant to Meade: "Lee's army will be your objective. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also."
p. 5: Brock Road and Plank Road: "It was the most important crossroad of Grant's life."
p. 26: "Had [Brig. Gen. James] Wilson pressed his attack, with Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's entire V Corps pressing from the front, the battle of Spotsylvania might have lasted just a single day. Instead, it would drag on for two and half weeks."
p. 54: "The only battle to compare with Upton's Charge of May 10th, 1864, is Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg," one Federal soldier said. What Grant next had in store for the Army of the Potomac would make both charge's pale in comparison."
p. 57: "We have now ended the sixth day of very heavy fighting," the general-in-chief scribbled. "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."
p. 75: MOLLUS: Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States: http://www.massmollus.org/
p. 125: Central Virginia Battlefield Trust: https://www.cvbt.org/

[William Olenick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great telling of this battle along a tour narrative. The book covers the lead up to the battle and all its engagements. Included is a discussion of Yellow Tavern.
Some maps, plenty of illustrations, photos and several appendices are included.

[Cathy Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

informative review of an often overlooked Civil War battle

[W Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good introduction to the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.

[Stephanie Lawton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for researchers, genealogists, and those planning a visit.

[Peter Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative follow-on to the companion book about the Battle of the Wilderness.

[Matthew Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

There has been a great amount of historical research being placed into the Emerging Civil War Series and this installment about Spotsylvania Court House is no different. Much like the other volumes in this series, the wealth of information along with driving tours and a multitude of pictures of the field is incredible to behold. There have been many books written about places like Antietam and Gettysburg, but I can only think of a few which center themselves around the action at the Spotsylvania Court House. Thanks to this volume, the knowledge of this terrible battle can be known to students of the Civil War who do not know much about this battle.
Those who have seen my previous reviews will already know about both Christ Mackowski and Kristopher D. White. Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is an author of many other Civil War studies and is a professor in the school of journalism and Mass Communication at Saint Bonaventure University in Allegany, New York. Mackowski is also a historian at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Park where he gives tours of the four major battlefields of the area including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. He also gives tours of the building where Stonewall Jackson died. Kristopher D. White is a historian for the Penn-Trafford Recreation Board and is also a continuing education instructor for the Community College of Allegheny County near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as a military historian at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park as is a former Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg. He also has a Master of Arts degree in Military History from Norwich University.
As stated in the introduction, there is a great combination between both the narrative of the battle and touring stops and routes. In books such as these, they offer the opportunity for new comers to the Civil War to experience the battlefield unlike any other. The narrative of battle is incredible and action packed while being supplied with drawings, portraits and maps which can aide any reader, even if they had never read a book on the Civil War. While there were a great many commanders mentioned in this book, I was never confused about who was being talked about. There have been many times when a dry and unmoving narrative can unleash names after names of commanders and the reader may have trouble with something like that. In this book, there is never any question as to who is being mentioned through the text. The book is also sectionalized be their chapters as a way to break up the battle in order to understand it more simply than other accounts have done. Overall, this book not only should be read by those interested in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, but should be taken as a field guide along with them upon visiting the park. No tour of Spotsylvania Court House battlefield should go without this fine book.
I highly recommend this book, along with the Emerging Civil War Series, to anyone interested in the Civil War. Throughout the flowing narrative and tour stops, a greater understanding of what happened at this battle is gained. Both Mackowski and White should be praised again for their work on analyzing battles not as researched as others. It is imperative that I should mention this again: No tour of Spotsylvania Court House battlefield should go without this fine book.

Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White's "Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864" is a short (137 pages, many of which have illustrations, maps, or photos) history and tour guide to the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.

The history portion is carefully and well written. The history is also, if not extremely brief, quite economical, efficient and very thoughtfully written. It seamlessly dives into details when necessary and returns to a more high level discussion as soon as possible. I find this one feature, ensuring the reader is not lost, or drowned, in unneeded details, by itself, an impressive and rare achievement.

The tour guide portion appears a bit more perfunctory, however, I have not yet had an opportunity to travel down and use it. My reading seems to indicate that it was written with the same standards as the history portion. That is, give the reader a good understanding without losing him (or her) in massive amounts of details.

I was torn between giving this book four or five stars until I began writing the review. I decided to award five stars because of the thoughtful, and merciful, approach of the authors to telling a great story while only adding details when needed.

I would recommend this book to those who plan to visit the National Battlefield, or are just interested in the battle. The book is certainly an excellent place to start. And unlike two multi hundred page guides to the Gettysburg Battlefield that I also have, if this book turns out to be unsatisfactory, one has not lost a huge amount of time or effort.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does two things--(1) provides a brief description of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War; (2) serves as a guide to the battlefield for those who wish to visit the site and make sense of the battle.

In terms of production values, not wonderful (although it is serviceable). The photos are not of great quality; some are a bit hard to make out. The maps, too, are okay, but not as informative as in other books on this and other battles.

But the story of the battle is well done, despite its brevity. It describes the race between Lee and Grant/Meade to get to Spottsylvania Courthouse first. The Confederates just barely won, or the outcome might well have been far different. The book details the role of cavalry at the outset and the effort made by Anderson's First Corps (after Longstreet had been wounded in the Wilderness) to reach the destination. Then, a variety of episodes are explained--from Sheridan's jousting with the Confederate cavalry (and the death of JEB Stuart) to Upton's attack to its reprise by the full Second Corps to ongoing conflict over the nearly two week battle. The story ends by noting the campaign's future battles.

Some useful features: the description of how to reach key parts of the battlefield, the order of battle, and a history of the battlefield after the battle had ended.

If you want a punchy description of the battle and an introduction to the battlefield, a very useful volume.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors do a great job in providing both a history of this largely forgotten battle and a tour book of the site today. Giving us the history of various parts of the battle, then a snapshot of the sight today, and direction on how to access those sights is a very interesting and helpful way to go about writing this book. Also, do not skip the Appendixes, as they are filled with interesting information, that you may not have considered before.

I have read sever books by Mr. Mackowski and Mr. White, and have found them all enjoyable, and find the title that Savas Beatie are putting out under the Emerging Civil War imprint to be informative, entertaining, and enjoyable.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice quick summary of one of the "forgotten" battles of the Civil War. The authors did their time as park rangers there, so the tour directions are very specific and helpful. The photos used in this B&W book were very dark and frankly did not enhance the experience. More maps, especially a theater level one, would have been a better use of the illustration space/budget.

Hope they continue this series of guides to these less famous battles.

[R B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. The reader feels as if they are covered in the dust and mud of the battles. The last chapter "Spotsylvania in Memory" by Chris Mackowski is one of the best pieces I have ever read about how we as Americans reflect on our own history and ultimately ourselves.