The Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula and the Seven Days

Military Campaigns of the Civil War

by Gary W. Gallagher (Editor)

The Richmond campaign of April-July 1862 ranks as one of the most important military operations of the first years of the American Civil War. Key political, diplomatic, social, and military issues were at stake as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan faced off on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. The climactic clash came on June 26-July 1 in what became known as the Seven Days battles, when Lee, newly appointed as commander of the Confederate forces, aggressively attacked the Union army. Casualties for the entire campaign exceeded 50,000, more than 35,000 of whom fell during the Seven Days.

This book offers nine essays in which well-known Civil War historians explore questions regarding high command, strategy and tactics, the effects of the fighting upon politics and society both North and South, and the ways in which emancipation figured in the campaign. The authors have consulted previously untapped manuscript sources and reinterpreted more familiar evidence, sometimes focusing closely on the fighting around Richmond and sometimes looking more broadly at the background and consequences of the campaign.


William A. Blair
Keith S. Bohannon
Peter S. Carmichael
Gary W. Gallagher
John T. Hubbell
R. E. L. Krick
Robert K. Krick
James Marten
William J. Miller

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The Richmond campaign of 1862, waged by armies under Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan, ranks as one of the most important military operations of the first years of the American Civil War. This book offers nine essays in which well-known Civil War historians explore questions regarding high command, strategy and tactics, the effects of the fighting upon politics and society both North and South, and the ways in which emancipation figured in the campaign. The authors have consulted previously untapped manuscript sources and reinterpreted more familiar evidence, sometimes focusing closely on the fighting around Richmond and sometimes looking more broadly at the background and consequences of the campaign. The contributors are William A. Blair, Keith S. Bohannon, Peter S. Carmichael, Gary W. Gallagher, John T. Hubbell, Robert E. L. Krick, Robert K. Krick, James Marten, and William J. Miller.
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Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, Civil War Eastern Theater, Military History, Nonfiction, American History

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2000

About the author

Gary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia, is the author or editor of many books in the field of Civil War history, including The Confederate War; Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War; and The Union War.

Reviews

[Manray9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula and the Seven Days, edited by Gary Gallagher, is one entry in the Military Campaigns of the Civil War Series of the University of North Carolina Press. The series approaches Civil War history a bit differently. Gallagher, as editor, complies essays from leading Civil War historians on issues connected to each book's subject. This approach is interesting, but also a weakness of the series and this book in particular. Some of the essays are thought-provoking and contain new or creative assessments of the people and events of 1862 in eastern Virginia. Other essays are dull and uninformative. I endorse William Miller's piece on the Army of the Potomac's engineers and their herculean efforts on the Chickahominy as well as R. E. L. Krick's essay on Whiting's Division at Gaines's Mill.

Gallagher's The Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula and the Seven Days is best suited to those readers without a deep grounding in Civil War history. For others, it is Three Star material.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here are nine essays on the 1862 Peninsular Campaign which culminated in the Seven Days battles, seven of which concern themselves with military topics. Readers may choose which to read and which to skip. Three were of particular interest to me. “Sleepless in the Saddle: Stonewall Jackson in the Seven Days,” by Robert K. Krick, who writes much on the Army of Northern Virginia; explains the likely reason for Stonewall’s lackluster performance in the Seven Days battles. The man was, simply put, was exhausted.

“The Men Who Carried This Position Were Soldiers Indeed: The Decisive Charge of Whiting’s Division at Gaines’s Mill” shows that the great charge wasn’t Hood’s Texas Brigade alone. It was the first great moment of the Army of Northern Virginia, and it wouldn’t be the last.
The Army of the Potomac’s repulse of the Confederates at Malvern Hill wasn’t as easy as sometimes portrayed. It was a near-run thing. The Union won through, as Keith Bohannon writes in “One Solid Unbroken Roar of Thunder: Union and Confederate Artillery at the Battle of Malvern Hill,” tells us how the Yankees won.

If the entire campaign got as much coverage as these three events, this book would be a long read indeed.

[Bobsie67 · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a book to introduce you to the Battle for Richmond, otherwise known as The Peninsula Campaign, I suggest To the Gates of Richmond by Stephen Sears. This book goes beyond the battle, exploring the ructions of citizens North and South about the War, the role that race played during 1862, and some of the reasoning behind the political strategies and military operations north and south. Very enjoyable for those wanting to get a bit into the weeds on this battle.

[Mark Matzeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent series of essays covering various aspects of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days' battles.

[Sandra Oldfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good essays on different aspects of the Campaign

[Josh Liller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than present another chronological history of the Peninsular Campaign and the Seven Days Battles, this book is a collection of essays by different historians each focusing on different aspects of the campaign and battles.

[Joel Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good selection of essays on the Seven Days, edited by Gary Gallagher. The only ones I didn't care for were the ones on Richmond civilians/slaves and the Radical Republicans.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essay format.
A bit hard to follow chronologically.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exceptional collection of essays in this series.