The Spotsylvania Campaign

Military Campaigns of the Civil War

by Gary W. Gallagher (Editor)

The Spotsylvania Campaign was a crucial period in the protracted confrontation between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in spring 1864. Approaching the campaign from a variety of perspectives, the contributors to this volume explore questions regarding high command, tactics and strategy, the impact of continuous fighting on officers and soldiers in both armies, and the ways in which some participants chose to remember and interpret the campaign. They offer insight into the decisions and behavior of Lee and of Federal army leaders, the fullest descriptions to date of the horrific fighting at the "Bloody Angle" on May 12, and a revealing look at how Grant used his memoirs to counter Lost Cause interpretations of his actions at Spotsylvania and elsewhere in the Overland Campaign.

The contributors are William A. Blair, Peter S. Carmichael, Gary W. Gallagher, Robert E. L. Krick, Robert K. Krick, William D. Matter, Carol Reardon, and Gordon C. Rhea.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, Military History, Civil War Eastern Theater, History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 1998

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

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of essays analysing the battle of Spotsylvania Court House; the essays examining the Confederate and Union high commands were particularly good. However, two of the essays (Robert K. Krick's covering the Confederate side of the Bloody Angle fighting and Robert E.L. Krick's covering the Confederate side of Sheridan's Raid) seem a little out of place, since they are mostly a narrative of combat operations, without much analysis.

[Matthew William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book!!