Download or read book Strike Them a Blow written by Chris Mackowski and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2015-05-19 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Civil War historian and author of A Season of Slaughter continues his engaging account of the Overland Campaign in this vivid chronicle. By May of 1864, Federal commander Ulysses S. Grant had resolved to destroy his Confederate adversaries through attrition if by no other means. Meanwhile, his Confederate counterpart, Robert E. Lee, looked for an opportunity to regain the offensive initiative. “We must strike them a blow,” he told his lieutenants. But Grant’s war of attrition began to take its toll in a more insidious way. Both army commanders—exhausted and fighting off illness—began to feel the continuous, merciless grind of combat in very personal ways. Punch-drunk tired, they began to second-guess themselves, missing opportunities and making mistakes. As a result, along the banks of the North Anna River, commanders on both sides brought their armies to the brink of destruction without even knowing it.

Download or read book The North Anna Campaign written by Joseph Michael Miller and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book To the North Anna River written by Gordon C. Rhea and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2005-09-01 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With To the North Anna River, the third book in his outstanding five-book series, Gordon C. Rhea continues his spectacular narrative of the initial campaign between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in the spring of 1864. May 13 through 25, a phase oddly ignored by historians, was critical in the clash between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. During those thirteen days -- an interlude bracketed by horrific battles that riveted the public's attention -- a game of guile and endurance between Grant and Lee escalated to a suspenseful draw on Virginia's North Anna River. From the bloodstained fields of the Mule Shoe to the North Anna River, with Meadow Bridge, Myers Hill, Harris Farm, Jericho Mills, Ox Ford, and Doswell Farm in between, grueling night marches, desperate attacks, and thundering cavalry charges became the norm for both Grant's and Lee's men. But the real story of May 13--25 lay in the two generals' efforts to outfox each other, and Rhea charts their every step and misstep. Realizing that his bludgeoning tactics at the Bloody Angle were ineffective, Grant resorted to a fast-paced assault on Lee's vulnerable points. Lee, outnumbered two to one, abandoned the offensive and concentrated on anticipating Grant's maneuvers and shifting quickly enough to repel them. It was an amazingly equal match of wits that produced a gripping, high-stakes bout of warfare -- a test, ultimately, of improvisation for Lee and of perseverance for Grant.

Download or read book A Season of Slaughter written by Chris Mackowski and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2013-05-05 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 before: 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 Slaughter: 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

Download or read book No Turning Back written by Robert M. Dunkerly and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2014-03-19 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[T]here will be no turning back,” said Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. It was May, 1864. The Civil War had dragged into its fourth spring. It was time to end things, Grant resolved, once and for all. With the Union Army of the Potomac as his sledge, Grant crossed the Rapidan River, intending to draw the Army of Northern Virginia into one final battle. Short of that, he planned “to hammer continuously against the armed forces of the enemy and his resources, until by mere attrition, if in no other way, there should be nothing left to him . . . .” Almost immediately, though, Robert E. Lee’s Confederates brought Grant to bay in the thick tangle of the Wilderness. Rather than retreat, as other army commanders had done in the past, Grant outmaneuvered Lee, swinging left and south. There was, after all, no turning back. “I intend to fight it out along this line if it takes all summer,” Grant vowed. And he did: from the dark, close woods of the Wilderness to the Muleshoe of Spotsylvania, to the steep banks of the North Anna River, to the desperate charges of Cold Harbor. The 1864 Overland Campaign would be a nonstop grind of fighting, maneuvering, and marching, much of it in rain and mud, with casualty lists longer than anything yet seen in the war. In No Turning Back: A Guide to the 1864 Overland Campaign, from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May 4 - June 13, 1864, historians Robert M. Dunkerly, Donald C. Pfanz, and David R. Ruth allow readers to follow in the footsteps of the armies as they grapple across the Virginia landscape. Pfanz spent his career as a National Park Service historian on the battlefields where the campaign began; Dunkerly and Ruth work on the battlefields where it concluded. Few people know the ground, or the campaign, better.

Download or read book The North Anna River Campaign May 21 26 1864 written by Joseph Michael Miller and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Overland Campaign 4 May 15 June 1864 written by David W. Hogan and published by Department of the Army. This book was released on 2014 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spring of 1864, the Civil War s two legendary military leaders, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, confronted each other on the battlefield for the first time. Part of the U.S. Army s commemorative series of the Civil War, The Overland Campaign, 4 May 15 June 1864, by David W. Hogan, Jr. tells the story of the clash of these two titans through the burning scrub brush of the Wilderness, the bitter struggle for the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Court House, the cavalry encounter at Yellow Tavern, the maneuvering along the North Anna River, and the tragedy of Cold Harbor. It also provides analysis in light of the latest scholarship. This brochure includes eight maps and twenty-two illustrations. High school students and teachers that are learning and preparing research papers about the American Civil War may be interested in this illustrated resource. Additionally, military personnel, especially military historians, military science students, and American citizens may be interested in this book."

Download or read book Staff Ride Handbook for the Overland Campaign Virginia 4 May to 15 June 1864 A Study in Operational Level Command written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7 12 1864 written by Gordon C. Rhea and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second volume in Gordon C. Rhea's peerless five-book series on the Civil War's 1864 Overland Campaign abounds with Rhea's signature detail, innovative analysis, and riveting prose. Here Rhea examines the maneuvers and battles from May 7, 1864, when Grant left the Wilderness, through May 12, when his attempt to break Lee's line by frontal assault reached a chilling climax at what is now called the Bloody Angle. Drawing exhaustively upon previously untapped materials, Rhea challenges conventional wisdom about this violent clash of titans to construct the ultimate account of Grant and Lee at Spotsylvania.

Download or read book Trench Warfare under Grant and Lee written by Earl J. Hess and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earl J.Hess's study of armies and fortifications turns to the 1864 Overland Campaign to cover battles from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor. Drawing on meticulous research in primary sources and careful examination of battlefields at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Bermuda Hundred, and Cold Harbor, , Hess analyzes Union and Confederate movements and tactics and the new way Grant and Lee employed entrenchments in an evolving style of battle. Hess argues that Grant's relentless and pressing attacks kept the armies always within striking distance, compelling soldiers to dig in for protection.

Download or read book Hell Itself written by Chris Mackowski and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2016-05-01 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Overland Campaign with a vow to never turn back. Robert E. Lee, commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, moved into the Wilderness to block Grant’s advance. Thick underbrush made for difficult movement and low visibility. And these challenges were terrifyingly compounded by the outbreak of fires that burned casualties and left both sided blinded in a sea of smoke. Driven by desperation, duty, confusion, and fire, soldiers on both sides marveled that anyone might make it out alive. “This, viewed as a battleground, was simply infernal,” a Union soldier later said. Another called it “Hell itself.”

Download or read book Cold Harbor to the Crater written by Gary W. Gallagher and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2015-07-24 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between the end of May and the beginning of August 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee oversaw the transition between the Overland campaign—a remarkable saga of maneuvering and brutal combat—and what became a grueling siege of Petersburg that many months later compelled Confederates to abandon Richmond. Although many historians have marked Grant's crossing of the James River on June 12–15 as the close of the Overland campaign, this volume interprets the fighting from Cold Harbor on June 1–3 through the battle of the Crater on July 30 as the last phase of an operation that could have ended without a prolonged siege. The contributors assess the campaign from a variety of perspectives, examining strategy and tactics, the performances of key commanders on each side, the centrality of field fortifications, political repercussions in the United States and the Confederacy, the experiences of civilians caught in the path of the armies, and how the famous battle of the Crater has resonated in historical memory. As a group, the essays highlight the important connections between the home front and the battlefield, showing some of the ways in which military and nonmilitary affairs played off and influenced one another. Contributors include Keith S. Bohannon, Stephen Cushman, M. Keith Harris, Robert E. L. Krick, Kevin M. Levin, Kathryn Shively Meier, Gordon C. Rhea, and Joan Waugh.

Download or read book The Greatest Civil War Battles written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-14 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures of the battle's important generals. *Includes several maps of the battle. *Includes accounts of the fighting written by generals and soldiers. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. The Overland Campaign that pitted Robert E. Lee against Ulysses S. Grant is one of the most famous campaigns of the Civil War, but one of the most overlooked aspects of the entire campaign was the action around the North Anna River between the fighting at Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor. In fact, it represented Lee's last great chance to destroy the Army of the Potomac. At the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864), Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee had fought to a standstill in their first encounter, failing to dislodge each other despite incurring nearly 30,000 casualties between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Despite the fierce fighting, Grant continued to push his battered but resilient army south, hoping to beat Lee's army to the crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House, but Lee's army beat Grant's to Spotsylvania and began digging in, setting the scene for on and off fighting from May 8-21 that ultimately inflicted more casualties than the Battle of the Wilderness. In fact, with over 32,000 casualties among the two sides, it was the deadliest battle of the Overland Campaign. After Spotsylvania, Grant and Lee both raced to the next natural defensive line, the North Anna River. Ironically, before Lee blocked him in the Wilderness, Grant had anticipated the Overland Campaign starting with fighting around the North Anna, but once they arrived in the vicinity on May 23, Lee was unsure of Grant's intentions and didn't immediately have his army dig in. The Confederates blocked two attempted river crossings by separate wings of the Army of the Potomac in the first day's fighting, but the battle is best known for Lee's ingenious defensive line along the river. Springing a trap for Grant, Lee established an inverted V as a defensive line, with the salient touching the North Anna River, which would allow the Army of Northern Virginia to use interior lines to fall upon the separate wings of the Union army if it tried to cross the river. As fate would have it, Grant would fall into Lee's trap, only for Lee to be debilitated by illness at the crucial moments, allowing Grant to realize the potential mistake and avoid a major pitched battle. Grant would swing his army southeast toward the crossroads at Cold Harbor convinced that Lee's army was on the verge of collapse, while Lee was uncharacteristically fiery and ornery as a result of the missed chance at the North Anna. The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Battle of North Anna comprehensively covers the campaign and the events that led up to the battle, the fighting itself, and the aftermath of the battle. Accounts of the battle by important participants are also included, along with maps of the battle and pictures of important people, places, and events. You will learn about the Battle of North Anna like you never have before, in no time at all.

Download or read book General Lee s Immortals written by Michael C. Hardy and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An absolute gem of a history” for the Confederacy’s Branch-Lane North Carolina Brigade: “His clear and engaging narrative keeps the reader entranced” (Thomas G. Clemens, editor of The Maryland Campaign of 1862). This storied brigade was first led by Lawrence Branch, and then by James Henry Lane, and served with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia for its entire existence. These Tar Heels fought in nearly every major battle in the Eastern Theater, including the Seven Days’ Battles, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (where Branch was killed), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville (where its members mistakenly shot Stonewall Jackson), Gettysburg (including Pickett’s Charge), the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, the Petersburg Campaign, and the final retreat to Appomattox. Originally part of A. P. Hill’s famous “Light Division,” the brigade earned high plaudits for its disciplined defensive efforts, hard-hitting attacks, and incredible marching abilities. Its heavy combat exposure, however, resulted in devastating losses. By war’s end, its roll call of casualties far exceeded its number of survivors. Michael Hardy’s General Lee’s Immortals is based upon years of study and grounded on an impressive foundation of sources, which allows the men to speak for themselves as they describe their time in camp, endless hardships, long marches, bloody battles, increasing hunger, and much more. In addition to a dozen original maps, General Lee’s Immortals also includes scores of rare photos—many of which were previously unpublished—all of which enhance this well-written and engrossing account. “Combining rigorous research and an innovative organization, General Lee’s Immortals demonstrates what an exceptional unit history can teach us about the Civil War.” —The Civil War Monitor

Download or read book The Greatest Civil War Battles the Battle of North Anna written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by . This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures of the battle's important generals. *Includes several maps of the battle. *Includes accounts of the fighting written by generals and soldiers. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. The Overland Campaign that pitted Robert E. Lee against Ulysses S. Grant is one of the most famous campaigns of the Civil War, but one of the most overlooked aspects of the entire campaign was the action around the North Anna River between the fighting at Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor. In fact, it represented Lee's last great chance to destroy the Army of the Potomac. At the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864), Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee had fought to a standstill in their first encounter, failing to dislodge each other despite incurring nearly 30,000 casualties between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Despite the fierce fighting, Grant continued to push his battered but resilient army south, hoping to beat Lee's army to the crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House, but Lee's army beat Grant's to Spotsylvania and began digging in, setting the scene for on and off fighting from May 8-21 that ultimately inflicted more casualties than the Battle of the Wilderness. In fact, with over 32,000 casualties among the two sides, it was the deadliest battle of the Overland Campaign. After Spotsylvania, Grant and Lee both raced to the next natural defensive line, the North Anna River. Ironically, before Lee blocked him in the Wilderness, Grant had anticipated the Overland Campaign starting with fighting around the North Anna, but once they arrived in the vicinity on May 23, Lee was unsure of Grant's intentions and didn't immediately have his army dig in. The Confederates blocked two attempted river crossings by separate wings of the Army of the Potomac in the first day's fighting, but the battle is best known for Lee's ingenious defensive line along the river. Springing a trap for Grant, Lee established an inverted V as a defensive line, with the salient touching the North Anna River, which would allow the Army of Northern Virginia to use interior lines to fall upon the separate wings of the Union army if it tried to cross the river. As fate would have it, Grant would fall into Lee's trap, only for Lee to be debilitated by illness at the crucial moments, allowing Grant to realize the potential mistake and avoid a major pitched battle. Grant would swing his army southeast toward the crossroads at Cold Harbor convinced that Lee's army was on the verge of collapse, while Lee was uncharacteristically fiery and ornery as a result of the missed chance at the North Anna. The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Battle of North Anna comprehensively covers the campaign and the events that led up to the battle, the fighting itself, and the aftermath of the battle. Accounts of the battle by important participants are also included, along with maps of the battle and pictures of important people, places, and events. You will learn about the Battle of North Anna like you never have before, in no time at all.

Download or read book Cold Harbor written by Gordon C. Rhea and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2007-04 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gordon Rhea's gripping fourth volume on the spring 1864 campaign-which pitted Ulysses S. Grant against Robert E. Lee for the first time in the Civil War-vividly re-creates the battles and maneuvers from the stalemate on the North Anna River through the Cold Harbor offensive. Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864 showcases Rhea's tenacious research which elicits stunning new facts from the records of a phase oddly ignored or mythologized by historians. In clear and profuse tactical detail, Rhea tracks the remarkable events of those nine days, giving a surprising new interpretation of.

Download or read book The Overland Campaign the Battles of the Wilderness Spotsylvania Court House North Anna and Cold Harbor written by Charles River Editors and published by . This book was released on 2013-10-16 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures of the battles' important generals. *Includes several maps of the battles. *Includes accounts of the fighting written by generals and soldiers. *Includes a Bibliography of each battle for further reading. "Grant and Lee were about as evenly matched in military talent as any two opposing generals have ever been. Grant's strength was unwavering adherence to his strategic objective. He made mistakes, but the overall pattern of his campaign reveals an innovative general employing thoughtful combinations of maneuver and force to bring a difficult adversary to bay on his home turf. Lee's strength was resilience and the fierce devotion that he inspired in his troops. He, too, made mistakes and often placed his smaller army in peril. But each time-Spotsylvania Court House and the North Anna River come to mind-he improvised solutions that turned bad situations his way." - Gordon C. Rhea The Overland Campaign that pitted Robert E. Lee against Ulysses S. Grant is one of the most famous campaigns of the Civil War, and perhaps its greatest chess match. While Grant sought to destroy Lee's Army of Northern Virginia along the way to Richmond, Lee aimed to defend his capital while staying alert for a golden opportunity to strike a decisive blow against Grant's Army of the Potomac. The result was an incredibly costly campaign that saw 4 major battles and near continuous fighting in May and June 1864. At the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864), Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee had fought to a standstill in their first encounter, failing to dislodge each other despite incurring nearly 30,000 casualties between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Despite the fierce fighting, Grant continued to push his battered but resilient army south, hoping to beat Lee's army to the crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House, but Lee's army beat Grant's to Spotsylvania and began digging in, setting the scene for on and off fighting from May 8-21 that ultimately inflicted more casualties than the Battle of the Wilderness. In fact, with over 32,000 casualties among the two sides, it was the deadliest battle of the Overland Campaign. After Spotsylvania, Grant and Lee both raced to the next natural defensive line, the North Anna River, where Lee sprang a trap for Grant by establishing an inverted V as a defensive line, with the salient touching the North Anna River, which would allow the Army of Northern Virginia to use interior lines to fall upon the separate wings of the Union army if it tried to cross the river. As fate would have it, Grant would fall into Lee's trap, only for Lee to be debilitated by illness at the crucial moments, allowing Grant to realize the potential mistake and avoid a major pitched battle. By the time the two armies reached Cold Harbor near the end of May 1864, Grant incorrectly thought that Lee's army was on the verge of collapse. On June 3, 1864, sensing he could break Lee's army, Grant ordered a full out assault at dawn in the hopes of catching the rebels before they could fully entrench. Although the story of Union soldiers pinning their names on the back of their uniforms in anticipation of death at Cold Harbor is apocryphal, the frontal assault on June 3 inflicted thousands of Union casualties in about half an hour. In just minutes, 7,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded as 30,000 Confederate soldiers successfully held the line against 50,000 Union troops, losing just 1,500 men in the process. The Overland Campaign stunned Americans in 1864, but Cold Harbor would be the last major battle of the Overland Campaign because Grant would reach his objective by stealing a march on Lee to cross the James River, beginning the actions that would lead to the siege of Petersburg. This book chronicles the campaign with analysis of the generalship, accounts by generals and soldiers, pictures, and more.