Overland Campaign

Popular Overland Campaign Books

15+ [Hand Picked] Popular Books On Overland Campaign


4.1/5

If It Takes All Summer: The Battle of Spotsylvania by William D. Matter

The termination of the war and the fate of the Union hung in the balance in May of 1864 as Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac clashed in the Virginia countryside--first in the battle of the Wilderness, where the Federal army sustained greater losses than at Chancellorsville, and then further south in the vicinity of Spotsyl The termination of the war and the fate of the Union hung in the balance in May of 1864 as Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac clashed in the Virginia countryside--first in the battle of the Wilderness, where the Federal army sustained greater losses than at Chancellorsville, and then further south in the vicinity of Spotsylvania Courthouse, where Grant sought to cut Lee's troops off from the Confederate capital of Richmond. This is the first book-length examination of the pivotal Spotsylvania campaign of 7-21 May. Drawing on extensive research in manuscript collections across the country and an exhaustive reading of the available literature, William Matter sets the strategic stage for the campaign before turning to a detailed description of tactical movements. He offers abundant fresh material on race from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania, the role of Federal and Confederate calvary, Emory Upton's brilliantly conceived Union assault on 10 May, and the bitter clash on 19 May at the Harris farm. Throughout the book, Matter assesses each side's successes, failures, and lost opportunities and sketches portraits of the principal commanders. The centerpiece of the narrative is a meticulous and dramatic treatment of the horrific encounter in the salient that formed the Confederate center on 12 May. There the campaign reached its crisis, as soldiers waged perhaps the longest and most desperate fight of the entire war for possession of the Bloody Angle--a fight so savage that trees were literally shot to pieces by musket fire. Matter's sure command of a mass of often-conflicting testimony enables him to present by far the clearest account to date of this immensely complex phase of the battle. Rigorously researched, effectively presented, and well supported by maps, this book is a model tactical study that accords long overdue attention to the Spotsylvania campaign. It will quickly take its place in the front rank of military studies of the Civil War.
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4.9/5

To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13-25, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea

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. Dur 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.
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4.2/5

The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea

Fought in a tangled forest fringing the south bank of the Rapidan River, the Battle of the Wilderness marked the initial engagement in the climactic months of the Civil War in Virginia, and the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. In an exciting narrative, Gordon C. Rhea provides the consummate recounting of that conflict of May 5 and 6, 1864, which Fought in a tangled forest fringing the south bank of the Rapidan River, the Battle of the Wilderness marked the initial engagement in the climactic months of the Civil War in Virginia, and the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. In an exciting narrative, Gordon C. Rhea provides the consummate recounting of that conflict of May 5 and 6, 1864, which ended with high casualties on both sides but no clear victor. With its balanced analysis of events and people, command structures and strategies, The Battle of the Wilderness is operational history as it should be written.
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4.9/5

Nowhere to Run: The Wilderness, May 4th and 5th, 1864 by John Michael Priest

When the armies entered the Wilderness, they were changed forever. Within thirty-six hours after the Army of the Potomac began its attempt to flank the Army of Northern Virginia and attack Richmond, the armies became locked in combat. In two days of bloody fighting by disconnected and often confused but heroic forces, Lee fought Grant to a tactical draw at a cost of approx When the armies entered the Wilderness, they were changed forever. Within thirty-six hours after the Army of the Potomac began its attempt to flank the Army of Northern Virginia and attack Richmond, the armies became locked in combat. In two days of bloody fighting by disconnected and often confused but heroic forces, Lee fought Grant to a tactical draw at a cost of approximately 18,000 Union and an estimated 8,000 Confederate casualties.
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4.6/5

Bloody Roads South: The Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May-June 1864 by Noah Andre Trudeau

A detailed account of 40 days of battle during the American Civil War from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania, from North Anna to Cold Harbor. It draws upon diaries, letters, reminiscences, memoirs and regimental histories, and covers the experiences of soldiers, civilians and politicians.
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4.2/5

The Wilderness Campaign by Gary W. Gallagher (Editor)

In the spring of 1864 in the vast scrub forest that spread south from Virginia's Rapidan and Rappahannock Rivers, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in battle for the first time. The Wilderness campaign of May 5-6 initiated an epic confrontation between these two commanders - one that would finally end, eleven months later, with Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The contr In the spring of 1864 in the vast scrub forest that spread south from Virginia's Rapidan and Rappahannock Rivers, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in battle for the first time. The Wilderness campaign of May 5-6 initiated an epic confrontation between these two commanders - one that would finally end, eleven months later, with Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The contributors to this volume bring modern scholarship and fresh insight to bear on the issues and leaders of the Wilderness campaign. Their essays explore the campaign's background, for example, by training an often revisionist lens on expectations among civilians in the North and South, morale among officers and soldiers in both armies, and the strategic plans of Lee and Grant. Other essays assess the shaky performances of Union cavalry leaders Philip H. Sheridan and James Harrison Wilson, the controversial actions of Confederate corp commanders Richard S. Ewell and A. P. Hill, and the often overlooked service of Lewis A. Grant and his Vermont Brigade. Finally, two of the most famous elements of the fighting in the Wilderness - the "Lee to the Rear" episode and James Longstreet's flank attack - are reconstructed in impressive detail.
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4.1/5

The Wilderness Campaign: May 1864 by John Cannan

For two days in early May,1864, a dark woodland south of the Rapidan River known as the Wilderness rang with the clamor of battle. The musketry and cheers of the troops of the Confederacy and the Union were deafening as charge gave way to countercharge. Fires erupted which consumed the dead and wounded, filling the air with the stench of burning flesh. The battle of the Wi For two days in early May,1864, a dark woodland south of the Rapidan River known as the Wilderness rang with the clamor of battle. The musketry and cheers of the troops of the Confederacy and the Union were deafening as charge gave way to countercharge. Fires erupted which consumed the dead and wounded, filling the air with the stench of burning flesh. The battle of the Wilderness was what many witnesses would describe as "hell on earth." The Wilderness Campaign traces the early maneuvering of Ulysses S. Grant's offensive against the Confederate capital at Richmond and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The resulting battle was Grant's first fight in the Eastern theater after President Lincoln gave him command of all the Union armies. It was an engagement that Grant sought to avoid, but wholeheartedly accepted when he confronted lee's army. It ended as one of the bloodiest repulses of the Civil War. John Cannan details Grant's strategy and planning as he moved his army ever closer to confrontation. The vivid descriptions of the confused fighting and battle chaos give the reader insight into the desperate quality of Civil War combat. The book also includes fascinating sidebars about the personalities and units involved, as well as other interesting topics on the war itself, such as religion in the Southern army, the telegraph, the draft, and the parole and exchange system. With eleven maps and over fifty illustrations
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4.5/5

Victory Without Triumph: The Wilderness, May 6th and 7th, 1864 by John Michael Priest

Priest meticulously details the vicious infantry fighting along the Pack Road, Longstreet's counterstrike against the II Corps, the cavalry operations of both armies near Todd's Tavern, and John B. Gordon's daring assault against the Army of the Potomac's right flank. Embellished with 38 detailed, two-color maps, this book enables the reader to follow the Army of the Potom Priest meticulously details the vicious infantry fighting along the Pack Road, Longstreet's counterstrike against the II Corps, the cavalry operations of both armies near Todd's Tavern, and John B. Gordon's daring assault against the Army of the Potomac's right flank. Embellished with 38 detailed, two-color maps, this book enables the reader to follow the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia through the last two days of the campaign.
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4.6/5

Hurricane from the Heavens: The Battle of Cold Harbor, May 26 - June 5, 1864 by Daniel T. Davis , Phillip S. Greenwalt

Lee s army is really whipped, Federal commander Ulysses S. Grant believed. May 1864 had witnessed near-constant combat between his Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Grant, unlike his predecessors, had not relented in his pounding of the Confederates. The armies clashed in the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania Courthouse and along the North Anna Lee s army is really whipped, Federal commander Ulysses S. Grant believed. May 1864 had witnessed near-constant combat between his Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Grant, unlike his predecessors, had not relented in his pounding of the Confederates. The armies clashed in the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania Courthouse and along the North Anna River. Whenever combat failed to break the Confederates, Grant resorted to maneuver. I propose to fight it out along this line if it takes all summer, Grant vowed and it had. Casualties mounted on both sides but Grant kept coming. Although the great, decisive assault had eluded him, he continued to punish Lee s army. The blows his army landed were nothing like the Confederates had experienced before. The constant marching and fighting had reduced Robert E. Lee s once-vaunted army into a bedraggled husk of its former glory. In Grant s mind, he had worn his foes down and now prepared to deliver the deathblow. Turning Lee s flank once more, he hoped to fight the final, decisive battle of the war in the area bordering the Pamunkey and Chickahominy rivers, less than fifteen miles from the outskirts of the Confederate capital of Richmond. I may be mistaken, but I feel that our success over Lee s army is already assured, Grant confided to Washington. The stakes had grown enormous. Grant s staggering casualty lists had driven Northern morale to his lowest point of the war. Would Lee s men hold on to defend their besieged capital and, in doing so, prolong the war until the North will collapsed entirely? Or would another round of hard fighting finally be enough to crush Lee s army? Could Grant push through and end the war? Grant would find his answers around a small Virginia crossroads called Cold Harbor and he would always regret the results. Historians Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt have studied the 1864 Overland Campaign since their early days working at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, where Grant first started on his bloody road south a road that eventually led straight into the eye of a proverbial Hurricane from the Heavens. Hurricane from the Heavens can be read in the comfort of one s favorite armchair or as a battlefield guide. It is part of the popular Emerging Civil War Series, which offers compelling, easy-to-read overviews of some of the Civil War s most important stories. The masterful storytelling is richly enhanced with more than one hundred photos, illustrations, and maps."
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4.4/5

A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864 by Chris Mackowski , Kristopher D. White

"I intend to fight it out along this line if it takes all summer," Union commander Ulysses S. Grant wrote to Washington after he'd opened his Overland Campaign in the spring of 1864. His resolve entirely changed the face of warfare. Promoted to command of all the Federal armies, the new lieutenant general chose to ride shotgun with the Army of the Potomac as it once again "I intend to fight it out along this line if it takes all summer," Union commander Ulysses S. Grant wrote to Washington after he'd opened his Overland Campaign in the spring of 1864. His resolve entirely changed the face of warfare. Promoted to command of all the Federal armies, the new lieutenant general chose to ride shotgun with the Army of the Potomac as it once again threw itself against the wily, audacious Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. But Grant did something no one else had done before: he threw his army at Lee over and over again. At Spotsylvania Court House, the second phase of the campaign, the two armies shifted from stalemate in the Wilderness to slugfest in the mud. Most commonly known for the horrific 22-hour hand-to-hand combat in the pouring rain at the Bloody Angle, the battle of Spotsylvania Court House actually stretched from May 8-21, 1864, fourteen long days of battle and maneuver. Spotsylvania Court House represents a chess match of immeasurable stakes between two master opponents: 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. This clash is detailed in A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864. As former battlefield guides at Spotsylvania Court House, authors Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White know the ground as intimately as anyone today. With the knowledge and insight that comes from that familiarity, coupled with their command of the facts, Mackowski and White weave together a gripping narrative of one of the war's most consequential engagements. 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.
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4/5

The North Anna Campaign, "Even to Hell Itself", May 21-26, 1864 by J. Michael Miller

The Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series
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4/5

Strike Them a Blow: Battle along the North Anna River, May 21-25, 1864 (Emerging Civil War Series) by Chris Mackowski

For sixteen days the armies had grappled a grueling horror-show of nonstop battle, march, and maneuver that stretched through May of 1864. Federal commander Ulysses S. Grant had resolved to destroy his Confederate adversaries through attrition if by no other means. He would just keep at them until he used them up.Meanwhile, Grant s Confederate counterpart, Robert E. Lee, l For sixteen days the armies had grappled a grueling horror-show of nonstop battle, march, and maneuver that stretched through May of 1864. Federal commander Ulysses S. Grant had resolved to destroy his Confederate adversaries through attrition if by no other means. He would just keep at them until he used them up.Meanwhile, Grant s Confederate counterpart, Robert E. Lee, looked for an opportunity to regain the offensive initiative. We must strike them a blow, he told his lieutenants.The toll on both armies was staggering.But Grant s war of attrition began to take its toll in a more insidious way. Both army commanders operating on the dark edge of exhaustion, fighting off illness, pressure-cooked by stress began to feel the effects of that continuous, merciless grind in very personal ways. Punch-drunk tired, they began to second-guess themselves, began missing opportunities, began 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.Picking up the story started in the Emerging Civil War Series book A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, historian Chris Mackowski follows the road south to the North Anna River. Strike Them a Blow: Battle Along the North Anna River offers a concise, engaging account of the mistakes and missed opportunities of the third and least understood phase of the Overland Campaign.REVIEWS A fascinating account of just one battle during the American Civil War. -Books Monthly"
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5/5

The Killing Ground: Wilderness to Cold Harbor by Gregory Jaynes

A gripping, comprehensive account of the Civil War, including eyewitness testimony, profiles of key personalities, period photographs, illustrations and artifacts, and detailed battle maps. Fully researched, superbly written.
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5/5

No Turning Back: A Guide to the 1864 Overland Campaign, from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May 4 - June 13, 1864 by Robert M. Dunkerly , Donald C. Pfanz , David Ruth

[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 [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."
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4.4/5

Lee vs. Grant: The Overland Campaign by Charles River Editors

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 Ar 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.
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