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This comprehensively researched, well-written book represents the definitive account of Robert E. Lee's triumph over Union leader John Pope in the summer of 1862. While Pope, supported by President Lincoln, sought to bring the war home to Virginia, Lee proposed to carry the war to the North. Lee befuddled, then defeated Pope in a campaign of masterful maneuvering that rivaled Chancellorsville as the Army of Northern Virginia's greatest achievement. Hennessey, a National Park Service historian, expertly depicts the horror and confusion of battle, highlighting the difficulties of controlling a Civil War battle once it had begun. Lee's strategic skills, and the capabilities of his principal subordinates James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson, brought the Confederates onto the field of Second Manassas at the right places and times |
"There never was such a campaign, not even by Napoleon" wrote Confederate General Pender of the Second Manassas campaign in which the gray-bearded Virginian, Robert E Lee, came as close as he ever would to exterminating his Northern enemies. In so doing, Lee established himself as the South's pre-eminent military commander and the Army of Northern Virginia as it's most powerful weapon. The fighting in northern Virginia left Union General John Pope's career in tatters and proved the South was a power to be reckoned with. This book's powerful account demonstrates that during that fateful summer of 1862 Lee's soldiers were fighting for anything but a lost cause. |
In this book, they discuss topographic mapping, geologic provinces, and even the hardness of rocks that Confederate soldiers threw at advancing Union troops. The application of military geology to the campaign and battle show how land forms were used by both sides in their tactics both to their advantage, and to their disadvantage. The book has a number of interesting tidbits, such as how maps or the lack of them contributed to the sucess and confusion of the armies. Or how the Union troops used gullies and other landforms in their retreat from Chinn Ridge to Henry Hill. I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in this campaign, as it gives added insights and information into the "whys" and "wherefores" of the actions and reactions of the two armies. |
Although it only offers a concise account of the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself and the aftermath (all in 256 odd pages) it is still a very good read. The author offers an excellent story about this blotched campaign with 14 good maps to help follow the action and a number of topical sidebars for further information (I liked the one about the oldest surviving soldiers of the battle!). This is a well researched and well presented book and it was pleasure to read. I am sure that there are a number of very detailed books covering this battle/campaign and the author offers a number of good choices for further reading. |
| Books Civil War Womens Subjects Young Readers Military History US Navy DVDs VHS Civil War Games Civil War Music Military Video Games |
 Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles With beautifully shot footage of reenactors, Civil War Combat illustrates aspects of four particular Civil War battles that are rightfully considered legendary. Filmed on location, the reenactors depict the violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor. Produced by the History Channel, the episodes all benefit from insightful appearances by historians as well as rangers from the National Park Service. |
Guns of the Civil War |
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 Civil War Minutes Volumn 1 In Civil War Minutes - Union Volume 1, you will learn about the lives of soldiers through their handwritten letters to home. Also find out what life was like from the perspective of the average foot soldier through never-before-seen photographs, artifacts and rare paintings and engravings. Find out what is the General Beauregard Pipe; what is the Report of Samuel Weaver and how it was related to Gettysburg; what is a musket and much more! |
