Brandy Station, Virginia, June 9, 1863
Brandy Station, Virginia, June 9, 1863

Author: Joseph W. McKinney

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2013-05-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780786477234

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The winter of 1862-63 found Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Potomac at a standoff along the Rappahannock River in Virginia, following the Union defeat at Fredericksburg. In January 1863 Major General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker relieved the disgraced Burnside, reorganized his troops and instituted company colors, giving his soldiers back their fighting spirit. Lee concentrated on maintaining his strength and fortifications while struggling for supplies. By spring, cavalry units from both sides had taken on increased importance--until the largest cavalry battle of the war was fought, near Brandy Station, Virginia, on June 9, 1863. Researched from numerous contemporary sources, this detailed history recounts the battle that marked the opening of the Gettysburg campaign and Lee's last offensive into the North. Forces commanded by J.E.B. Stuart and Alfred Pleasanton fought indecisively in an area of 70 square miles: Confederate troops maintained possession and counted fewer casualties, yet Union forces had definitely taken the offensive. Historians still debate the significance of the battle; many view it as a harbinger of change, the beginning of dominance by Union horse soldiers and the decline of Stuart's Confederate command.

Seceding from Secession
Seceding from Secession

Author: Eric J. Wittenberg

Publisher: Savas Beatie

Published: 2020-06-09

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1611215072

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A “thoroughly researched [and] historically enlightening” account of how the Commonwealth of Virginia split in two in the midst of war (Civil War News). “West Virginia was the child of the storm.” —Mountaineer historian and Civil War veteran Maj. Theodore F. Lang As the Civil War raged, the northwestern third of the Commonwealth of Virginia finally broke away in 1863 to form the Union’s 35th state. Seceding from Secession chronicles those events in an unprecedented study of the social, legal, military, and political factors that converged to bring about the birth of West Virginia. President Abraham Lincoln, an astute lawyer in his own right, played a critical role in birthing the new state. The constitutionality of the mechanism by which the new state would be created concerned the president, and he polled every member of his cabinet before signing the bill. Seceding from Secession includes a detailed discussion of the 1871 U.S. Supreme Court decision Virginia v. West Virginia, in which former Lincoln cabinet member Salmon Chase presided as chief justice over the court that decided the constitutionality of the momentous event. Grounded in a wide variety of sources and including a foreword by Frank J. Williams, former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and Chairman Emeritus of the Lincoln Forum, this book is indispensable for anyone interested in American history.

The Battle of Hurricane Bridge, March 28 1863
The Battle of Hurricane Bridge, March 28 1863

Author: Philip Hatfield

Publisher:

Published: 2021-11-21

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781737857525

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The Battle at Hurricane Bridge is an often overlooked Civil War action occurring at the small and otherwise quiet western Virginia village. For five hours behind the limited protection of an unfinished earthen fort, the green Union troops of the 13th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry under the command of Captain James Johnson, fought to hold off the hardened Confederate veterans of the 8th and 16th Virginia Cavalry commanded by Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins.Ultimately, the March 28, 1863, battle at Hurricane Bridge directly contributed to the Union army maintaining control of the James River & Kanawha Turnpike, a key supply line, and enabled Federal control of the Kanawha Valley for the remainder of the war.

The Great Battle Never Fought
The Great Battle Never Fought

Author: Chris Mackowski

Publisher: Emerging Civil War

Published: 2018-08-19

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781611214079

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The stakes for George Gordon Meade could not have been higher. After his stunning victory at Gettysburg in July of 1863, the Union commander spent the following months trying to bring the Army of Northern Virginia to battle once more and finish the job. The Confederate army, robbed of much of its offensive strength, nevertheless parried Meade's moves time after time. Although the armies remained in constant contact during those long months of cavalry clashes, quick maneuvers, and sudden skirmishes, Lee continued to frustrate Meade's efforts. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Meade's political enemies launched an all-out assault against his reputation and generalship. Even the very credibility of his victory at Gettysburg came under assault. Pressure mounted for the army commander to score a decisive victory and prove himself once more. Smaller victories, like those at Bristoe Station and Rappahannock Station, did little to quell the growing clamor--particularly because out west, in Chattanooga, another Union general, Ulysses S. Grant, was once again reversing Federal misfortunes. Meade needed a comparable victory in the east. And so, on Thanksgiving Day, 1863, the Army of the Potomac rumbled into motion once more, intent on trying again to bring about the great battle that would end the war. The Great Battle Never Fought: The Mine Run Campaign, November 26-December 2 1863 recounts the final chapter of the forgotten fall of 1863--when George Gordon Meade made one final attempt to save the Union and, in doing so, save himself.

That Furious Struggle
That Furious Struggle

Author: Christopher Mackowski

Publisher: Savas Beatie

Published: 2014-07-30

Total Pages: 471

ISBN-13: 1611212200

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Authors Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White have worked for years to compile this remarkable story of one of the war's greatest battles. escribes the series of controversial events that define this crucial battle, including General Robert E. Lee's radical decision to divide his small army--a violation of basic military rules--sending Stonewall Jackson on his famous march around the Union army flank. Jackson's death--accidentally shot by one of his own soldiers--is one of the many fascinating stories included in this definitive account of the battle of Chancellorsville. "That Furious Fire: Chancellorsville" can be enjoyed in the comfort of oneÕs living room or as a guide on the battlefield itself. It is also the tenth release in the bestselling ÒEmerging Civil War Series,Ó which offers compelling and easy-to-read overviews of some of the Civil WarÕs most important battles and issues, supported by the popular blog of the same name.

Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865
Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865

Author: Ethan Sepp Rafuse

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9780742551251

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In this reexamination of the last two years of Lee's storied military career, Ethan S. Rafuse offers a clear, informative, and insightful account of Lee's ultimately unsuccessful struggle to defend the Confederacy against a relentless and determined foe. This book provides a comprehensive, yet concise and entertaining narrative of the battles and campaigns that highlighted this phase of the war and analyzes the battles and Lee's generalship in the context of the steady deterioration of the Confederacy's prospects for victory.

Battle of Big Bethel
Battle of Big Bethel

Author: J. Michael Cobb

Publisher: Grub Street Publishers

Published: 2013-10-19

Total Pages: 451

ISBN-13: 1611211174

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“A comprehensive study of the Civil War’s first major battle . . . well leavened with strategic and political context” (Robert E. L. Krick, author of Staff Officers in Gray). Battle of Big Bethel is the first full-length treatment of the small but consequential June 1861 Virginia battle that reshaped perceptions about what lay in store for the divided nation. The successful Confederate defense reinforced the belief most Southerners held that their martial invincibility and protection of home and hearth were divinely inspired. After initial disbelief and shame, the defeat hardened Northern resolution to preserve their sacred Union. The notion began to take hold that, contrary to popular belief, the war would be difficult and protracted—a belief that was cemented in reality the following month on the plains of Manassas. Years in the making, Battle of Big Bethel relies upon letters, diaries, newspapers, reminiscences, official records, and period images—some used for the first time. The authors detail the events leading up to the encounter, survey the personalities as well as the contributions of the participants, set forth a nuanced description of the confusion-ridden field of battle, and elaborate upon its consequences. Here, finally, the story of Big Bethel is colorfully and compellingly brought to life through the words and deeds of a fascinating array of soldiers, civilians, contraband slaves, and politicians whose lives intersected on that fateful day in the early summer of 1861. “The authors do a wonderful job of describing the motivations and mindsets of both the U.S. and Confederate soldiers at the outset of the conflict and handle slavery very effectively throughout.” —Edward L. Ayers, author of The Thin Light of

Why Confederates Fought
Why Confederates Fought

Author: Aaron Sheehan-Dean

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2009-11-05

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 080788765X

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In the first comprehensive study of the experience of Virginia soldiers and their families in the Civil War, Aaron Sheehan-Dean captures the inner world of the rank-and-file. Utilizing new statistical evidence and first-person narratives, Sheehan-Dean explores how Virginia soldiers--even those who were nonslaveholders--adapted their vision of the war's purpose to remain committed Confederates. Sheehan-Dean challenges earlier arguments that middle- and lower-class southerners gradually withdrew their support for the Confederacy because their class interests were not being met. Instead he argues that Virginia soldiers continued to be motivated by the profound emotional connection between military service and the protection of home and family, even as the war dragged on. The experience of fighting, explains Sheehan-Dean, redefined southern manhood and family relations, established the basis for postwar race and class relations, and transformed the shape of Virginia itself. He concludes that Virginians' experience of the Civil War offers important lessons about the reasons we fight wars and the ways that those reasons can change over time.

Meade and Lee After Gettysburg
Meade and Lee After Gettysburg

Author: Jeffrey Wm Hunt

Publisher: Grub Street Publishers

Published: 2017-07-19

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1611213444

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This “very satisfying blow-by-blow account of the final stages of the Gettysburg Campaign” fills an important gap in Civil War history (Civil War Books and Authors). Winner of the Gettysburg Civil War Round Table Book Award This fascinating book exposes what has been hiding in plain sight for 150 years: The Gettysburg Campaign did not end at the banks of the Potomac on July 14, but deep in central Virginia two weeks later along the line of the Rappahannock. Contrary to popular belief, once Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia slipped across the Potomac back to Virginia, the Lincoln administration pressed George Meade to cross quickly in pursuit—and he did. Rather than follow in Lee’s wake, however, Meade moved south on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in a cat-and-mouse game to outthink his enemy and capture the strategic gaps penetrating the high wooded terrain. Doing so would trap Lee in the northern reaches of the Shenandoah Valley and potentially bring about the decisive victory that had eluded Union arms north of the Potomac. The two weeks that followed resembled a grand chess match with everything at stake—high drama filled with hard marching, cavalry charges, heavy skirmishing, and set-piece fighting that threatened to escalate into a major engagement with the potential to end the war in the Eastern Theater. Throughout, one thing remains clear: Union soldiers from private to general continued to fear the lethality of Lee’s army. Meade and Lee After Gettysburg, the first of three volumes on the campaigns waged between the two adversaries from July 14 through the end of July, 1863, relies on the official records, regimental histories, letters, newspapers, and other sources to provide a day-by-day account of this fascinating high-stakes affair. The vivid prose, coupled with original maps and outstanding photographs, offers a significant contribution to Civil War literature. Named Eastern Theater Book of the Year byCivil War Books and Authors

Virginia at War, 1863
Virginia at War, 1863

Author: William Davis

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0813125103

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The fascinating third book in the Virginia at War series focuses on the Virginia experience at mid-conflict. The collection provides a comprehensive overview of the conflict’s impact on children, religion, and newly freed slaves. Also included are essays that probe the South’s view of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War careers of the Hatfields and the McCoys. The 1863 installment of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire’s valuable Diary of a Southern Refugee during the War rounds out the collection.