To the North Anna River

Posted on 05 May 2018 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 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. New Read To the North Anna River By Gordon C. Rhea For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Like two dueling grandmasters, Lee and Grant sat down over the chess board of the northern Virginia landscape that separated Washington, D.C from Richmond, Virginia For the first two weeks of May 1864, the two generals have been adroitly maneuvering their armies across the terrain and engaging in some of the most sustained, ferocious and horrific combat seen in the Civil War It is spring 1864, and the Northern population is wearying of the war, and Lincoln and his administration are up for Like two dueling grandmasters, Lee and Grant sat down over the chess board of the northern Virginia landscape that separated Was...The period of time from May 2 to June 9, 1864 is known as the Overland Campaign or Grant s Overland Campaign, in which Grant and Lee engaged for the first time it ended with the Confederate retreat to Petersburg During that time, the armies fought nearly nonstop Several of the battles are notorious for the some of the worst casualties and vicious fighting the Wilderness May 5 6 , Spotsylvania Courthouse May 7 12 and Cold Harbor May 26 June 3 return return While the engagements were bl The period of time from May 2 to June 9, 1864 is known as the Overland Campaign or Grant s Overland Campaign, in which Grant and Lee engaged for the first time it ended with the Confederate retreat to Petersburg During that time, the armies fought nearly nonstop Several of the battles are notorious for the some of the worst casualties and vicious fighting the Wilderness May 5 6 , Spotsylvania Courthouse May 7 12 and Cold Harbor May 26 June 3 return return While the engagements were bloody, the entire campaign was a series of maneuvering for both generals a series of flanking maneuvers on Grant s part as he shifted time and again around Lee s right, trying to interpose the Army of the Potomac between the Army of Northern Virginia and Richmond, trying to force a fight on favorable ground so that the Union superiority both in numbers and artillery would cause a crushing defeat For a variety of reasons, of which luck was crucial, that didn t work return return The battle of wits and maneuvers betwe...Rhea s history of the intermediate phase of the Grant Lee Overland Campaign of May June 64 in Virginia, which took place in army maneuvers after Spotsylvania Mule Shoe, Bloody Angle and prior to Cold HarborConsidering that the entire book only covers 12 days of the Overland Campaign and not even the most well known or famous phases of it , it probably goes without saying that this book would appealto a Civil War junkie than someone looking for a...As U S Grant and the Army of the Potomac slugged it out with Robert E Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor, one of the least known aspects of the bloody struggle along this line was the end of the battle at Spotsylvania Court House and the race to the North Anna River, before the ghastly battle at Cold Harbor This book does a nice job of discussing what happened at the later stages of the battle at Spotsylvania As the Introduction notes pages 6 7 , As U S Grant and the Army of the Potomac slugged it out with Robert E Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor, one of the least known aspects of the bloody struggle along this line was the end of the battle at Spotsylvania Court House and the race to the North Anna River, before the ghastly battle at Cold Harbor This book does a nice job of discussing what happened at the later stages of the battle at Spotsylvania As the Introduction notes pages 6 7 , .the real story lay in Grant s and Lee s efforts to outwit each other Grant was given the nickname Grant the Butcher, as casualty figures became known in ...This is the third book in Rhea s Overland Campaign series It covers the events from after the peak of fighting at Spotsylvania up through Grant and Lee reaching a stalemate at the North Anna River It also covers the second half of Sheridan s Raid i.e the events after Yellow Tavern until his return to the Army of the Potomac Like the preceding book on Spotslyvania and following book on Cold Harbor , this book ends at one of the climactic moments of the Overland Campaign rather than covering This is the third book in Rhea s Overland Campaign series It c...Once again Gordon Rhea has produced another fabulous and insightful account to follow on from his books on Spotsylvania Court House and Yellow Tavern This is a well presented and detailed account of the maneuvers and fighting between Lee and Grant during May 13th 25th, 1864 As one previous reviewer noted this is not a period of high drama involving great battles and massi...Consistent with the first two books in this series, Rhea provides an excellent narrative of the tactical and strategic decisions and errors made by Grant and Lee in this campaign, while sprinkling in the perspective of the common soldier here and there He successfully ties in the overall strategic issues confronting both sides at this phase of the war providing context to the choices made by both sides Grant...A good book but ultimately this part of the campaign just is not that interesting It would have been better if Rhea had divided this work since the later half of the actual Battle of Spotsylvania takes up most of this book.This is absolutely a must read for people who enjoy the tactics of the Civil War.It is an aspect of the Overland Campaign that receive little attention.However, you will be absolutely astounded by the chess match like interplay between Grant and Lee.Nice analysis of the campaign between Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor Highlights the missed opportunities on both sides.

English
05 May 2018

Gordon C. Rhea