If It Takes All Summer

by William D. Matter

2017 · UNC Press Books

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.

The Peninsula Campaign of 1862

by William J. Miller

2013 · Savas Publishing

The first of three volumes. The Civil War's Peninsula Campaign (March through July 1862) was the first large-scale Union operation in Virginia to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond. The operation was organized and led by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, whose amphibious turning operation was initially successful in landing troops at the tip of the Virginia peninsula against the cautious Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. When Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines at the end of May outside Richmond, however, Gen. Robert E. Lee was elevated to command the Army of Northern Virginia. His subsequent major offensive to defeat The Army of the Potomac during the Seven Days' Battles turned the tide of the campaign and the entire momentum of the war in the Eastern Theater. Original well-researched and written essays by leading scholars in the field on a wide variety of fascinating topics. Contains original maps, photos, and illustrations.

Survival and Early Growth of Planted Forest Trees on Strip-mine Spoils in the Anthracite Region

by Miroslaw M. Czapowskyj, William Everett McQuilkin

1966

In 1962 a survey-type study was conducted to evaluate the performance of forest tree species in established plantings on strip-mine spoils of the Anthracite Region of Pennsylvania. Plantations representing a wide range of site conditions in all four anthracite fields were examined.

The Memoirs of the Civil War Commanders

by Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, William Sherman, Jefferson Davis, Raphael Semmes

2019 · e-artnow

Madison & Adams Press presents the collection of Civil War memoires, diaries and journals. This meticulous selection of the firsthand accounts, memoirs and diaries is specially comprised for Civil War enthusiasts and all people curious about the personal accounts and true life stories of the key personalities of the Civil War including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, William Sherman, Jefferson Davis, Raphael Semmes and many more. Contents: History of Civil War, 1861-1865 Leaders & Commanders of the Union Abraham Lincoln Ulysses S. Grant Charles Anderson Dana William Tecumseh Sherman Philip Henry Sheridan John Beatty John Alexander Logan Thomas Wentworth Higginson Lemuel Abijah Abbott Leaders & Commanders of the Confederation Jefferson Davis – A Short History of the Confederate States of America James Longstreet Raphael Semmes Gilbert Moxley Sorrel Richard "Dick" Taylor Isaac Hermann John Singleton Mosby Heros Von Borcke