ebooks The Battle of the Wilderness; May 5--6; 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Rhea masterfully clarifies a confusing and tangled battleBy Michael A. KleenIn The Battle of the Wilderness; May 5-6; 1864; Gordon C. Rhea charts the first meeting between Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the darkened; tangled forest west of Fredericksburg; Virginia; which ended with high casualties on both sides but no clear victor.Rhea clarifies and explains a battle that even its participants found confusing and hard to comprehend. With its balanced analysis of events and people; command structures and strategies; The Battle of the Wilderness is a thorough and meticulous military history. This is the first of a five volume series on General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign during the American Civil War.Prior to 1864; the Eastern Theater had mostly been a war of maneuver. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia jockeyed back and forth with the Union Army of the Potomac with little to show for it. In April 1864; both armies sat facing one another across the Rapidan River; almost exactly where they had been one year earlier.General Ulysses S. Grant was determined to change that; and the Battle of the Wilderness proved it. This chaotic struggle touched off the Overland Campaign; a brutal grind toward the Confederate capital of Richmond; Virginia. Rather than retreat to lick its wounds; as Army of the Potomac usually did after a major battle; Grant ordered it around Lee’s flank to the southeast. Finally; President Abraham Lincoln found a General who was not afraid of Robert E. Lee.With clear but detailed prose; Gordon C. Rhea shows how divided command crippled the Union Army. While George G. Meade commanded the Army of the Potomac; Ambrose Burnside commanded the IX Corps; which was formally part of the Army of the Ohio. Because he technically outranked Meade; Burnside reported directly to Grant. Grant gave both generals considerable leeway during the battle. “The Union army’s overwhelming size should by itself have guaranteed success; but careless generalship had forfeited the golden opportunity;” he wrote.The Confederate army was not without controversy. On May 6; Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon found the Union army’s flank in the air and sought permission from his division commander; Jubal Early; to attack the exposed flank. By the time his corps commander; Richard Ewell; approved the plan; it was shortly before dark and Gordon had no time to exploit his success. Later; Gordon claimed Lee personally ordered the attack when he saw its potential. Rhea deconstructs this claim and finds Gordon embellished (or outright fabricated) events to enhance his reputation.Like all previous offensives that day; he concluded; “In the end; Gordon’s plan accomplished little more than to add names to the casualty lists.”0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I've read a lot of great battle-level books on the Civil WarBy LarryWow; what a book! The Battle of the Wilderness bristles with vivid details; making sense of essentially a senseless battle fought among the tangles and thickets of the infamous Wilderness. While never failing to provide the context of the bigger battle picture; Rhea manages to paint a lurid picture of the fog of battle that enveloped both sides in this first act in Grant's Overland Campaign. I've read a lot of great battle-level books on the Civil War; and this ranks among the best; scintillating the senses with its graphic descriptions of men faced off in a new style of warfare; while never losing that spark of humanity that makes for great history. This is the first book I've read by Gordon Rhea - the first of many; I'm sure.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Comprehensive History of the Battle of the WildernessBy Steven M. AnthonyThis book is a meticulously researched and well documented history of the Battle of the Wilderness. While I would not recommend it for the casual reader; students of the American Civil War or those looking for more scholarly treatments of Grant's Overland Campaign will find this to be an invaluable resource.The Battle of the Wilderness marked U.S. Grant's introduction to the Army of Northern Virginia; and his first battlefield exposure to the tactics of Robert E. Lee (and vice versa). It would be fair to say that each party to the battle was very unpleasantly surprised; for while Lee could rightly claim a tactical victory; overall strategic advantage lay with Grant's Army.Grant's ascension to overall command of Union forces marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy; as Lincoln finally identified a commander willing to bring to bear all of the advantages of the Union; most notably virtually unlimited men and supplies. From his crossing of the Rapidan and ultimately to Appomattox; Grant maintained relentless pressure on Lee; slowly bleeding men and resources from the Confederate forces until resistance became futile.In this book; detailing the intial clash of Armies in the Overland Campaign; Gordon Rhea delves deeply into the strategies; tactics and movements of the two armies; all the way to the brigade level. In this respect; casual readers may become bogged down in the minutia; though avid students will be appreciative. He intersperses very well presented and thought out analysis; with competing hypotheses fairly explained and addressed.I enjoy Civil War literature and have read my share of it; though I would hesitiate to label myself a "student" of the conflict. For that reason; some of the book dragged for me; especially the long passages identifying various battalions; brigades and their officers. Nevertheless; serious students of Civil War history will validly consider this a gold standard; five star work.