To the Gates of Richmond : The Peninsula Campaign
"The Peninsula campaign of 1862 was the largest campaign of the Civil War. More men were assembled on the Virginia Peninsula for this battle for the capital of the Confederacy than for any other operation of the war. Now Stephen Sears, the award-winning author of Landscape Turned Red, provides the first complete, full-length account of the campaign ever written, a masterly narrative by one of our foremost historians. The Peninsula campaign was General George McClellan's grand scheme to advance from Yorktown up the Virginia Peninsula and destroy the Rebel army in its own capital. Though initially successful, McClellan's plans fell through at the gates of Richmond. Assuming command of the Confederate forces, Robert E. Lee split his army and proceeded to deliver a series of hammer blows against the Federals. Though the Confederates were not invariably victorious on the field, Lee's will to fight so surpassed McClellan's that in the end the Union forces were expelled from the Peninsula. Weaving together narrative, military analysis, and firsthand testimony from the diaries and letters of Union and Confederate soldiers, Stephen Sears has crafted a magisterial history. It is at once a ground-breaking study of the great Civil War engagement, an unforgettable picture of men at war, and a sobering reflection of the role of individuals on the outcome of events."--Jacket
History
xii, 468 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
9780899197906, 9780395701010, 0899197906, 0395701015
25316567
Part I: The Grand Campaign. Seven Days to a Decision ; Stride of a Giant ; Siege
Part II: Enemy at the Gates. A Fighting Retreat ; March to the Chickahominy ; Battle at the Seven Pines ; Lee Takes Command
Part IIIThe Seven Days. "Stonewall Is Behind Them!" ; Gaine's Mill ; The Flight ; Opportunity at Glendale ; The Guns of Malvern Hill ; Richmond Delivered
Appendix I: The Armies at Yorktown
Appendix II: the Armies at Seven Pines
Appendix III: The Armies in the Seven Days