A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee's Triumph, 1862-1863From the time Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862, until the Battle of Gettysburg thirteen months later, the Confederate army compiled a record of military achievement almost unparalleled in our nation’s history. How it happened—the relative contributions of Lee, his top command, opposing Union generals, and of course the rebel army itself—is the subject of Civil War historian Jeffry D. Wert’s fascinating and riveting new history. In the year following Lee’s appointment, his army won four major battles or campaigns and fought Union forces to a draw at the bloody Battle of Antietam. Washington itself was threatened, as a succession of Union commanders failed to stop Lee’s offensive. Until Gettysburg, it looked as if Lee might force the Union to negotiate a peace rather than risk surrendering the capital or even losing the war. Lee’s victories fired southern ambition and emboldened Confederate soldiers everywhere. Wert shows how the same audacity and aggression that fueled these victories proved disastrous at Gettysburg. But, as Wert explains, Lee had little choice: outnumbered by an opponent with superior resources, he had to take the fight to the enemy in order to win. For a year his superior generalship prevailed against his opponents, but eventually what Lee’s trusted lieutenant General James Longstreet called “headlong combativeness” caused Lee to miscalculate. When an equally combative Union general—Ulysses S. Grant—took command of northern forces in 1864, Lee was defeated. A Glorious Army draws on the latest scholarship, including letters and diaries, to provide a brilliant analysis of Lee’s triumphs. It offers fresh assessments of Lee; his top commanders Longstreet, Jackson, and Stuart; and a shrewd battle strategy that still offers lessons to military commanders today. A Glorious Army is a dramatic account of major battles from Seven Days to Gettysburg that is as gripping as it is convincing, a must-read for anyone interested in the Civil War. |
From inside the book
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Page 8
... troops to spare.” In March he withdrew the army from the Centreville, Virginia, area, abandoning and destroying more than a million pounds of criti- cally needed foodstuffs and forage. When the Federals disembarked on the Peninsula east ...
... troops to spare.” In March he withdrew the army from the Centreville, Virginia, area, abandoning and destroying more than a million pounds of criti- cally needed foodstuffs and forage. When the Federals disembarked on the Peninsula east ...
Page 22
... troops, offi- cers, community & press. All ridicule & resist it. . . . There is nothing so military as labour, & nothing so important to our army as to save the lives of its soldiers.” The complaints and criticism of Lee's orders missed ...
... troops, offi- cers, community & press. All ridicule & resist it. . . . There is nothing so military as labour, & nothing so important to our army as to save the lives of its soldiers.” The complaints and criticism of Lee's orders missed ...
Page 23
... troops, currently in the Shenandoah Valley, for the operation.14 This shared ride and conversation with Davis exemplified Lee's early, and continuous, efforts to keep the president apprised of his thinking and of army matters. Unlike ...
... troops, currently in the Shenandoah Valley, for the operation.14 This shared ride and conversation with Davis exemplified Lee's early, and continuous, efforts to keep the president apprised of his thinking and of army matters. Unlike ...
Page 25
... troops in “a pitched battle” revealed, in part, his thinking. He explained later in his campaign report that McClellan's left wing, south of the Chickahominy, “rendered a direct assault injudi- cious, if not impracticable.” Lee saw the ...
... troops in “a pitched battle” revealed, in part, his thinking. He explained later in his campaign report that McClellan's left wing, south of the Chickahominy, “rendered a direct assault injudi- cious, if not impracticable.” Lee saw the ...
Page 26
... troops barred the route south toward the Chickahominy, Stuart led the column toward the river. They captured some wagons and prisoners before eluding their pursuers. The cavalrymen entered Richmond on June 15, greeted by throngs of ...
... troops barred the route south toward the Chickahominy, Stuart led the column toward the river. They captured some wagons and prisoners before eluding their pursuers. The cavalrymen entered Richmond on June 15, greeted by throngs of ...
Contents
| 1 | |
| 5 | |
| 19 | |
To Change the Theater of the War | 53 |
Lees Masterpiece | 75 |
The Armys Finest Hour | 109 |
The Easiest Battle We Ever Fought | 145 |
The Boldest and Most Daring Strategy of the Whole War | 175 |
I Think We Will Clear the Yankees Out This Summer | 207 |
The Enemy Is There and I Am Going to Strike Him | 235 |
A Glorious Army | 277 |
Abbreviations | 297 |
Notes | 299 |
Bibliography | 343 |
Index | 367 |
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Common terms and phrases
Anderson’s Antietam army’s artillery assault attack battle battlefield brigades Cadmus Wilcox campaign cannon casualties cavalry Cavalryman Cemetery Hill Chancellorsville Colonel Confederate Tide Rising D. H. Hill defensive Diary division Dowdey and Manarin Early’s east enemy enemy’s Ewell Ewell’s Family Papers Federals fighting fire flank Fredericksburg Freeman Gallagher Georgians Gettysburg Harper’s Ferry Harsh Harvey Hill Hennessy Henry Heth Hill’s historian Hood Hood’s Hooker Hotchkiss Ibid infantry J. E. B. Stuart James Longstreet Jeb Stuart John July June Krick Lafayette McLaws Lee’s army Lee’s Lieutenants letter Manassas to Appomattox Maryland McClellan movement Moxley Sorrel North Carolinians numbers o’clock offensive ordered Pope’s Porter Alexander Potomac Powell Hill R. E. Lee ranks Rappahannock Rebels regiments retreat Richmond Ridge River Road Robert Robertson rode Second Manassas Sharpsburg soldiers Sorrel Southern staff officer Stonewall Jackson Sword Texas Brigade troops Union army veterans victory Virginia Wert wife wounded wrote Yankees