The Richmond Campaign of 1862 - (Military Campaigns of the Civil War) by Gary W Gallagher (Paperback)

About the Book

Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula and the Seven Days

Book Synopsis

The Richmond campaign of April-July 1862 ranks as one of the most important military operations of the first years of the American Civil War. Key political, diplomatic, social, and military issues were at stake as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan faced off on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. The climactic clash came on June 26-July 1 in what became known as the Seven Days battles, when Lee, newly appointed as commander of the Confederate forces, aggressively attacked the Union army. Casualties for the entire campaign exceeded 50,000, more than 35,000 of whom fell during the Seven Days.

This book offers nine essays in which well-known Civil War historians explore questions regarding high command, strategy and tactics, the effects of the fighting upon politics and society both North and South, and the ways in which emancipation figured in the campaign. The authors have consulted previously untapped manuscript sources and reinterpreted more familiar evidence, sometimes focusing closely on the fighting around Richmond and sometimes looking more broadly at the background and consequences of the campaign.

Contributors:
William A. Blair
Keith S. Bohannon
Peter S. Carmichael
Gary W. Gallagher
John T. Hubbell
R. E. L. Krick
Robert K. Krick
James Marten
William J. Miller

Review Quotes

Splendid.

"Virginia Quarterly Review"

All these essays enhance understanding of the Peninsular campaign.

"Civil War History"

Another fine addition to the University of North Carolina Press's 'Military Campaigns of the Civil War' series.

"American Historical Review"

Gallagher's editorial efforts have once again added significantly to the literature of the Civil War.

"Journal of American History"

No academic library should be without this volume.

"Journal of Southern History"

These essays probe longstanding questions and flesh out credible answers relative to the first major offensive of Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. (James I. Robertson Jr., Virginia Tech)