A Campaign of Giants--The Battle for Petersburg: Volume 1: From the Crossing of the James to the Crater

by A. Wilson Greene, Gary W. Gallagher (Foreword by)

Overview

Grinding, bloody, and ultimately decisive, the Petersburg Campaign was the Civil War’s longest and among its most complex. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee squared off for more than nine months in their struggle for Petersburg, the key to the Confederate capital at Richmond. Featuring some of the war’s most notorious battles, the campaign played out against a backdrop of political drama and crucial fighting elsewhere, with massive costs for soldiers and civilians alike. After failing to bull his way into Petersburg, Grant concentrated on isolating the city from its communications with the rest of the surviving Confederacy, stretching Lee’s defenses to the breaking point. When Lee’s desperate breakout attempt failed in March 1865, Grant launched his final offensives that forced the Confederates to abandon the city on April 2, 1865. A week later, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

Here A. Wilson Greene opens his sweeping new three-volume history of the Petersburg Campaign, taking readers from Grant’s crossing of the James in mid-June 1864 to the fateful Battle of the Crater on July 30. Full of fresh insights drawn from military, political, and social history, A Campaign of Giants is destined to be the definitive account of the campaign. With new perspectives on operational and tactical choices by commanders, the experiences of common soldiers and civilians, and the significant role of the United States Colored Troops in the fighting, this book offers essential reading for all those interested in the history of the Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469688367
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	02/01/2025
Series:	Civil War America
Pages:	728
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

A. Wilson Greene is the former president of the Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier and author of The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A. Wilson Greene's A Campaign of Giants is a masterpiece of the highest order. This book will doubtless stand as 2018's most significant Civil War book and the definitive word on the Petersburg Campaign for years to come."—Gordon C. Rhea, author of On to Petersburg

Editorial Reviews

“A Campaign of Giants stands among the most authoritative and engagingly presented Civil War studies ever written.”—Wall Street Journal

“A wonderfully detailed and judiciously interpreted overview of the first stages of the campaign.”—Journal of Southern History

“Greene peels away the layers of General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign . . . to expose the realities that made the Civil War progressively more horrible in its lethality and impact. . . . The diligent investigative discipline of the author produced a work which demonstrates, once again, that a thoroughly examined subject like the Civil War can still yield fresh treasures of knowledge.”—Civil War Book Review

“An incredibly detailed, masterfully written work that should serve as the definitive account of the first two months of the Siege of Petersburg.”—H-Net Reviews

“In its capacious approach, [A Campaign of Giants] rebuts charges of romanticization—it is hard to come away Greene’s treatment of the grisly combat in the Crater as someone overly fond of war—but at its most fundamental level, Greene analyzes the campaign’s participants as human individuals who fought, fled, failed, suffered, and sometimes triumphed.”—Journal of the Civil War Era

“Essential reading for future scholars of the Petersburg campaign.”—Civil War Monitor

“What makes A Campaign of Giants so riveting is Greene’s willingness to challenge historical conventions and address controversies that have intrigued scholars and readers for generations.”—ARMY Book Review

“Magisterial . . . . Scholars and enthusiasts of the Eastern Theater of the Civil War now have the first installment of this long-awaited project. The three volumes of A Campaign of Giants will be the last word on the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign for a long time to come.”—Army History

“Pairing the expertly written text with thirty-four maps and other illustrations, this book is a must have not only for students of Petersburg, but for anyone remotely interested in the military campaigns of the American Civil War.”—TOCWOC A Civil War Blog

“Greene’s writing is crisp and clear, and the lucid descriptions of the often-confusing engagements help the reader follow the battle with a bird’s-eye clarity. . . . An excellent resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike.”—Vermont History

From the Publisher