The Petersburg Canon, Part IV: Grant's Second Offensive at Petersburg

Grant's second offensive, which involved the most ambitious movement of the entire siege, lacks its own book.  Despite that, two books cover actions that form part of Grant's second offensive.  I found them compelling enough that I set out to write a book on the same scale.

The books I speak of are Dr. David F. Cross' A Melancholy Affair at the Weldon Railroad: The Vermont Brigade, June 23, 2864 (Shippensburg, Pa.: White Mane Publishing Co., Inc., 2003), and Capt. Greg Eanes' 'Destroy The Junction,' The Wilson-Kautz Raid & The Battle for the Staunton River Bridge:  June 21, 1864 to July 1, 1864 (Lynchburg, Va.:  H. E. Howard, Inc., 1999.    

Dr. Cross' book adopts the strategy of focusing very narrowly to master the material.  I think it succeeds.  The book focuses on the ordeal of the Vermont Brigade of VI Corps on June 23, 1864, and thereafter in Southern prison camps.  I find the book, its sources and its maps very helpful.  

Captain Eanes' book reads as an eyewitness history.  It seems repetitive at times but grows on you.  The maps could be better, but the sources are most helpful.  Eanes corrects the story that the Wilson-Kautz interrupted rail traffic to Richmond for months; instead, trains to the Confederate capital resumed within about three weeks.  

Two or three books on a similar scale remain to be written.  The first one or two would be on the fighting west of the Jerusalem Plank Road on June 21 between II Corps and the Confederate cavalry and on June 22 between II Corps and Mahone's Division.  II Corps performed as poorly as it did in August, which is very poorly indeed.

The other book, if a book indeed is merited rather than just an article, would be on the abortive Confederate attack of June 24, 1864, near where another Confederate attack took place on March 25, 1865.  

The Cross book and the Eanes book were written before internet research sites truly blossomed.  Anyone writing about June 21, June 22 or June 24 should look closely at the many public domain memoirs and unit histories as well as invaluable newspaper sites such as newspapers.com and chroniclingamerica.com.