LEE BESIEGED
Grant's Second Petersburg Offensive,
June 18 - July 1, 1864
By John Horn (El Dorado Hills, Savas Beatie, 2025, pp. 434,
ISBN 13-978-1-61121-738-4)
Under intense pressure because of the critical upcoming presidential election, following Grant's first failed offensive against Petersburg, within two hours he launched another. A cavalry raid would attack the railroads serving Richmond and Petersburg. His artillery would interdict Petersburg's bridges. And his infantry would attempt to invest Petersburg from the Appomattox River below the city to the Appomattox above. And a regiment of miners took it upon themselves to tunnel under a salient and blow it up. The Confederate defenders attempteed to counter every Union move.
This book describes the efforts made by both sides. It is deeply researched and elegantly written, with judicious analysis of strategy, tactics, and leadership at every level. More than 1,000 quotations from participants on both sides take the reader back in time. Highly recommended.
__ Keith Poulter
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