The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7-12, 1864

by Rhea, Gordon C.

• ISBN13: 9780807121368
• ISBN10: 0807121363
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-05-01
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr

Summary

The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864 continues Gordon C. Rhea's peerless treatment of the Civil War's clash of titans: Grant's Army of the Potomac versus Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Inlaid with detail, innovative analysis, riveting prose, and an abundance of supporting primary evidence, it is a worthy sequel to Rhea's first, acclaimed work, The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864. Here Rhea examines the maneuvers and battles from May 7, 1864, when Grant left the Wilderness, through May 12, when his attempt to break Lee's line by frontal assault reached a chilling climax at what is now called the Bloody Angle. Rhea draws exhaustively upon previously untapped materials - most notably contemporary newspaper accounts and diaries and letters only recently made available - to construct the definitive account of Grant and Lee at Spotsylvania. Here for the first time is a detailed description of the cavalry's role in the campaign, from the grim fighting at Todd's Tavern through Philip Sheridan's Richmond raid and Jeb Stuart is mortal wounding at Yellow Tavern. Here, too, are fresh and challenging interpretations that often contradict conventional wisdom.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix	(2)
Abbreviations	xi
INTRODUCTION	1	(6)
I MAY 7, 1864 Grant and Lee Skirmish in the Wilderness and at Todd's Tavern	7	(38)
II MAY 8 The Armies Meet at Laurel Hill	45	(44)
III MAY 9 Grant and Lee Shift for Position, and Sheridan Starts South	89	(34)
IV MAY 10 Grant Feels For Openings at the Po and Laurel Hill	123	(38)
V MAY 10 Grant Attacks Across Lee's Line	161	(28)
VI MAY 11 A Cavalryman Dies, and Grant Prepares to Attack Again	189	(43)
VII MAY 12 Grant Captures the Salient	232	(34)
VIII MAY 12 The Armies Reach Stalemate at the Bloody Angle	266	(42)
EPILOGUE	308	(21)
Appendix: The Order of Battle	329	(18)
Notes	347	(74)
Bibliography	421	(30)
Index	451