Popular Appomattox Campaign Books

Lee's Last Stand: Sailor's Creek, Virginia, 1865 by Derek Smith

Offers a compelling look at the last battle of the once mighty Army of Northern Virginia.

Appomattox 1865: Lee’s last campaign by Ron Field , Adam Hook (Illustrations)

From an internationally renowned expert on US history, this highly illustrated title details the curtain-closing campaign of the Civil War in the East. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia faced up to one another one last time, as Lee conducted a desperate series of withdrawals and retreats down the line of Richmond and Danvi From an internationally renowned expert on US history, this highly illustrated title details the curtain-closing campaign of the Civil War in the East. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia faced up to one another one last time, as Lee conducted a desperate series of withdrawals and retreats down the line of Richmond and Danville Railroad. This book, drawing on the detailed visual aid of bird's eye views and maps, tells the full story of the skirmishes and pursuits that led directly to Lee's surrender, as his frantic efforts to extricate his forces from ever more perilous positions became increasingly untenable.

The Appomattox Campaign: March 29 - April 9, 1865 by Chris M. Calkins

Previous accounts of the Civil War's last major campaign have often neglected the actual maneuvers and tactics of the units involved. This new addition to the Great Campaigns series features a tactical approach to the final drama of the Civil War. Innovative maps, sidebars and charts complement a dramatic narrative. The fall of Petersburg and Richmond, the last battles at Previous accounts of the Civil War's last major campaign have often neglected the actual maneuvers and tactics of the units involved. This new addition to the Great Campaigns series features a tactical approach to the final drama of the Civil War. Innovative maps, sidebars and charts complement a dramatic narrative. The fall of Petersburg and Richmond, the last battles at Five Forks, Sailor's Creek, and Dinwiddie Court House, and the final surrender at Appomattox are all described by an author whose knowledge of the historical sources is equaled by his familiarity with the area over which the armies marched and fought.The author provides a day-to-day narrative of this fascinating campaign, with a series of specially commissioned maps that make clear the complex series of maneuvers that finally brought Lee's beleaguered army to bay. Special sidebars highlight many incidents and personalities of the campaign, including never-before-published information on African-Americans in Confederate service. Record-keeping, especially for the Confederates, was difficult in the last hectic days of the war, and readers will find here the most complete order of battle available for both sides.

To Appomattox: Nine April Days, 1865 by Burke Davis

Provides a chronicle of the nine final days of the Civil War, and a portrait of Grant, Lee, Lincoln, and the war's other notable personalities as they play out the end-game to America's bloodiest war.

The Passing of Armies: An Account of the Final Campaign of the Army of the Potomac by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

A member of the Fifth Corps recounts the dramatic final acts of the Civil War, describing Sheridan's rise, Warren's fall, and the slow, inexorable stalking of Lee's forces across the battle-scarred countryside.

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Virginia by Ralph Happel

Confederate Waterloo: The Battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865, and the Controversy That Brought Down a General by Michael McCarthy

The Battle of Five Forks, explained former Confederate General Thomas Munford long after the Civil War, "could be classified as a mere skirmish, but no other fight of the entire four years' struggle was followed by such important consequences." The battle broke the long siege of Petersburg, triggered the evacuation of Richmond, precipitated the Appomattox Campaign, and des The Battle of Five Forks, explained former Confederate General Thomas Munford long after the Civil War, "could be classified as a mere skirmish, but no other fight of the entire four years' struggle was followed by such important consequences." The battle broke the long siege of Petersburg, triggered the evacuation of Richmond, precipitated the Appomattox Campaign, and destroyed the careers and reputations of two opposing generals. Michael J. McCarthy's Confederate Waterloo is the first fully researched and unbiased book-length account of this decisive Union victory and the unpredictable aftermath fought in the courts and at the bar of public opinion. General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had been locked into the sprawling defenses surrounding the logistical stronghold of Petersburg and the Southern capital at Richmond for more than eight months when General Grant launched an offensive against Lee's exposed right flank. A series of battles led up to April 1, when General Phil Sheridan's forces struck at Five Forks. The attack surprised and collapsed General George Pickett's Confederate command and turned Lee's flank. An attack along the entire front the following morning broke the siege and forced the Virginia army out of its defenses and, a week later, into Wilmer McLean's parlor to surrender at Appomattox. Despite this decisive Union success, Five Forks spawned one of the most bitter and divisive controversies in the postwar US Army because Sheridan relieved V Corps commander Gouverneur K. Warren during the battle. The order generated a life-long effort by Warren and his allies to restore his reputation by demonstrating that Sheridan's action was both unfair and dishonorable. The struggle climaxed with a Court of Inquiry that generated a more extensive record of testimony and exhibits than any other US military judicial case in the 19th Century. In addition to Sheridan and Warren, participants included Gens. Ulysses S. Grant and Winfield S. Hancock, together with a startling array of former Union and Confederate officers. McCarthy's Confederate Waterloo is grounded upon extensive archival research and a foundation of primary sources, including the meticulous records of a man driven to restore his honor in the eyes of his colleagues, his family, and the American public. The result is a fresh and dispassionate analysis that may cause students of the Civil War to reassess their views about some of the Union's leading generals.

Appomattox: Victory, Defeat, and Freedom at the End of the Civil War by Elizabeth R. Varon

Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House evokes a highly gratifying image in the popular mind -- it was, many believe, a moment that transcended politics, a moment of healing, a moment of patriotism untainted by ideology. But as Elizabeth Varon reveals in this vividly narrated history, this rosy image conceals a seething debate over precisely what the surrender m Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House evokes a highly gratifying image in the popular mind -- it was, many believe, a moment that transcended politics, a moment of healing, a moment of patriotism untainted by ideology. But as Elizabeth Varon reveals in this vividly narrated history, this rosy image conceals a seething debate over precisely what the surrender meant and what kind of nation would emerge from war. The combatants in that debate included the iconic Lee and Grant, but they also included a cast of characters previously overlooked, who brought their own understanding of the war's causes, consequences, and meaning. In Appomattox, Varon deftly captures the events swirling around that well remembered-but not well understood-moment when the Civil War ended. She expertly depicts the final battles in Virginia, when Grant's troops surrounded Lee's half-starved army, the meeting of the generals at the McLean House, and the shocked reaction as news of the surrender spread like an electric charge throughout the nation. But as Varon shows, the ink had hardly dried before both sides launched a bitter debate over the meaning of the war. For Grant, and for most in the North, the Union victory was one of right over wrong, a vindication of free society; for many African Americans, the surrender marked the dawn of freedom itself. Lee, in contrast, believed that the Union victory was one of might over right: the vast impersonal Northern war machine had worn down a valorous and unbowed South. Lee was committed to peace, but committed, too, to the restoration of the South's political power within the Union and the perpetuation of white supremacy. Lee's vision of the war resonated broadly among Confederates and conservative northerners, and inspired Southern resistance to reconstruction. Did America's best days lie in the past or in the future? For Lee, it was the past, the era of the founding generation. For Grant, it was the future, represented by Northern moral and material progress. They held, in the end, two opposite views of the direction of the country-and of the meaning of the war that had changed that country forever.

The Appomattox Paroles, April 9-15, 1865 by William G. Nine

Mine Run: A Campaign Of Lost Opportunities, October 21, 1863 May 1, 1864 by Martin Graham

To the Bitter End: Appomattox, Bennett Place, and the Surrenders of the Confederacy (Emerging Civil War) by Robert M. Dunkerly

Across the Confederacy, determination remained high through the winter of 1864 into the new year yet ominous signs were everywhere. The peace conference had failed. Large areas were overrun, the armies could not stop Union advances, the economy was in shambles, and industry and infrastructure were crumbling. The Confederacy could not make, move, or maintain anything. No on Across the Confederacy, determination remained high through the winter of 1864 into the new year yet ominous signs were everywhere. The peace conference had failed. Large areas were overrun, the armies could not stop Union advances, the economy was in shambles, and industry and infrastructure were crumbling. The Confederacy could not make, move, or maintain anything. No one knew what the future held but uncertainty.Civilians and soldiers, generals and governors, resolved to fight to the bitter end.Myths and misconceptions abound about those last days of the Confederacy. There would be no single surrender or treaty that brought the war to an end. Rather, the Confederacy collapsed, its government on the run, its cities occupied, its armies surrendering piecemeal.Offering a fresh look at the various surrenders that ended the war, To the Bitter End: Appomattox, Bennett Place, and the Surrenders of the Confederacy by Robert M. Dunkerly brings to light little-known facts and covers often-overlooked events. Each surrender starting at Appomattox and continuing through Greensboro, Citronelle, and the Trans-Mississippi unfolded on its own course. Many involved confusing and chaotic twists and turns.Misunderstandings plagued many of the negotiations. Communications were problematic. Discipline often broke down. Tempers flared. It was anything but a nice, neat ending to the war.How did the war finally end? What was the status of former Confederate soldiers? Of slaves? How would everyone get home? Was there even a home to go to? As the surrenders unfolded, daunting questions remained.Appomattox was just the beginning."

Pursuit to Appomattox: The Last Battles by Jerry Korn

Covers the final months of the Civil War with a chapter on the 1865 Carolinas Campaign and several chapters about the Appomattox Campaign. Describes the final surrender of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, with the surrender of other Confederate forces soon afterwards. Illustrated with maps and period photographs, paintings, engravings, and sketches.

The Cavalry at Appomattox: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations During the Civil War's Climactic Campaign, March 27-April 9, 1865 by Edward G. Longacre

The final campaign of the American Civil War in the eastern theatre witnessed the zenith of American cavalry warfare, the salient aspect of the operation. The Appomattox Campaign not only determined whether the conflict would continue, but also which army had better assimilated the intricate, difficult lessons of mounted service.

Appomattox: The Last Days of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia by Michael E. Haskew

They endured hardship and deprivation as they fought for their home and ideals - relive the final days of the Army of Northern Virginia. Appomattox: The Last Days of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia encompasses the defense and evacuation of the Confederate capital of Richmond, the horrific combat in the trenches of Petersburg, General Robert E. Lee's withdrawal tow They endured hardship and deprivation as they fought for their home and ideals - relive the final days of the Army of Northern Virginia. Appomattox: The Last Days of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia encompasses the defense and evacuation of the Confederate capital of Richmond, the horrific combat in the trenches of Petersburg, General Robert E. Lee's withdrawal toward the Carolinas in his forlorn hope of a rendezvous with General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee to carry on the fight, the relentless pursuit of Union forces, and the ultimate realization that further resistance against overwhelming odds was futile. The Army of Northern Virginia was the fighting soul of the Confederacy in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War. From its inception, it fought against overwhelming odds. Union forces might have occupied territory, but as long as the Confederate army was active in the field, the rebellion was alive. Through four years of bitter conflict, the Army of Northern Virginia and its longtime commander, General Robert E. Lee, became the stuff of legend. By April 1865, its days were numbered. There are many stories of heroism and sacrifice, both Union and Confederate, during the Civil War, and Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia wrote their own epic chapter. Author Michael E. Haskew, a researcher, writer, and editor of many military history subjects for over twenty years, puts the hardship and deprivation suffered by this Army's soldiers while defending their home and ideals into proper perspective.