Popular Army Of The Potomac Books

The Army of the Potomac: Order of Battle, 1861-1865, with Commanders, Strengths, Losses and More by Darrell L. Collins

The Army of the Potomac fought in numerous battles, large and small, during the Civil War. This reference work compiles information from the Official Records to give a complete look at the numbers behind every battle and major campaign the Army of the Potomac participated in. Organized chronologically by battle, the numbers are broken down by corps, divisions, brigades and The Army of the Potomac fought in numerous battles, large and small, during the Civil War. This reference work compiles information from the Official Records to give a complete look at the numbers behind every battle and major campaign the Army of the Potomac participated in. Organized chronologically by battle, the numbers are broken down by corps, divisions, brigades and regiments. The data include commander's names down to the regimental level, unit strengths, casualties and losses. Indexed by commanders and by units.

Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac's -Valley Forge- And the Civil War Winter That Saved the Union by Albert Conner Jr. , Chris Macowski

FINALIST, 2017, RICHARD HARWELL AWARD, GIVEN BY THE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE OF ATLANTA -Depression. Desertion. Disease. The Army of the Potomac faced a trio of unrelenting enemies during the winter of 1863. Following the catastrophic defeat at the battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862, the army settled into winter quarters--and despair settled into the army. Morale san FINALIST, 2017, RICHARD HARWELL AWARD, GIVEN BY THE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE OF ATLANTA -Depression. Desertion. Disease. The Army of the Potomac faced a trio of unrelenting enemies during the winter of 1863. Following the catastrophic defeat at the battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862, the army settled into winter quarters--and despair settled into the army. Morale sank to its lowest level of the war while desertions reached an all-time high. Illness packed the hospitals. Political intrigues, careerist schemes, and harsh winter weather demoralized everyone. Even the army's livestock suffered, with more than 1,000 horses and mules dying every week. Major General Joseph Hooker, a pugnacious tactician aptly nicknamed -Fighting Joe, - took command of the army. And then a remarkable thing happened: a man known for his hardscrabble battlefield tenacity showed an amazing brilliance for organization and leadership. With Chief of Staff Dan Butterfield working alongside him, Hooker literally rebuilt the army from the bottom up. In addition to instituting vital logistical, ordnance, and administrative reforms, he insisted on proper troop care and rigorous inspections and battle drills. Hooker doled out promotions and furloughs by merit, conducted large-scale raids, streamlined the army's command and control, and fielded a new cavalry corps and military intelligence organization. Hooker's war on poor discipline and harsh conditions revitalized a dying army and instilled individual and unit pride. During this 93-day resurgence, the Army of the Potomac reversed its fortunes and set itself on the path to ultimate victory. No other American citizen-army at war has engineered a more complete turnaround in the field. Hooker's achievement represents nothing less than the greatest non-battle turning point since Valley Forge in the American Revolution--a linkage recognized by hundreds of contemporary soldiers and civilian participants. Modern historians, however, have either failed to notice or have made only a passing reference to that link. Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac's -Valley Forge- is the first in-depth examination of one of the war's true crucial turning points, a time when the army nearly dissolved from its own despair even as the nation depended on that body of bayonets to defend the promises implied by the Emancipation Proclamation. Authors Albert Conner and Chris Mackowski ground their research in hundreds of primary sources and let the soldiers speak, from the lowest private to the highest general. The result is a rich and satisfying portrait of an overlooked success story that made Appomattox Court House in 1865 possible. Here, finally, is the full story of how the citizen-soldiers of the Army of the Potomac overcame adversity, seized their destiny, and saved the nation through leadership, perseverance, patriotism, and faith.-

Mr. Lincoln's Army by Bruce Catton

Volume I of The Army Of The Potomac trilogy, this is Bruce Catton's superb evocation of the early years of the Civil War when the army was under the command of the dashing General George B. McClellan.

Glory Road by Bruce Catton

Volume II of The Army of the Potomac The critical months between the autumn of 1862 and midsummer 1863 is the focus of Glory Road. During this time the outcome of the Civil War is determined, as the battles at Fredericksburg, Rappahannock and Chancellorsville set the state for Union victory as Gettysburg.

The Stand of the U.S. Army at Gettysburg by Jeffrey C. Hall

This major reinterpretation of the key battle of the American Civil War tells the story of the Gettysburg campaign as it unfolded from early June through mid-July 1863, and its climax with the Federal victory at Gettysburg. The book strives to describe the campaign with utmost clarity. In pursuit of this goal, it restricts itself to the campaign's major events and particip This major reinterpretation of the key battle of the American Civil War tells the story of the Gettysburg campaign as it unfolded from early June through mid-July 1863, and its climax with the Federal victory at Gettysburg. The book strives to describe the campaign with utmost clarity. In pursuit of this goal, it restricts itself to the campaign's major events and participants. Yet many components of even a boiled-down account of the campaign are complex. Accordingly, The Stand features more than 160 maps and numerous diagrams that allow the reader to understand what happened at every important stage of the campaign, with special emphasis on the three-day battle of July 1-3. The book also pays tribute to the vast literature on Gettysburg, with careful consideration of the many analyses of the campaign, paying particular attention to recent works. The appearance of new interpretations, including those offered here, suggests that only now, nearly 150 years after the event, are we approaching a complete and accurate view of what happened during those crucial days at Gettysburg.

War of the Rebellion: The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies and Navies: Series 1 - Volume 27 (Part I): The Gettysburg Campaign - June-August, 1863. by Robert N. Scott , Marcus Heydinger (Editor)

War of the Rebellion: The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies and Navies: Series 1 - Volume 27 (Part II): Official Records: Gettysburg: ... Union and Confederate Armies and Navies.) by Robert N. Scott , Marcus Heydinger (Editor)

Army of the Potomac by Philip R.N. Katcher

For General George B. McClellan, the dejected Union troops who poured into Washington fresh from defeat at Bull Run on Monday, July 22, 1861, were to provide the raw material which he would train, equip, organize and ultimately transform from a mere mob into an effective fighting force. In October 1861, the Army of the Potomac officially came into being. This entertaining For General George B. McClellan, the dejected Union troops who poured into Washington fresh from defeat at Bull Run on Monday, July 22, 1861, were to provide the raw material which he would train, equip, organize and ultimately transform from a mere mob into an effective fighting force. In October 1861, the Army of the Potomac officially came into being. This entertaining volume from the same team of author Philip Katcher and artist Michael Youens who produced Men-at-Arms 37, The Army of Northern Virginia, explores how this transition came about, with a particular emphasis on weapons, uniforms and equipment.

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.

George Gordon Meade and the War in the East by Ethan S. Rafuse

Even though he defeated Robert E. Lee in the Civil War's greatest battle, George Gordon Meade has never enjoyed a prominent place in the pantheon of Union war heroes. To most students of the Civil War, he is merely the man who was lucky enough to benefit from Confederate mistakes at Gettysburg, but whose shortcomings as a commander compelled Abraham Lincoln to bring in Uly Even though he defeated Robert E. Lee in the Civil War's greatest battle, George Gordon Meade has never enjoyed a prominent place in the pantheon of Union war heroes. To most students of the Civil War, he is merely the man who was lucky enough to benefit from Confederate mistakes at Gettysburg, but whose shortcomings as a commander compelled Abraham Lincoln to bring in Ulysses S. Grant from the West to achieve victory. In this, the first book-length study of the general to appear in a generation, Ethan S. Rafuse challenges the notion that Meade was simply the last in a long line of failed Union commanders in the East. Instead, George Gordon Meade and the War in the East offers a balanced, informative, and complete, yet concise, reconsideration of the general's life and career. It also provides keen analysis of the military and political factors that shaped operations in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and delineates the sources of tension between Washington and the Army of the Potomac high command that played such an important role in shaping the war in the Eastern Theater. This study will appeal to anyone with an interest in Meade and the politics of command in the Civil War, and encourage reconsideration of traditional interpretations of the Union war effort in the East.

Under the Crescent Moon with the XI Corps in the Civil War: From the Defenses of Washington to Chancellorsville, 1862-1863 by James Pula

-The Eleventh Corps served in the Army of the Potomac for just twelve months (September 1862-August 1863), but during that time played a pivotal role in the critical battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, hastened westward to reinforce a Union army in besieged Chattanooga, and then marched through brutal December weather without adequate clothing, shoes, or provisions -The Eleventh Corps served in the Army of the Potomac for just twelve months (September 1862-August 1863), but during that time played a pivotal role in the critical battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, hastened westward to reinforce a Union army in besieged Chattanooga, and then marched through brutal December weather without adequate clothing, shoes, or provisions to help rescue a second Northern army, this one under siege in Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite its sacrifices in the Eastern campaigns and successes in Tennessee, the reputation of the Eleventh Corps is one of cowardice and failure. James J. Pula sets the record straight in his two-volume study Under the Crescent Moon: The Eleventh Corps in the American Civil War, 1862-1864. Under the Crescent Moon (a reference to the crescent badge assigned to the corps) is the first study of this misunderstood organization. The first volume, From the Defenses of Washington to Chancellorsville, opens with the organization of the corps and a lively description of the men in the ranks, the officers who led them, the regiments forming it, and the German immigrants who comprised a sizable portion of the corps. Once this foundation is set, the narrative flows briskly through the winter of 1862-63 on the way to the first major campaign at Chancellorsville. Although the brunt of Stonewall Jackson's flank attack fell upon the men of the Eleventh Corps, the manner in which they fought and many other details of that misunderstood struggle are fully examined here for the first time, and at a depth no other study has attempted. Pula's extraordinary research and penetrating analysis offers a fresh interpretation of the Chancellorsville defeat while challenging long-held myths about that fateful field. The second volume, From Gettysburg to Victory, offers seven entire chapters portraying the Eleventh Corps at Gettysburg, followed by a rich exploration of the corps' participation in the fighting around Chattanooga, its grueling journey into Eastern Tennessee in the dead of winter, and its role in the Knoxville Campaign. Once the corps' two divisions are broken up in early 1864 to serve elsewhere, Pula follows their experiences through to the war's successful conclusion. Under the Crescent Moon draws extensively on primary sources and allows the participants to speak directly to readers. The result is a comprehensive personalized portrait of the men who fought in the -unlucky- Eleventh Corps, from the difficulties they faced to the accomplishments they earned. As the author demonstrates time and again, the men of the Eleventh Corps were good soldiers unworthy of the stigma that has haunted them to this day. This long overdue study will stand as the definitive history of the Eleventh Corps.-

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Virginia by Ralph Happel

Before Antietam: The Battle for South Mountain by John Michael Priest

Robert E. Lee, after decisively repelling John Pope's August 1862 invasion of Virginia at the Second Battle of Manassas, took the offensive. Moving north into Maryland, Lee divided his forces to capture Harpers Ferry while continuing his advance further into Union territory. George B. McClellan, the new Union commander, learned that Lee had divided his forces, and advanced Robert E. Lee, after decisively repelling John Pope's August 1862 invasion of Virginia at the Second Battle of Manassas, took the offensive. Moving north into Maryland, Lee divided his forces to capture Harpers Ferry while continuing his advance further into Union territory. George B. McClellan, the new Union commander, learned that Lee had divided his forces, and advanced to attack the Confederates. The armies, from squad to corps level, fought hard in both cavalry and infantry actions for control of the three gaps across South Mountain, about sixty miles from the Federal capital. The victory McClellan's officers and men gave him forced Lee to fall back and regroup near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, thus setting the stage for the Civil War's bloodiest day which soon followed at Antietam Creek. Three days before that September day, the opposing armies fought a series of engagements that came to be known as the Battle of South Mountain. Until Before Antietam, those battles existed in our history as only a footnote to the events at Antietam. Because of the work of John Michael Priest those terrible encounters now have their rightful place in American military history.