It has been five years since the release of my book about the Petersburg Campaign, Richmond Must Fall. Though much of my focus recently has been on my upcoming North Carolina project, I try to keep an eye on upcoming Petersburg books. Over the next
several months, four titles related to the campaign will hit the shelves. A Campaign of Giants--The Battle for Petersburg; Volume 1: From the Crossing of the James to the Crater, by A. Wilson Greene
This will be the first installment in Will Greene’s
comprehensive, three-volume study of the Petersburg Campaign. I was fortunate to conduct a battlefield tour
with Will outside Petersburg a few years ago. With two titles about Civil War
Petersburg already under his belt and many years as executive director of the
Pamplin Historical Park, Greene is expertly equipped to convey the ins and outs of the
entire campaign. This first volume will
take readers through the Crater battle in late July 1864.
From the publisher – “Full of fresh insights drawn from
military, political, and social history, A Campaign of Giants is destined to be
the definitive account of the campaign. With new perspectives on operational
and tactical choices by commanders, the experiences of common soldiers and
civilians, and the significant role of the United States Colored Troops in the
fighting, this book offers essential reading for all those interested in the
history of the Civil War.”
John Horn, one of the coeditors of Civil War Talks, has prepared a detailed study of the 12th
Virginia Infantry, a regiment that was made up mostly of men from
Petersburg. As with Horn’s study of the Weldon Railroad battles in August 1864, I helped prepare the maps for this new regimental study. Using a mound of
archival sources, Horn has constructed a deep look at the 12th Virginia’s experience during the war, delving into every major campaign conducted by the Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia. I'm looking forward to the published version.
From the publisher -- “Horn's definitive history is grounded
in decades of archival research that uncovered scores of previously unused
accounts. The result is a lively, driving, up-tempo regimental history that not
only describes the unit's marches and battles, but includes personal glimpses
into the lives of the Virginians who made up the 12th regiment.”
John Selby’s study of George Meade will be published by
Kent State University Press as part of its Civil War Soldiers and Strategies series. John, also a coeditor of Civil War Talks, has prepared a much needed look into of Meade’s generalship throughout
the war, including the general's performance during the nearly year-long Petersburg Campaign. I had the opportunity to look through the
manuscript and provide feedback. I can’t wait to see the final product.
From the publisher - “By
basing his study on the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, original
Meade letters, and the letters, diaries, journals, and reminiscences of
contemporaries, Selby demonstrates that Meade was a much more active,
thoughtful, and enterprising commander than has been assumed.”
Just released, this is another installment in the Military Campaigns of the Civil War series from the University of North Carolina Press.
From the publisher – “Assessing events from the siege of
Petersburg to the immediate aftermath of Lee's surrender, Petersburg to
Appomattox blends military, social, cultural, and political history to reassess
the ways in which the war ended and examines anew the meanings attached to one
of the Civil War's most significant sites, Appomattox.”