I'm happy to share that my new book will be published by University Press of Kansas. It will constitute the first full-length study of the largely-unknown Federal offensive against Richmond during the Gettysburg Campaign. During this operation, a force of 20,000 Federal troops advanced on Richmond from a base just twenty miles east of the rebel capital. The resulting campaign formed part of an U.S. effort devised by General-in-Chief Henry Halleck to threaten Confederate supply lines as Robert E. Lee’s army marched north. The ensuing operations against Richmond, led by Major General John Dix, involved daring raids, some sharp fighting, and much maneuver the U.S. forces sought to land a blow while Richmond’s threadbare defenders.
This chapter of the Gettysburg Campaign, sometimes called the "Blackberry Raid," highlights important issues stretching beyond the operation’s military engagements - including the key role African-Americans played in the U.S. war effort in Virginia and the shifts to more aggressive, "hard war" in Virginia. I've really enjoyed researching and writing about this nearly-untouched aspect of the Gettysburg story. I also look forward to working again with University Press of Kansas, which published my previous book, The Fight For the Old North State.
