{"product_id":"to-the-north-anna-river-grant-and-lee-may-13-25-1864-9780807125359","title":"To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13--25, 1864","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith his third book, \u003ci\u003eTo the North Anna River, \u003c\/i\u003e Gordon Rhea resumes his spectacular narrative of the initial campaign between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in the spring of 1864. May 13 to 25, a phase oddly ignored by historians, was critical in the clash between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. During those thirteen days--an interlude bracketed by horrific battles that riveted the public's attention--a game of guile and endurance between Grant and Lee escalated to a suspenseful draw on Virginia's North Anna River. Rhea skillfully sets the stage at dawn May 13 and from there lends every imaginable perspective--from mental interiors to sweeping panoramas to scholarly retrospection--on the ensuing hours. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the bloodstained fields of the Mule Shoe to the North Anna River, with Meadow Bridge, Myers Hill, Harris Farm, Jericho Mills, Ox Ford, and Doswell Farm in between, grueling night marches, desperate attacks, and thundering cavalry charges became the norm for both Grant's and Lee's men. But the real story of May 13-25 lay in the two generals' efforts to outfox each other, and Rhea charts their every step and misstep. Realizing that his bludgeoning tactics at the Bloody Angle were ineffective, Grant resorted to a fast-paced assault on Lee's vulnerable points. Lee, outnumbered two to one, abandoned the offensive and concentrated on anticipating Grant's maneuvers and shifting quickly enough to repel them. It was an amazingly equal match of wits that produced a gripping, high-stakes bout of warfare--a test, ultimately, of improvisation for Lee and of perseverance for Grant. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom unprecedented research into more than 550 published and unpublished sources, Rhea produces an exciting new take on this overlooked passage in the Civil War. He discovers a surprising similarity in military temperament between Lee and Grant, whom historians traditionally contrast. He also presents the first detailed recounting of Philip Sheridan's dramatic battle to save his cavalry corps in front of Richmond; the story of the novice New York and New England heavy artillerists drawn down from Washington; the specifics of Grant's forlorn attack of May 18 at Spotsylvania Court House; and the full picture of Lee's ingenious inverted V formation on the North Anna. The most accurate, not to mention enthralling, account to date of this next phase in Lee and Grant's opening match, \u003ci\u003eTo the North Anna River\u003c\/i\u003e is a worthy sequel to Rhea's earlier acclaimed works.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGordon C. Rhea is also the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864, \u003c\/i\u003e winner of the Civil War Regiments Book Award; \u003ci\u003eThe Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864;\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26--June 3, 1864, \u003c\/i\u003e winner of the Austin Civil War Round Table's Laney Prize.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"LSU Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50461248487698,"sku":"9780807125359","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a1133714-436d-4c59-ab9c-a3cf52d38153.jpg?v=1737123379","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/to-the-north-anna-river-grant-and-lee-may-13-25-1864-9780807125359","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}