The Civil War: A Narrative

This, the second volume of Foote's acclaimed history, is dominated by the near continual confrontation of great armies. The Army of the Potomac, under Burnside, once again attempts to take Richmond, resulting in the bloodbath at Fredericksburg. Then, under Joe Hooker, they try again, only to be repulsed at Chancellorsville when Stonewall Jackson turns his flank—a victory for the South, but a bitter one, and one paid for by the death of Lee's foremost lieutenant. In the west, Grant's seven relentless efforts against Vicksburg show Lincoln that he has at last found his killer-general, the man who can face the arithmetic. With Vicksburg finally under siege, Lee again invades the North. The three-day conflict at Gettysburg receives book-length attention in a masterly treatment of a key battle, not as legend has it, but as it really was.