UNC Press - Trench Warfare under Grant and Lee

336 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 27 halftones, 25 maps, appends., notes, bibl., index

Civil War America

Cloth

ISBN 978-0-8078-3154-0

Published: September 2007

Paper

ISBN 978-1-4696-0994-2

Available: August 2013

Trench Warfare under Grant and Lee

Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign

By Earl J. Hess

Earl J.Hess's study of armies and fortifications turns to the 1864 Overland Campaign to cover battles from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor. Drawing on meticulous research in primary sources and careful examination of battlefields at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Bermuda Hundred, and Cold Harbor, , Hess analyzes Union and Confederate movements and tactics and the new way Grant and Lee employed entrenchments in an evolving style of battle. Hess argues that Grant's relentless and pressing attacks kept the armies always within striking distance, compelling soldiers to dig in for protection.

About the Author

Earl J. Hess is associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University. He is author of many books on the Civil War, including, most recently, The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi.

Reviews

"A significant addition to the military history of the American Civil War and adds an important argument to a topic generally ignored by Civil War historians."
--Canadian Journal of History

"The author covers familiar ground in writing about these battles, but does it in a brisk, informative way, offering his own analysis of command decisions and outcomes. . . . A valued resource."
--H-Civil War

"Hess's understanding of field fortifications is expertly conveyed, as are his explanations of why and how specific trenches were built. Maps and photographs add a visual layer to understanding the campaign. . . . Well-written and researched."
--Maryland Historical Magazine

"A detailed examination of fieldworks. . . . Ideal for any Civil War reference collection. . . . Hess's meticulous attention to detail is enough to warrant his work a place in most military reference collections or on the shelf of a Civil War enthusiast."
--North Carolina Historical Review

"Intriguing, important, and authoritative."
--Military History of the West

“For military specialists and Civil War enthusiasts . . . Those with such a focused interest will be rewarded by reading Hess' intense study."
--Journal of Southern History