From the Valley to the Tidewater
The War in Virginia, May 21–June 12, 1862
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University Press of Kansas
Publishing:30th Nov '26
£48.00
This title is due to be published on 30th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A sweeping account of three critical weeks in Virginia when battlefield clashes and home-front strategy together reshaped the course of the Civil War.
In this new volume, Ethan Rafuse continues his history of the Civil War in Virginia that began with From the Mountains to the Bay: The War in Virginia, January–May 1862, offering a comprehensive account that combines military narrative with an examination of how politicians and civilians grappled with the war on the home front.
By May 1862, the Union had achieved so much progress that it was possible to believe the hopes of those who thought the war could soon be brought to a triumphant end would be fulfilled. Yet by May 21 there were indications of challenging times ahead for the Union effort, as operational and logistical factors arrested the momentum of Union offensive efforts. This created opportunities for the Confederacy, whose efforts to exploit them produced significant engagements at Front Royal, Winchester, Hanover Court House, Fair Oaks, Cross Keys, and Port Republic.
Fully understanding the war in Virginia during this period requires paying attention to matters beyond the movements of armies. It was not just events on the battlefield that would determine whether the Union could win the war in Virginia before the year was out. Defeating Confederate armies and navies and restoring territory to the control of Union authorities was only the first of a two-part formula Union policymakers had devised. The other part was rooted in a belief that support for the Confederacy was shallow and could be undermined through a conciliatory policy toward the Confederacy’s citizens.
As one phase in the war for Virginia ended, another began—one that would do much to answer the question of whether Union hopes for a military victory significant enough to heal the divided nation would be realized in 1862.
"In From the Valley to the Tidewater: The War in Virginia, May 1–June 12, 1862, one of America’s foremost historians continues his study of the first fourteen months of the Civil War in the Old Dominion. Employing a vast array of sources and an engaging and accessible style, Ethan Rafuse analyzes the complex events, military, political, and civilian, in the Shenandoah Valley, central Virginia, and on the Peninsula, connecting the dots with rare insight. This unique contribution to Civil War historiography takes its place among the very best work in its field."—A. Wilson Greene, author of A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg
"Smartly written, deeply researched, and well-balanced in its analysis, From the Valley to the Tidewater offers the first serious study of military operations in Virginia during the crucial three-week period from late May to mid-June 1862. It reveals how those operations impacted Union and Confederate war planners and affected soldiers, sailors, and civilians caught in the war’s path. Rafuse’s marvelous study is indispensable for anyone interested in the Civil War in the Old Dominion."—Jonathan A. Noyalas, Hugh & Virginia McCormick Chair in Civil War History at Shenandoah University, and author of General Philip H. Sheridan: Life, War, and Memory
"Rafuse continues his insightful examination of the war in Virginia with an exploration of the final battles in the Shenandoah Valley and the initial engagements outside Richmond in 1862. In this revealing study, Rafuse connects the dots of a complex, evolving military tableau and convincingly explains how hope for conciliation declined as the will to fight hardened during this crucial period. Deeply researched and clearly written, this book is a must for any student of the war in the east."—Hampton Newsome, author of Gettysburg’s Southern Front: Opportunity and Failure at Richmond
"This most detailed account of military operations in Virginia in the spring of 1862 is a mastery and judicious account of command decisions and battles that shaped campaigning in Virginia at a time when few could foresee how sanguinary the conflict would become. This carefully crafted and thoughtful narrative establishes Ethan Rafuse as one of our premier Civil War military historians."—Brooks D. Simpson, Arizona State University Foundation Professor of History, and coauthor of Victors in Blue: How Union Generals Fought the Confederates, Battled Each Other, and Won the Civil War
"Ethan Rafuse delivers something we have never had: an interconnected narrative and analysis of events across Virginia over three critical weeks in the late spring of 1862. This is not just a well-researched, artful narrative full of famous events and characters, but a vivid analysis of the management of war by both sides—from Lincoln and Davis down to lesser figures making key decisions (and mistakes!) on the ground. This is a case study in how military history should be written, by one of the finest historians working in the field."—John J. Hennessy, National Park Service Historian (retired) and author of Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas
ISBN: 9780700643578
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
480 pages