Rating: 
Summary: Excellent battle account
Review: A great book on this terrible period of fighting, the chapters dealing with 'bloody angle' are great, excellent reading, riviting stuff with livid descriptions of the terrible fighting and suffering of the men. Ranks with his first book, another excellent and well researched account of another period of terrible fighting in the Wilderness. A great author, this book is well worth the money. I am looking forward to his next book!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Living Civil War Historian
Review: For a serious student of Civil War history there is no living historian equal to Mr. Rhea. His trilogy covering the Overland Campaign commencing with the Battle of the Wilderness, and followed by this volume covering the Spotsylvania battles and completed with his coverage of the North Anna engagement constitute the most entertaining and enlightening history of recent years. Mr. Rhea closes his North Anna account with the sentence, "Destiny waited at an obscure Virgina crossroads named Cold Harbor." Mr. Rhea, I'm waiting for you to take us there soon.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Living Civil War Historian
Review: For a serious student of Civil War history there is no living historian equal to Mr. Rhea. His trilogy covering the Overland Campaign commencing with the Battle of the Wilderness, and followed by this volume covering the Spotsylvania battles and completed with his coverage of the North Anna engagement constitute the most entertaining and enlightening history of recent years. Mr. Rhea closes his North Anna account with the sentence, "Destiny waited at an obscure Virgina crossroads named Cold Harbor." Mr. Rhea, I'm waiting for you to take us there soon.
Rating:
Summary: Grant vs. Lee....Part 2.
Review: Gordon C. Rhea has done it again. Mr. Rhea wrote a compelling battle narrative on the desperate fighting in the Wilderness that appeared on the book shelves in 1994. After I read that history, I wondered to myself, how in the heck would he follow up on his excellent treatment on the Battle of the Wilderness. With his latest volume on the Battle of Spotsylvania, he has certainly done that. Rhea, with this latest book has established himself as one of the finest historians writing about the war today. He has brought all of the elements together...Bravery, tragedy, incompetence, and yes, humor in a narrative that truly describes the horrors Americans went through during those awful days in early May, 1864. Mr. Rhea's description of the events on May 12, 1864 are harrowing, unbelievable, and heartbreaking. The struggle for the Bloody Angle becomes all too real for the reader. The unbelievable, heroic combat for those earthworks on the hallowed ground of the Spotsylvania Battlefield makes me proud of both sides as they fought during that rainy day. Each side gave their all....and they showed what Americans are all about. Special thanks for the maps of George Skoch. Mr. Skoch's work really helps the reader understand the campaign. A must for all students of the Civil War....Rhea has written a classic!
Rating:
Summary: "A dramatic punctuation mark closing this phase..."
Review: Gordon Rhea makes an important leap forwards in "grand scale" Civil War writing with his work on "The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse May 7-12,1864". Unlike his previous release covering the Battle for the Wilderness, Rhea has obviously incorporated all critiques and takes a bold step forward with this masterpiece of Civil War writing. The battle descriptions, everyday soldier stories and maneuver/tactic summaries along with the extensive array of maps (all in the correct context!) converge with this amazingly described battle story. Rhea begins this book with the disengagement of the Federal forces following the tactical draw at the Wilderness. Detailed troop movements on both sides of the lines encompass most of the first quarter of the book and Rhea does an excellent job at describing who went where and explaining why it is important to understand that the movements of Confederate Richard Anderson towards Spotsylvania Courthouse (a small crossroads hamlet southwest of Chancellorsville) in a timely manner (his march from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania occurs hours ahead of schedule and barely beats the Federals to this important strategic holdpoint) made the difference in the ensuing battles. The initial engagements at Laurel Hill/Spindle's Farm on May 8th set the stage for the Siege/trench warfare that follows and Rhea adroitly explains troop layouts and maneuvers in this important prelude to the subsequent major battles. As in the Wilderness struggle, this battle period also covers two main areas...the infantry confrontations at Spotsylvania and the cavalry maneuvers/battles between Phil Sheridan's complete corps of Union cavalry and Jeb Stuart's partial Confederate corps as they head to a climactic engagement at Yellow Tavern north of Richmond (culminating in the un-timely death of Stuart...a major blow to the Southern cause). Rhea goes on to point out how vulnerable the Confederate "Muleshoe" entrenchments at Spotsylvania are and how Union Colonel Emory Upton is partially successful with his May 10th charge at the west side of the salient. U.S. Grant sees this and uses this same tactic to attack the northwest "angle" on May 12th. The resulting "Bloody Angle" encounter is the highlight of the book. Charge after senseless charge is depicted along with chilling descriptions of the resulting carnage...this clearly was the Civil War at it's most gruesome (apologies to those who say that Antietam, Fredericksburg or Chickamauga were the bloodiest). Rhea descibes..."In places, the combatants pressed so close that their flagstaffs crossed. 'The fighting was horrible,' a Mississippian recalled. 'The breastworks were slippery with blood and rain, dead bodies lying underneath half trampled out of sight.' The 16th Mississippi's flag stood at the salient's apex, like a challenge to the Federals. Wave after wave of Union assaults battered the point. Between charges, the Confederates cleared corpses from the trenches and loaded and stacked their rifles in preparation for the next onslaught. 'The powder smoke settled on us while the rain trickled down our faces from the rims of our caps like buttermilk on the inside of a tumbler,' penned a Mississippian who had stood not ten feet from the flagstaff. 'We could hardly tell one another apart. No Mardi Gras Carnival ever devised such a diabolical looking set of devils as we were. It was no imitation affair of red paint and burnt cork, but genuine human gore and gun powder smoke that came from guns belching death at close range' ". Rhea then closes the book with an excellent Epilogue...expert analysis of both side's tactics and rationale are given and he absoluetly does not hesitate to indict both Leaders (Grant far more than Lee this time) for failures in thinking and command. In the final analysis, this is a watershed in Civil War battle history. Rhea now shows that he deserves mention with the best Civil War historians of the day (notwithstanding my critique of his first work) and I eagerly look forward to reading the rest of his Overland Campign histories. I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Best Civil War battler history yet written.
Review: Gordon Rhea's book on the vicious fighting collectively know as the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House will endure as the "prime" example for all future writers of battle histories. His narrative of the action is riveting, bringing vividly to life the violence of Civil War combat. Never have I read such descriptions of the physical exertions and emotional impact of men trying to kill each other. Rhea has subtly mixed in at just the right moments examples of humour and levity that balance the combat scenes. He also illustrates very well how the lack of communication between Grant and his minions created the proverbial "fog of war" that allowed the Army of Northern Virginia to stave of disaster and maybe ending the war right there. His research appears to have been exhausting and the effort shows. The book reads like a thriller and I could not put it down. I thought I knew the battle pretty well but picked-up new data on virtually every page. This book should garner numerous awards and be a part of every Civil War and military history buff's library.
Rating:
Summary: Best Civil War battler history yet written.
Review: Gordon Rhea's book on the vicious fighting collectively know as the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House will endure as the "prime" example for all future writers of battle histories. His narrative of the action is riveting, bringing vividly to life the violence of Civil War combat. Never have I read such descriptions of the physical exertions and emotional impact of men trying to kill each other. Rhea has subtly mixed in at just the right moments examples of humour and levity that balance the combat scenes. He also illustrates very well how the lack of communication between Grant and his minions created the proverbial "fog of war" that allowed the Army of Northern Virginia to stave of disaster and maybe ending the war right there. His research appears to have been exhausting and the effort shows. The book reads like a thriller and I could not put it down. I thought I knew the battle pretty well but picked-up new data on virtually every page. This book should garner numerous awards and be a part of every Civil War and military history buff's library.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent campaign study, but a tad sloppy.
Review: I absolutly loved Gordon Rhea's "Battle of the Wilderness" which is about as good as a Civil War campaign study can get. Thus I enthusiastically jumped into his next volume- "Battle for Spotsylvania and the Road to Yellow Tavern." Once again Rhea provides the reader with a wonderfully written look at a complex and very bloody campaign. Overall this volume is a fine addition to any Civil War library. However, this book is a tad sloppy as to some details. Rhea refers to "Stonewall" Jackson as a major general at the time of his death, but Jackson was actually a lieutenant general. Also Rhea's discussion of Stuart's activities before Yellow Tavern is very confusing. Rhea has Stuart appealing to a "Bragg" (no first name given just the last) for infantry support from Richmond (pg 205-206.) If the reader checks the index one will see that the "Bragg" being referred to is Col. Edward S. Bragg- a Union brigade commander. Now why would a Union brigade commander have the ability to send Confederate infantry reinforcements from Richmond to a hardpressed Stuart at Yellow Tavern? Of course, Rhea is really referring to Braxton Bragg, former head of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, who was then in charge of the Richmond defenses (or was it PGT Beauregard- Rhea seems confused about this-pg 205), but the index does not mention him and the only way to confirm who Stuart was corresponding with is to check the endnotes. I know these are quibbles, but it's really sloppy work when the author fails to get details right and the index refers to the wrong person.
Rating:
Summary: The most horrible Civil War battle brought alive
Review: I have previously written that Rhea's "Battle of the Wilderness" was the greatest battle history I have ever read. I need to correct myself. "The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse" has surpassed Rhea's previous work. This horrible battle of wills between Grant and Lee is brought alive by Rhea's wonderful prose. He has a very rare talent of being an outstanding writer and an exhaustive researcher. The combination provides for the most exciting exciting reading in history. The book begins where "Wilderness" left off. Grant and Lee are staring at eachother from behind strong entrenchments. The narrative proceeds to describe the armies' movements to Spotsylvania Courthouse, and as a reader, you find yourself holding you breath occassionally, asking questions like: Will Lee's men get there in time? Will Sheridan break through? etc. Rhea's style makes it very hard to put the book down while at the same time you are getting all the information and facts that you would froma text book. As Rhea continues, he describes the 5 days of fighting in and around the Courthouse in brutal detail. He discussion of the battle on May 12th for the "Muleshoe" salient is hauntingly similar to the trench battles of WW I. No other battle in the Civil War came close to the brutality displayed there on that day. In the space of 1/2 mile, 17,000 soldiers fell, and Rhea's description leaves and indelible mark on a reader's mind. The book itself is well constructed. The chapters are a bit long, but not too bad. There are many maps that give a clear picture of the action. As an added bonus, there is also an in-depth discussion of the Battle of Yellow Tavern, where Jeb Stuart was killed. All these, plus extensive endnotes, combine to make "The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse" the very best in Civil War battle history. Definitely a must own for any Civil War buff, or military historian in general.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent campaign study, but a tad sloppy.
Review: I have previously written that Rhea's "Battle of the Wilderness" was the greatest battle history I have ever read. I need to correct myself. "The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse" has surpassed Rhea's previous work. This horrible battle of wills between Grant and Lee is brought alive by Rhea's wonderful prose. He has a very rare talent of being an outstanding writer and an exhaustive researcher. The combination provides for the most exciting exciting reading in history. The book begins where "Wilderness" left off. Grant and Lee are staring at eachother from behind strong entrenchments. The narrative proceeds to describe the armies' movements to Spotsylvania Courthouse, and as a reader, you find yourself holding you breath occassionally, asking questions like: Will Lee's men get there in time? Will Sheridan break through? etc. Rhea's style makes it very hard to put the book down while at the same time you are getting all the information and facts that you would froma text book. As Rhea continues, he describes the 5 days of fighting in and around the Courthouse in brutal detail. He discussion of the battle on May 12th for the "Muleshoe" salient is hauntingly similar to the trench battles of WW I. No other battle in the Civil War came close to the brutality displayed there on that day. In the space of 1/2 mile, 17,000 soldiers fell, and Rhea's description leaves and indelible mark on a reader's mind. The book itself is well constructed. The chapters are a bit long, but not too bad. There are many maps that give a clear picture of the action. As an added bonus, there is also an in-depth discussion of the Battle of Yellow Tavern, where Jeb Stuart was killed. All these, plus extensive endnotes, combine to make "The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse" the very best in Civil War battle history. Definitely a must own for any Civil War buff, or military historian in general.
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