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Rating: 
Summary: Army of Potomac's Worst Day
Review: "Not War but Murder" is the chilling account of the Union's crushing defeat at Cold Harbor, the Army of the Potomac's most lopsided loss in the five-year U.S. Civil War. This is the battle that, in the minds of some, solidified Gen. Grant's reputation as a mindless "butcher." Ernest Furgurson posits many theories for the Union's debacle at Cold Harbor, including Grant's lack of "imagination" on the battlefield; a breakdown in communication between Grant and Meade, and deft generalship on the part of Robert E. Lee. Certainly all of these factors played a part in one of the bloodiest battles in the bloody Civil War.
Rating:
Summary: Not War But Murder
Review: An excellent and detailed look at what became the worst, and most costly assault ever ordered by Grant, with over 7,000 casualties in less than half an hour. Grant went on to say, "I regret this assault more than any one I ever ordered." The title of the book deffinately speaks for itself.
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Summary: The continuing and griping saga of Grant's march to Richmond
Review: Ernest Fergurson is one of the most readable writers of Civil War history. If you begin reading Grant's campaign's from the Battle in the Wilderness written by Gordon Rhea, then read Rhea's book on the Battle for Spotsylvania Court House and his To The Anna River, you will be ready for Not War But Murder. This book is a page turner. I read the first 100 pages in two nights. Staying awake until 5 AM, I just couldn't put the book down. As a Civil War buff for over 60 years, I never had books available that could detail this part of the Civil War. Even after reading Grant's own biography of the war, the explicit details of all four of these books is mind altering. Following each battle one more deadly then the next. You are transported in time to 137 years ago, when tens of thousands of men died weekly as Grant moves The Union Army to his eventual victory. But the opportunities to defeat Lee were there on almost every given day as these two armies fought from the Wilderness to Richmond. Not War But Murder illuminates the Battle at Cold Harbor, just outside the Richmond fortifications. Here Grant came with a force twice the size of Lee's. Lee's army was ill fed, ill clothed and ill armed. But the Confederates were fighting to save the south in their backyard. Lee was sick, tired and without his greatest generals, Longstreet, Jackson and Stuart. Yet Grant and Meade made blunder after blunder allowing Lee the opportunity to slaughter Union soldiers. In the end Lee was forced to the seige of Petersburg and Richmond, but at what a price in dead, wounded and captured soldiers. This book relates less than two weeks of battle but they are told from the viewpoint of North and South, Officer and enlisted man. Fergurson has done his research and is a master storyteller. No Civil War buff should miss all four of these great books.
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Summary: Excellent Description of the Campaign and It's Aftermath
Review: Furgurson continues with his study of eastern battles by moving on to Cold Harbor. The early part of the book gives a brief review of the previous battles since Grant took on as commander of the Armies traveling with Meade and the Army of the Potomac. On the Union side he explains well Grant's strategy of utilizing pressure from multple points such as the Shenandoah valley, Petersburg and calavary raids to reduce Lee's thinning army. Excellent detail on the initial troop movements and calvary fencing in feeling out each others troop placement and the race to Cold Harbor. Sad description of the artillery heavies pulled from the forts of Washington to be used as inexperienced infantry to assualt the unseen but dug in Confederates and the use of untried commanders for the Confederates and succesful forces from Florida (Finnegan's brigage) and from the bastions of Charleston. Also fascinating detail of the strained relationship between the Commander of the Army of the Potomac, Meade, and Grant. Their failed ability to communicate effectively may have contributed to the high losses at Cold Harbor. Also, interesting is the relationships of the Corps commanders particularly the Old Army of the Potomac commanders such as Hancock who will eventually lose the ability to continue. The book also covers the aftermath of the battle and Ferguson discusss the campaign effect on the Army, relationships of generals (Lee and Beauregard) and the effect it had on Lee, reducing him to fighting in trenches. The description of the actual climatic attack is relatively short
because the huge losses were sustained in only 20 minutes. Although, the attack seemed futile, the Union left under Hancock broke through temporarily on June 1st two days earlier and with more support may have crushed Lee as he had no additional reserves. It's worth taking this book to the battle site because the maps are excellent and the scene of the breakthrough is on private property that is still owned by the original family. The National Park Service in Richmond gives a great tour explaining the battle beyond the actual compact battlefield park. Also, Gaines Mill battlefield (1862) is just across the street hidden appropriately in the woods, also worth seeing.
Rating: 
Summary: Avert Your Eyes
Review: I just happened across this interesting work in the local public library and it caught my attention. Some years ago I worked with a computer guru who is a direct descendant of Brigadier General David A. Russell (USA). Gen'l Russell was killed at Cold Harbor. So I felt drawn to read about the battle because of my acquaintance with his great-great grandson and I am glad I did. It is a page turner for a fact and written in a gripping style that moves along. But the blood and gore even, in cold black print, is enough to make one "avert ones eyes". This was not a happy battle for either side in the War. Furguson paints a picture of Grant which is not especially pleasing. There are references to champaign and oyster luncheons being enjoyed by Union high command while rivers of blood are flowing. The pinched references to Lee have him sitting alone at HQ with a single orderly for his staff. All in all I am glad I read this work. It has led me on to read more about Cold Harbor.
Rating: 
Summary: Saint Lee, Butcher Grant
Review: The 1864 battle at Cold Harbor has enjoyed somewhat of a rejuvination lately with a recent work from Gordon Rhea as well as this fine volume from noted Civil War historian Ernest Furgurson. Naturally, a comparison is warranted (whether fairly or unfairly) so I'll indulge myself. Rhea's coverage of the battle is framed in a military/campaign format with specific movements and tactics spelled out in sometimes extreme detail...a great many readers, I'll wager will not be able to "see the forest for the trees". For Civil War buffs however, this work is paradise. By comparison, Furgurson's account takes a more general approach to the struggle with emphasis on the everyday soldier and military life. The result is a sparkling and refreshing view of this awful battle with an added bonus of a brilliant description of the subsequent extrication of U.S. Grant's Army of the Potomac from Cold Harbor and the beginning of the siege of Petersburg. Furgurson tells just enough of the details of both armies movements from the end of the battle at the North Anna river up to and including the climactic struggles on June 1st and 3rd to keep the military historians engaged, but also in a way that drags the general reader in and holds him. As in his previous work covering the 1863 battle of Chancellorsville, Furgurson keeps a remarkable balance between the detailed battle tactics and social issues of the day, all the while allowing the story to flow at a pleasurable pace...without sacrificing any details. Furgurson goes on to discuss the mood of both armies as they settle in for the Petersburg siege...the almost criminal loss of opportunity of the Union forces to destroy the Confederates as Grant steals a march on R.E. Lee. Grant's deteriorating relationship with Gordon Meade is a principal factor at this point in the war for the Union's poor coordination and Furgurson does not hesitate to criticize both. Finally, a brilliant Epilouge that discusses the battlefield post Cold Harbor and the Cold Harbor cemetery eloquently close out the book. As in any battle history, the mark of a standout story is the author's ability to depict the battle and all the details while not suffering "atmosphere" and Ernest Furgurson succeeds magnificently with "Not War But Murder". I recommend this book highly.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Civil War's shortest battles comes to life
Review: The depth of this work is contained in the events that precede the battle, and the effects that the results of the battle have on both Confederate and Union armies. Although labeled as one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the crucial fighting lasted less than one hour. Furgurson carefully lays out the thinking of Union and Confederate commanders, the strategic posturing that both armies seek before the battle, and the consequential tragic results of that battle. The author tacitly lays the blame for the heavy Union losses on the antipathy that existed between Meade and Grant. Included in the book are a number of individual soldier experiences, all of which I found fascinating reading. Although not the most interesting Civil War battle account I have read, Mr. Furgurson does an eloquent job in providing just the right amount of detail without overkilling in verbiage.
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Summary: COLD HARBOR - A FAILURE IN COMMAND
Review: The text's opens stating "From June 3, 1864 to this day, those who know anything about the American Civil War, the name Cold Harbor has been a synonym for mindless slaughter." The Prologue continues "Never did generals so blatantly place concern for their own reputation above mercy for their soldiers dying in the sun." The author, Ernest Furgurson, first reviews Grant's 1864 spring campaign from the Battle of the Wilderness to Cold Harbor. Throughout the campaign Grant continued to insist that he would beat Lee if only the Confederates would come out and fight an open battle where his numerical superiority would prevail. The Confederates refused to cooperate and developed entrenched positions leading Union General Meade to remark "In every instance we have attacked the enemy in an entrenched position we have failed." The text then provides an excellent account of the Cold Harbor campaign emphasizing the climatic battle on June 3, 1864 when the Union forces attacked the well-entrenched Confederate lines. The climatic battle lasted less than an hour (extra time is disputed) with the Union suffering sever losses to comparatively light Confederate casualties. Confederate General Evander Law later wrote "It was not war; it was murder."The lines stabilized, then sniper and mortar action continued for several days while the dead, dying and wounded lay unattended between the lines in no man's land. Finally, four-one-half days later, Lee and Grant arranged a truce when the dead and wounded were attended to. Unlike the June 3rd attack, in a brilliantly planned and executed move, Grant's army left Cold Harbor during the night of June 12 with Grant's entourage arriving at the James River on June 14. Some say Lee was fooled by Grant's move across the James, but the author notes " . . . messages prove, Lee was not fooled by what Grant did. But beyond doubt, he was surprised by the secrecy, speed and efficiency with which Grant did it." There were few light moments at Cold Harbor; however, the texts tells of two opposing soldiers trapped between the lines "in the same hole who played cards until dark, when the Confederate claimed the Yankee loser as his prisoner." Also, the book records that on Thursday, June 9 "The Rebs and our men got tired shooting and stopped without any arrangements between them . . . Men left their guns in the pits and met as friends . . . and were laying down on the works"-until the Union officer of the day ordered both sides back to their lines. "When they were back in their holes, they hollered to one another, 'Watch out, Yanks I'm going to shoot,' and 'Take care there, Johnnie, your head's in the way of my bullet." Regarding Grant's defeat at Cold Harbor, the text states "Grant badly misunderstood the enemy, from Robert E. Lee down to the leanest Alabama rifleman." When Grant reported, "A battle with [the Rebels] outside of intrenchments cannot be had,' he considered that apparent fact to be proof of dwindling Southern morale. He had not learned the lessons of May as well as the privates in his own front ranks. " In addition the author writes "To attack such a formidable defense 'all long the line,' without detailed reconnaissance, without specific objectives, and without a follow-up plan, was an act of colossal misjudgment. By the time Grant called off the attack, that was clear to every general and every private. They understood what had happened, and after belatedly inspecting the field, the generals understood now."
The author discusses command problems. Regarding the strained Meade/Grant relationship he writes, "With two generals in command, no one properly managed the assault at Cold Harbor. There Grant suffered his worst defeat and Lee won his last great victory, and what happened there determined what happened across the James." The Army of the Potomac lost about seven thousand men in the ill-fated June 3 attack with Lee losing less than fifteen hundred. Union army morale slumped even lower after Cold Harbor and The Army of the Potomac developed a reluctance to charge enemy breastworks. After the Union army first crossed the James River, they held back when they could have easily overrun the puny Confederate Petersburg force. Finally, the book gives some colorful insights to the role of the press during the spring campaign. One Union officer wrote "The reporters who make public opinion are the scum of creation and there is not one of them who any gentlemen would associate with." While Grant, perhaps recklessly, lost heavily at Cold Harbor, the author notes that Charles Dana (Union War Department Observer) correctly wrote "The outlook warranted the effort." Breaking Lee's lines would have meant "his destruction and the collapse of the rebellion." And if Grant had won, who would have thought of the losses?" For the Confederates after Cold Harbor, Capt. Charles Blackford's previous observation was still tragically true when he had noted "We are being conquered by the splendor of our own victories, and Grants accepts defeat with that consolation . . ."
Most histories of the Grant's 1864 spring campaign devote only a page or two to Cold Harbor. This excellent and well-written book provides details of interest to any serious student of the Civil War.
Rating:
Summary: Best Cold Harbor book on the market
Review: This is a heavily footnoted book, using solid primary footnotes.
I read this book, when it first came out, and really enjoyed it. Contrary to what some other reviewers have stated, the author Furguson discuss's the battle of Cold Harbor, not Gettysburg, or anything else. The facts are Lee had the ANV well entrenched. Grant used the same tactics, as he did at Vicksburg, which is ordering Frontal assualts, in human waves. This time Grant's men paid a very heavy price. The Union troops were mowed down by cannister, and grape shot. It was like Fredericksburg all over again. Grant ordered his troops to get up, they refused. The most the troops did was raise their weapons and fire. ( The ones still alive) Grant then went back to his headquarters and wrote an order stating there would be no offensive movement the rest of the day. ( Good idea, as his soldiers already decieded that themselves)
[ not included in the book is Grant having W.T. Sherman using a similar frontal assualt at Chickasaw Bayou. ( Confederate entrenched and devastated Sherman's army)
Grant's theory of war was simple, in his own words, "Find the enemy, get there as soon as possible and hit them with everything you have."
Well, human waves--a Grant speciality--didn't work a Vicksburg, it didn't work for his subordinate, W. T. Sherman at Chickasaw bayou, and Cold Harbor, Grant admitted was his biggest mistake.
This is a book that quotes letters from the privates, Generals, and is hard to put down.
If you like the Civil War, this is, in my opinion, the best book on Cold Harbor
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