The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864
by Sean M. Chick
BTC’s Take: I’ve had the chance to read some of the chapters prior to release, and gave the book the following praise:
“For the first time in nearly twenty-five years, the Second Battle of Petersburg gets its due in book form. Sean Chick takes a look at the four-day battle in June 1864 that could have ended the war in the east nine months sooner. Chick takes readers through the ebb and flow of battle, leaning on the official records but also drawing from a multitude of first-person accounts. The result is a solid battle study, one that any Siege of Petersburg aficionado will want to own.”—Brett Schulte, editor of The Siege of Petersburg Online
Although there is an H. E. Howard book on the Second Battle of Petersburg available, this confusing and little understood battle was in need of an upgrade. Chick provides it here. Anyone interested in the Siege of Petersburg will find an excellent narrative backed by the ORs, but filled with first person accounts, and accompanied by good maps. The end result is a solid battle study which attempts to answer the question, “How could the Army of the Potomac have failed to take a thinly defended Petersburg, especially on June 15 and 16, 1864?”
Book Summary/Review:
- A. Wilson Greene Reviews Sean Chick’s The Battle of Petersburg at Civil War Monitor
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 1
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 2
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 3
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 4
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 5
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 6
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 7
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 8
BTC Siege of Petersburg Book Notes:
BTC Siege of Petersburg Book Sources:
The Battle of Petersburg was the culmination of the Virginia Overland campaign, which pitted the Army of the Potomac, led by Ulysses S. Grant and George Gordon Meade, against Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. In spite of having outmaneuvered Lee, after three days of battle in which the Confederates at Petersburg were severely outnumbered, Union forces failed to take the city, and their final, futile attack on the fourth day only added to already staggering casualties. By holding Petersburg against great odds, the Confederacy arguably won its last great strategic victory of the Civil War.
In The Battle of Petersburg, June 15–18, 1864, Sean Michael Chick takes an in-depth look at an important battle often overlooked by historians and offers a new perspective on why the Army of the Potomac’s leadership, from Grant down to his corps commanders, could not win a battle in which they held colossal advantages. He also discusses the battle’s wider context, including politics, memory, and battlefield preservation. Highlights include the role played by African American soldiers on the first day and a detailed retelling of the famed attack of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, which lost more men than any other Civil War regiment in a single battle. In addition, the book has a fresh and nuanced interpretation of the generalships of Grant, Meade, Lee, P. G. T. Beauregard, and William Farrar Smith during this critical battle.
For more information, visit the Potomac Books web site…
Hardcover Edition
ISBN: 978-1612347127
Publisher: Potomac Books
Release Date: June 2015
Pages: 448
The Siege of Petersburg Online: Beyond the Crater Pages Which Mention This Book:
- The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864 by Sean M. Chick
- A. Wilson Greene Reviews Sean Chick’s The Battle of Petersburg at Civil War Monitor
- Author Interview: Sean Chick, Author of The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 1
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 2
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 3
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 4
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 5
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 6
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 7
- Book Excerpt: The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864, Part 8