Bloody Angle: Hancock's Assault On The Mule Shoe Salient, May 12, 1864 (Battleground America Guides) [Paperback]

John Cannan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Battleground America Guides | Publication Date: October 22, 2002

On the morning of May 12, 1864, the site of the daring Union assault on the center of the Confederate line became the scene of the fiercest hand-to-hand combat of the Civil War, and thereafter was known as the "Bloody Angle." Da Capo's new "Battleground America" series offers a unique approach to the battles and battlefields of America. Each book in the series highlights a small American battlefield-sometimes a small portion of a much larger battlefield-and tells the story of the brave soldiers who fought there. Using soldiers' memoirs, letters and diaries, as well as contemporary illustrations, the human ordeal of battle comes to life on the page.All of the units, important individuals, and actions of each engagement on the battlefield are described in a clear and concise narrative. Detailed maps complement the text and illustrate small unit action at each stage of the battle. Then-and-now photographs tie the dramatic events of the past to the modern battlefield site and highlight the importance of terrain in battle. The present-day historical site of the battle is described in detail with suggestions for touring.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Cannan has established a reputation amongh civil War writers in remarkably short time. His distinctions include three books selected by the Military Book Club. He is the author of The Atlanta Campaign, The Wilderness Campaign, and The Spotsylvania Campaign. He is an historic preservation attorney living in Baltimore.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (October 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306811510
• ISBN-13: 978-0306811517
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,434,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Little Book!, April 17, 2003

By 

Tony Rocca (Chester, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloody Angle: Hancock's Assault On The Mule Shoe Salient, May 12, 1864 (Battleground America Guides) (Paperback)

This is a great, great little book. One of the better ones in the Battleground America Series. The narrative is compelling and exciting, and gives a good detailed overview of the battle without being too technical and boring and reading like a textbook. This is a good account of the Bloody Angle battle, without having to read about the entire Spotsylvania campaign. The suggested reading chapter at the end also lists a valuable resource of references for further reading and learning and more technical volumes. Gettysburg perhaps steals a lot of the thunder of the other Civil War battles as compared to exposure and popularity, but the Spotsylvania battle, specifically the Bloody Angle fight, deserves a lot more attention and exposure than it gets. The Bloody Angle is important to Civil War history in that it ushered in a level of ferocity and brutality in Civil War combat that had never been seen prior to the Spotsylvania Campaign. It remains a unique and very exciting battle and hopefully there will be more written about it in the future.