Customer Reviews

Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburgs Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865

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Theodore C. Mahr, Dayton, OH: former National Park Service ranger / historian at Manassas and Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Parks. Author of: "Early's Valley Campaign: The Battle Go Cedar Creek: Showdown in the Shenandoah, October 1-30, 1864," 1992. (soon to be released in expanded, revised edition ).

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In the Fall of 1981, while coaching Track & Field at the University of Maryland, my wife and I took a drive south to see the Civil War sites in an around Richmond-Petersburg area. I had always been interested in the Civil War, and, though from Ohio originally, had focused my reading mostly upon the Eastern Theater of war. This was primarily a result of having numerous ancestors who had fought on both sides on the battlefields of Virginia and West Virginia.

I had spent much time already looking at the battlefields in the Shenandoah Valley, as that was where many of them had campaigned. Upon learning, however, that I had one great-grandfather, who had served with Sheridan's 2nd Cavalry Division ( and had been wounded near Petersburg ), I was determined to tour those battlefields south of the Confederate capital of Richmond. I wanted to see where he had been in action and to simply gain a better understanding of "what went on there" in that part of the war.

I found the spot near Burgess Mill, where my great-grandfather had been hit, but one place we visited on that gloomy, rainy and altogether eerie day on the National Park Service's standard Petersburg "tour," was a lone, squarish, earthen fort, now overgrown with brush and trees, sitting in the center of a large farm-field just off Interstate-85.

It was Fort Gregg, but few would know of it because it was not a "real" stop on the tour. Nor was it in anyway under "preservation" or being interpreted at that time. And, when I got back to Maryland, I couldn't find one decent account of it in the general book collection in the libraries at the university.

But, something very sublime had drawn my wife and I to stop the car on that rainy day and slog out through the mushy ground to see this curious tree-covered earthwork standing so silently and alone in the middle of this field.
e knew something had occurred here just by the location and feeling one experienced in that forlorn location.

Later on, after I retired from coaching, I actually began to work for the NPS as a park ranger / historian at Manassas and later Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania NMP's. In this role, I had opportunity in the very late 1980's to once again visit Fort Gregg. Now there was at least an "unofficial" NPS tour-stop number and brief description of a fight that had taken place there in the last days of the siege of Petersburg. But, the old grass-covered, dirt walls of this fort still lay as they had almost a decade earlier---completely isolated, covered in foliage,and still with no interpretation.

I had read-up more on what had occurred at Fort Gregg---what little there was to read---as I was now a NPS historian myself, yet there still was not much to explain in detail what had happened there. I only knew now that some "hard" fight had occurred at that location during Grant's efforts to finally punch through Lee's lines in the Spring of 1865.

Curiously, on this second trip, I again experienced that mysterious and foreboding feeling that this, for some reason, was indeed very "hallowed" ground.

Family and illness drew me away from Virginia for quite some years, and Fort Gregg's alluring presence vanished from my mind. That is until an advance notice of a new book release coming out in 2010 appeared on the Amazon.com website. It was a new book and was about the Battle at Fort Gregg called: "The Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg's Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865," by John J. Fox III.

I had seen a copy of Mr. Fox's previous book, "Red Clay to Richmond..." at our library, and it had been so well researched and written that I just had to read his new book on Fort Gregg. Wow! What a story it turned out to be!

Now I knew why I had felt that something very important and very sublime had occurred there on my trips much earlier in time---because something had! Simply put, the Federal assault of Fort Gregg--and its defence--ranks as one of the top ten most exciting tales of the Civil War in my estimation, and one that has gone virtually untold, until now.

You simply have got to read this book!

Other reviewers in this section of the page take time describing the background enough, so I won't waste my few remaining words there. But it truly was one of the toughest and "nastiest" little "bloodbath" fights of the war---just as the title states. And it was an important one too. For had those 300-odd Mississippians and Georgians defending this part of Robert E. Lee's overstretched lines not given their all--to the very last man--in this "Alamo-like" defense, the Army of Northern Virginia may have come to an abrupt and not so suspenseful end, as it managed to do in the heart-braking chase to Appomattox.

It was a "bloodbath" for both assaulting Federals and the Confederates defending this tiny Gibraltar on that fateful day in April, 1865, and John Fox covers it so well, I doubt anyone will ever eclipse his efforts.

The book is first very well researched, deeply, into very difficult to find primary sources. ( I know, as I have had much experience of my own trying to research "late-war" campaigns--particularly the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 ). The materials are simply very hard to find for end-of-the-war battles. But John Fox has done his homework exceedingly well and has left no stone unturned to locate and ferret out a treasure trove of first person accounts and records, long forgotten and unused.

The result is a "boots-on-the-ground" minute-by-minute, "you are there" read that, not only keeps you from putting the book down, but which has your heart-rate increasing every chapter you cover. Rifle-butts, bayonets, rammers and fists, mounting the ramparts with bullet-torn flags flying--this actually occurred here in this stunning but all true tale of courage and sacrifice. The Ohio, West Virginia, and Connecticut troops who had to take this island of resistance to get through to block Lee's escape westward, paid dearly for every inch of that earthen impediment sitting out in the open but directly in their path to victory.

And most of these Ohio and West Virginia units had just come out of some very famous blood-lettings in the Shenandoah Valley at Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek. Yet, many of them stated that this last great fight of their's was the roughest, meanest scrape of all.

The Confederates fought as tenaciously as any Rebels did during the entire war---anywhere, and, although ultimately conquered, they had done their duty well. Lee had gained just the barest amount of time by their Spartan-like defense to get his units, which were farther north and east, moving west in a hurry, just ahead of Grant's pursuit toward Appomattox.

In addition to the impeccable research and vivid prose, this book has been produced with top-notch quality in mind--something I personally feel is lacking in many Civil War studies of late. You get your money's worth, that's for sure.

Here are some of the clearest, most outstanding maps of a battle I have ever seen come off the pen of master cartographer George Skoch. You fellow buffs who "always" ( like me ) decry the too-often dearth of adequate maps in books? ... well you won't find that here. They are plentiful and great. And Fox goes to great lengths to, not only supplement the research, prose, and cartography with a plethora of illustrations, but also provides in-depth appendices of all statistics any Civil War nut would relish. If that isn't enough, the indexing, book production quality, and editing by the skillful Sylvia Frank Rodrigue are beyond well done--they are superb.

No one paid me to write this review, and it is actually a ways outside of my own Shenandoah Valley 1864 interests at that. But, I was so very impressed with the entire scope and quality of this book that I just had to let someone know that, if you miss this book, you will deeply regret it.

Wake Island has been called the "Alamo of the Pacific," and, no doubt, many look at the 101st Airborne Division's legendary defense at Bastogne as the "Alamo" of the European Theater. But this--Fort Gregg--was indeed a rue "Alamo" of the Civil War.

Go get this book--now! I'm telling you, in an age when there is so little truly new coming out on the Civil War, you will find a magnificent gem of altogether fresh material here. It's worth every penny!

Now, if John would only do for Fort Stedman what he has done for Fort Gregg, many of us would be pleased as could be!

Theodore C. Mahr
Dayton, OH

A solidly researched and documented work on the bloody battle for Fort Gregg (and Fort Whitworth), as a part of the desperate end game struggle at Petersburg. Grant's forces had already begun to wreck the Confederate position with the crushing defeat by Sheridan and his forces over Pickett's troops at Five Forks. This is the tale of heroism on both sides, as savage fighting took place. The southern troops knew how important it was to hold their position; northern forces understood that a breakthrough would be one more step toward a real victory. A well told story. . . .

This book takes us step by step through the events of April 2, 1865. The author uses sources to establish who did what and when. We get stories of the heroism of individuals--both Confederate and Union. The maps that are included in the text give a good sense of the dynamics of the attacks by Union forces on the desperate defenders of the two forts.

We learn of the failures of command--and the successes. Some officers on both sides performed poorly, but others excelled. The details in this book add to its value.

All in all, a good analysis of a bloody battle. After the day's events, the Confederates had to retreat, leave the Petersburg area. In doing that, the fate of the Confederacy was largely sealed.

John Fox has done an outstanding job of telling a compelling story of one of the fiercest, but generally overlooked, battles of the Civil War - the Battle of Fort Gregg. A few hundred rag tag Confederate defenders, surrounded and trapped by an overwhelming Union force during the Federal breakthrough at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, fight to the end and buy enough time with their blood to allow Robert E. Lee's ragged army to narrowly escape from the city. Fox does a masterful job of taking the reader up to the events that led to the battle and then weaving in personal accounts from soldiers on both sides during the struggle. Excellent maps and period photographs help the reader follow this fascinating account of uncommon courage. This is definitely a five star book for the library.

One of the unfortunate realities of the closing days of the Civil War is the fact that so many events happened in such a short period of time that many of the smaller events are overshadowed by the much larger events of Robert E. Lee's surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. One such event was the fighting that took place at Fort Gregg after the Federal Army pierced the Confederate line of defenses to the southwest of Petersburg, Virginia on April 2, 1865, ending a ten month siege and leading to the immediate evacuations of Petersburg and Richmond Virginia.

Author John J. Fox III has written the first ever book length account of the chaotic and bloody battle at Fort Gregg, which would later become known as "The Confederate Alamo," where, like its namesake, 334 Confederate troops unsuccessfully defended the fort against an assault by 4,500 Federal soldiers.

Mr. Fox's narrative of the struggle over Fort Gregg is well written, and is easily read. Thoroughly researched, Mr. Fox's tome is an impressive scholarly achievement. It is a well balanced presentation of the struggle, both inside and outside the fort, giving both the Confederate and Union points of view. In its nearly minute by minute, chronological accounting of the events of battle that raged for nearly two hours, never does the weight of Mr. Fox's narrative tilt the scale to either side.

The most impressive part of Mr. Fox's book, however, is not the narrative of the battle but rather the book's appendices, and the obviously staggering amount of research that had to have been done to create them. The centerpiece of which is the roster of the 334 defenders of the fort. Other appendices cover the Order of Battle, Fort Gregg casualties, Fort Whitworth's Controversial Artillery Withdrawal, Which Southern Artillery Batteries Helped Defend Fort Gregg, Fort Gregg Medal of Honor Recipients, and the First Union Flag on Fort Gregg Controversy.

To those interested in the Civil War, especially in its waning days, Mr. Fox's "The Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg's Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865" is a must have.

There were no shortage of bloody battles in the Civil War, but some were bloodier than others. "The Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg's Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865" tells the story of one of the final battles in the Civil War where a small group of Southerners made their last stand against the Union. Looking into the minds of these southerners who wondered if their efforts even mattered, it's a picture of the thoughts of the South at the end of the Civil War and makes for riveting reading, as well as informative history. "The Confederate Alamo" is a choice addition to any history collection, highly recommended.

Outstanding research and detail. The individual soldiers accounts in this book will put you in the battle and give great insight into the hand to hand fighting and last ditch heroics of vastly outnumbered and surrounded collection of Confederate soldiers from different units and states, fighting to give General Lee time to escape General Grant's on rushing hordes. Very hard to put down.

Confederate Alamo is truly one of the best battle studies I've ever read. It is a wonder that no in-depth study of the attack on Ft Gregg had ever been written, and John Fox expertly fills that gap. His research is extensive, he knows his subject well, the narrative is very well written, it is filled with dozens of images of both the participants and the ground, and the maps by George Skoch are very easy to comprehend and make it much easier to follow the action if one is not already familiar with the terrain. One of the appendices even has a complete [as much as any can be] roster of the 334 defenders of Ft Gregg, which must have been no small undertaking in itself to compile. This is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the Civil War.

This book arrived right on time with 2-day shipping in PERFECT condition! I've had my eye on this book and it's subject for quite some time now, knowing that veterans of the Civil War who participated in the battle for Fort Gregg said it was the biggest and toughest fighting they ever encountered, even when they had gone through campaigns from Gaines' Mill to Gettysburg. But why was the subject on this fighting mostly forgotten? Because the breakthrough of Petersburg, the loss of Richmond to Federal troops, and Lee's surrender at Appomattox, not to mention Lincoln's assassination, made the fighting just a faint memory, and if the fighting at Fort Gregg is even mentioned in most Civil War books, it is merely a footnote between the mention of Pickett's failure to hold Five Forks and the death of General A.P. Hill at the hands of two enlisted Federal troops. How do I know? Because as a Civil War buff, I have now read more than 800 books on each campaign that I could find and Fort Gregg is rarely mentioned at all.
Fort Gregg today is also barely even in existence, even as a memorial. It reminds me of the long-forgotten USS Utah memorial at Pearl Harbor, the UTAH, even though it was a target battleship, had been sunk there, and visitors scarcely notice it, even though over 55 men died on her, while flocking to the memorial of ANOTHER battleship that everyone seems to know about. And as a researcher of little-known battles or conflicts, I was impressed by what "The Confederate Alamo" had to offer. This was definitely my money's worth and the book will be treasured and taken well-care of for decades to come!

John Fox has written another winner! Following his acclaimed first book "Red Clay to Richmond" about the 35th Georgia, Mr. Fox provides a compelling narrative of the heroic deeds of both Union and Confederate soldiers at Petersburg, VA in the waning days of the Civil War. The Confederate Alamo highlights the brave acts of a few hundred Confederates at the Fort Gregg strong point who held off thousands of equally brave Union attackers and provided Robert E. Lee time to evacuate Petersburg on April 2, 1865. Coming just a week before Lee's surrender at Appomattox, this battle has been largely overlooked by historians until now, as almost irrelevant. This is hardly the case! Fox transports us back in time, providing thoroughly researched biographical accounts and first-person narratives from survivors, interleaved with the a cogent presentation of the strategic and operational imperatives that sealed their fate. We share the struggles of the few inside the fort- low on ammunition and facing almost certain death but knowing the criticality of their mission to provide time for Lee's Army to escape. Likewise, we march through shot after shot of artillery fire and a hail of well-aimed bullets with the Army of the James attackers who were determined to end the war then and there. While many of the details of the battle have faded, the honor, bravery, and sheer determination shown by the soldiers on both sides are as relevant today as they were 145 years ago. I highly recommend this book.

When I ordered "The Confederate Alamo" I was expecting a detailed account of the epic battle and it is that but something even more moving is the stories of the men who fought bravely and died and those who fought bravely and lived, their lives forever altered. My third cousin Freeman C. Thompson of the 116th OVI was one of the survivors. His story is told in a moving narrative and he was ultimately awarded the Medal of Honor. After the Civil War he served two terms as sheriff of Noble County, Ohio but poor health prevented him from seeking a third term. The broken ribs he received at Fort Gregg never healed properly and he died at age forty two.
"The Confederate Alamo" is a beautifully bound book, the text is enhanced with photos, maps, and personal memories of the men who were there, a welcome addition to any library.
William Thompson