Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville: The Dare Mark Campaign (Great Campaigns of the Civil War) [Hardcover]

Daniel E. Sutherland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998 | Series: Great Campaigns of the Civil War

All too often, histories of Civil War battles concentrate on the events of the battle, ignoring the larger campaign and undervaluing the battle’s impact on subsequent events. This work reveals and explains the vital connection between two epic battles: Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

The staggering Confederate victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville are seldom treated as part of a coherent strategy, and they have never been presented as a single campaign. Yet, analyzed as a whole, the two battles go far to explain Lee’s military success. At the same time, the failures and bungling that characterized Federal efforts are more intelligible when seen in the light of the political and military circumstances that thrust unprepared and inadequate Union commanders into predicaments they little understood. The eastern theater in the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863 witnessed sudden shifts in northern command and strategy and increasing political intervention. Lincoln despaired of McClellan and sought a general more willing to fight; whatever the ultimate result of this search, it provided opportunities the canny Lee was willing and able to exploit.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A broadly researched, finely detailed, and well-written analysis of the connections linking two pivotal battles in the early part of the Civil War, by Sutherland (Seasons of War; 1995, etc.). The author pairs the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, which took place on the southern side of the Rapohanock River in Virginia, and refers to them jointly as the ``Dare Mark'' campaign. (A Confederate soldier referred to the Rapohanock as the dare mark because Union armies dared not cross the river.) Sutherland combines minute strategic scrutiny with a deep knowledge of the personalities involvednotably, Lee and Jackson for the South, and Halleck, Burnside, and Hooker for the North. And he consults a broad range of sources, ranging from soldiers letters and contemporary newspaper accounts to postwar memoirs. Thus armed, Sutherland is able to place the battles in their broadest political and military contexts. Both battles led to Southern victories, and he examines their consequences, including the accidental death of Thomas ``Stonewall'' Jackson in his own troops crossfire, Lees inability to smash Hookers army, and Lees drive northward after his victory at Chancellorsville. Much attention is paid to the wars mismanagement by Congress and by various Northern officers and to fascinating partisan efforts to control the Union military. Sutherland, a professor of history at the University of Arkansas, is a deft writer. He identifies the facets of battle (and surrounding events) in a coherent fashion that will allow readers to peer over his shoulder at the larger picture. Though far too detailed in its dealings with military strategy and, this is nonetheless worthy of War-Between-the-States diehards. (7 illustrations, 7 photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Daniel E. Sutherland is a professor of history at the University of Arkansas. His books include The Confederate Carpetbaggers and the award-winning Seasons of War: The Ordeal of a Confederate Community, 1861–1865.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 247 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press; First edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803242530
• ISBN-13: 978-0803242531
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,291,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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