Customer Reviews

A Pitiless Rain: The Battle of Williamsburg, 1862

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This is the only book-length account of the Battle of Williamsburg that I'm aware of, and that makes this book a great addition to any Civil War library. The writing style is pretty good, and there are a lot of maps, but the computer graphics used to generate those maps make them look a little weird. I really enjoyed the authors' appendix where they described the current locations and condition of the redoubts in the Confederate defense line. Unfortunately many of them are now on private property or have been destroyed by modern construction projects.

A Pitiless Rain sheds light on the little known but bloody battle of Williamsburg in 1862. The authors get to the battle quickly, but succinctly describe events on the Peninsula prior to the battle. The description of the battle is good and gives plenty of detail. The maps are fairly good but a couple more would have been nice. It's interesting to see officers like Hooker and Longstreet in action before they became well known. Although not the most interesting writers, the authors put you into the battle in a informative but readable style. Recommended for all Civil War buffs wanting to read about a little known battle.

A Pitiless Rain is a significant chronicle of a long overlooked event. The Hastings deserve sound applause for their well researched presentation that makes the Battle of Williamsburg come alive and understandable. My relatives in Co. B, 38th Va. Inf., no doubt, would approve the authors' objectivity throughout, even though they themselves were lost in the woods at the battle's climax. True, the graphics can use some polish, but having personally researched the action and scouted Early's charge prior to discovering this work, I can attest to the book's value to anyone interested in this battle and its role the Peninsula Campaign. This is an important contribution to history and a great battlefield companion! Good job!

A Pitiless Rain is a detailed account of the Battle of Williamsburg, an interesting battle in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. Hastings and Hastings take the reader through the chronology of events leading up to, during, and following the battle, fought on the outskirts of Williamsburg, Virginia on May 4-5, 1862. Civil War history buffs will appreciate the authors' numerous citations of original sources (especially soldier's accounts), thorough documentation of the battle, and balanced perspective of the leaders' intentions and objectives on both sides. Most of the elements on the Williamsburg line (i.e., Fort Magruder bastion, redoubts, 'Bloody Ravine,' etc.), built by Major General John B. Magruder to enable a fighting retreat up the Peninsula, still exist today in one form or another and are generally accessible to the public. As such, this book also works well as a guide for anyone who wishes to visit the battlefield sites. An appendix describes these elements and gives their locations.