List Price: $27.95 Details

Save: $3.63 (13%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery Tuesday, July 12 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Friday, July 8. Order within 3 hrs 58 mins

In Stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app. Want to listen? Try Audible.

[{"displayPrice":"$24.32","priceAmount":24.32,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"32","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"pdaUSHwXlfxb1IzoEl3zYi5rrsAfaAJ9qpKLXeMoXgBiihy2PM2VUp4gPQmgWPaAHteiQuIx55Wv1cExWWV5v2S3mhLRZsFpnqrUmlKB0OPSe%2FYvUnvjVkyKneI523c1QGOzgH2oGas%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$11.46","priceAmount":11.46,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"46","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"pdaUSHwXlfxb1IzoEl3zYi5rrsAfaAJ9IlXpR5oUUngVgJ6Wdg5csgnNi%2FxNT5RVwx2q73J54hSAXPfUmjoMoN8xxjWFB6actMK7hdWuleKpxR5kmAlGNJhy1OzU96LFaKvCIpsj2cVA%2BiQa63oZgnG12KbbetSIw%2Br6NApx8%2FehPjFVeZ0jDry7IMnYVIZ9","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$24.32 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Tuesday, July 12 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon. Order within 3 hrs 58 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Momma's Media

Fulfilled by Amazon

Add to List

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Share <Embed>

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$18.53
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: indoobestsellers

Added

Not added

$23.99
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Papa Global,LLC ✨📕📗📘✨

Added

Not added

$25.21
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Publisher Direct

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 2 images

Follow the Authors

Gordon C. Rhea

The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5–6, 1864 Paperback – September 1, 2004

by Gordon C. Rhea Esq. (Author)

179 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$14.72

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$30.07

$18.15

$10.54

Paperback

"Please retry"

$24.32

$16.47

$6.95

Enhance your purchase

Fought in a tangled forest fringing the south bank of the Rapidan River, the Battle of the Wilderness marked the initial engagement in the climactic months of the Civil War in Virginia, and the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. In an exciting narrative, Gordon C. Rhea provides the consummate recounting of that conflict of May 5 and 6, 1864, which ended with high casualties on both sides but no clear victor. With its balanced analysis of events and people, command structures and strategies, The Battle of the Wilderness is operational history as it should be written.

Print length

536 pages
Language

English
Publisher

LSU Press
Publication date

September 1, 2004
Dimensions

6.42 x 1.09 x 9.1 inches
ISBN-10

0807130214
ISBN-13

978-0807130216
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Gordon C. Rhea Esq. Paperback
$24.32
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 12 FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
by Gordon C. Rhea Esq. Paperback
$23.19
Get it as soon as Thursday, Jul 14 FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Gordion Group LLC and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
by Gordon C. Rhea Esq. Paperback
$23.98
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 12 FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Only 19 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Similar books based on genre

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Never before has there been such a finely detailed―and objective―rendering of this battle. . . . Future accounts of the Wilderness will stand on the shoulders of Rhea’s book” ― Chicago Tribune

This is the latest entry in the new category of regiment-by-regiment accountings of major Civil War battles, products made possible not just by revived interest in the conflict but by the rise of a new generation of Civil War historians able to research with the aid of computer databases. It's a well-written, absorbing, though decidedly bloody tally of the opening battle of the 1864 campaign in Virginia. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia extricated itself several times from the jaws of disaster, while the Union Army of the Potomac slogged to a tactical draw that was turned into a strategic victory by Grant's refusal to retreat. As portrayed in these pages, the battle reflects much credit on the soldiers and somewhat less on most of the generals but certainly deserves the full coverage this massive volume affords. This main selection of the History Book Club is indeed a valuable addition to Civil War collections. -- Roland Green ― Booklist

“Both rich in colorful human incidents and provocative in its leadership assessments. . . . [Rhea’s] book is now the first choice for anyone interested in understanding this critical battle.” ― Blue and Gray

Fought in a dense woods, the Battle of the Wilderness was the first clash between Grant and Lee. Two days of close-quarters fighting ignited the woods and trebled the casualty list with no advantage to either side; Lee stalemated Grant's superior force. Historian Rhea's revisionist history considers the Wilderness a Union victory. The author questions Lee's reputation as a brilliant strategist while praising Grant for a well-conceived battle plan. Personalities aside, the battle of attrition that would win the war had begun. Powerfully written, mingling official histories with diaries and letters, this study is filled with dramatic tension. As written by Rhea, the Battle of the Wilderness underscores how the Confederacy won many battles but lost the war. Strongly recommended for academic and public collections. ― Library Journal

“Through [Rhea’s] well-constructed profiles of the Union corps commanders, we come to know the strengths and weaknesses of those who held the lives of thousands in their hands.” ― Washington Times

Rhea, a Virginia attorney, offers what will likely become the definitive account of one of the Civil War's most confusing engagements: the Battle of the Wilderness, the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, fought in Virginia. The author's reconstruction of the fighting highlights the difficulties of controlling troops once they had been committed to action. Grant's original plan was to maneuver Lee out of his defensive position along the Rapidan River, then crush his troops with superior numbers. Instead, Rhea notes, the Wilderness became a "soldiers' battle," with raw courage compensating for inadequate generalship on both sides. Grant relied too heavily on the Army of the Potomac's commander, George Gordon Meade, who failed to coordinate the movements of subordinates disoriented by the broken ground they fought over. Rhea also criticizes Lee for consistently taking the offensive with an army that could not afford the major losses it sustained in attacking. History Book Club main selection. ― Publishers Weekly

In a meticulous, exhaustive, yet highly readable account, Thomas has done for the Battle of the Wilderness what others have done for Gettysburg, Antietam, and other Civil War battles. Rhea, an attorney and Civil War buff, gives clear historical treatment to one of the major engagements of the Civil War, the first important battle directed by Ulysses S. Grant after his appointment as general-in-chief of the Federal army. In the tangled, thicketed Virginia forest region south of the Rapidan River, Grant's force of approximately 120,000 was opposed by 65,000 men under the command of Robert E. Lee. The Union push was to be the beginning of Grant's campaign to capture Richmond, the Confederate capital. Though his army outnumbered Lee's by almost two to one, Grant met with stiff resistance, and the dense woods made fighting almost impossible. In the end, after both sides suffered heavy casualties, the battle was indecisive. Rhea views the engagement in the context of the increasingly desperate Southern situation in mid-1864 as resources became ever more scarce. He also relates the story of an important, little-known precursor to the battle: a disastrous foray by Federal troops against entrenched Confederates at Morton's Ford on the Rapidan in February of the same year. His narrative brings to life not only Grant, Lee, and James Longstreet, but also lesser known figures like ``Brains'' Halleck (Grant's predecessor as commander) and Gen. John Sedgwick (who commanded the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Wilderness and had previously, against his better judgment, commanded the attack at Morton's Ford). An extremely helpful appendix contains the complete order of battle for both sides. All future accounts of the battle will be measured against this work. Scholars and buffs alike will find the volume enthralling. (History Book Club main selection) ― Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Gordon C. Rhea is also the author of On to Petersburg: Grant and Lee, June 4–15, 1864; The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7–12, 1864; To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13–25, 1864, winner of the Fletcher Pratt Literary Award; and Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26–June 3, 1864, winner of the Austin Civil War Round Table’s Laney Prize. He lives in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Start reading The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5–6, 1864 on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ LSU Press (September 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 536 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807130214
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807130216
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.58 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.42 x 1.09 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #332,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,403 in U.S. Civil War History
- #6,445 in U.S. State & Local History

Customer Reviews:
179 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload video

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Gordon C. Rhea
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
See more on the author's page
Gordon C. Rhea
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
A native of East Tennessee, Gordon Rhea earned a B.A. in history with honors from Indiana University, an M.A. in American History from Harvard University, and a J.D. from Stanford University Law School. He served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities, as Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., and the United States Virgin Islands, and has been in the private practice of law for the past three decades. While growing up, he frequently visited Civil War battlefields with his father. His five-volume series on the Overland Campaign between Grant and Lee in Virginia in 1864 stands as the authoritative treatment of those battles. He has written numerous articles, is a frequent speaker at historical societies, and strongly supports the Civil War Trust and other organizations dedicated to preserving America's battlefields.
See more on the author's page

Products related to this item
Sponsored Hide feedback

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Customer reviews

5 star		81%
4 star		15%
3 star		2%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

K.Bondo

THE essential way of understanding this battlefield

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2020

Verified Purchase

I live in Fredericksburg and recently spent the 156th anniversary of the Battle of the Wilderness (both days) exploring the battlefield. I used both this book on the subject to guide me through it. It is by far the essential guide to this battle, except none! I found it an exhaustive account of the battle and to be THE essential way of understanding this battlefield. I cannot thank Mr. Rhea enough for authoring this book on the subject! Undoubtedly this is the first book (along with the other 4 books in Rhea's Overland Campaign series) that ALL amateur historians and students should read before any other. After you read Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864, you will know more than any other average American on the subject. If you are interested in American Civil War history and need a place to start, I cannot recommend this book enough!

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

M.A. Kleen

Rhea masterfully clarifies a confusing and tangled battle

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

In The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864, Gordon C. Rhea charts the first meeting between Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the darkened, tangled forest west of Fredericksburg, Virginia, which ended with high casualties on both sides but no clear victor.

Rhea clarifies and explains a battle that even its participants found confusing and hard to comprehend. With its balanced analysis of events and people, command structures and strategies, The Battle of the Wilderness is a thorough and meticulous military history. This is the first of a five volume series on General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign during the American Civil War.

Prior to 1864, the Eastern Theater had mostly been a war of maneuver. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia jockeyed back and forth with the Union Army of the Potomac with little to show for it. In April 1864, both armies sat facing one another across the Rapidan River, almost exactly where they had been one year earlier.

General Ulysses S. Grant was determined to change that, and the Battle of the Wilderness proved it. This chaotic struggle touched off the Overland Campaign, a brutal grind toward the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Rather than retreat to lick its wounds, as Army of the Potomac usually did after a major battle, Grant ordered it around Lee’s flank to the southeast. Finally, President Abraham Lincoln found a General who was not afraid of Robert E. Lee.

With clear but detailed prose, Gordon C. Rhea shows how divided command crippled the Union Army. While George G. Meade commanded the Army of the Potomac, Ambrose Burnside commanded the IX Corps, which was formally part of the Army of the Ohio. Because he technically outranked Meade, Burnside reported directly to Grant. Grant gave both generals considerable leeway during the battle. “The Union army’s overwhelming size should by itself have guaranteed success, but careless generalship had forfeited the golden opportunity,” he wrote.

The Confederate army was not without controversy. On May 6, Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon found the Union army’s flank in the air and sought permission from his division commander, Jubal Early, to attack the exposed flank. By the time his corps commander, Richard Ewell, approved the plan, it was shortly before dark and Gordon had no time to exploit his success. Later, Gordon claimed Lee personally ordered the attack when he saw its potential. Rhea deconstructs this claim and finds Gordon embellished (or outright fabricated) events to enhance his reputation.

Like all previous offensives that day, he concluded, “In the end, Gordon’s plan accomplished little more than to add names to the casualty lists.”

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Larry

I've read a lot of great battle-level books on the Civil War

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

Wow, what a book! The Battle of the Wilderness bristles with vivid details, making sense of essentially a senseless battle fought among the tangles and thickets of the infamous Wilderness. While never failing to provide the context of the bigger battle picture, Rhea manages to paint a lurid picture of the fog of battle that enveloped both sides in this first act in Grant's Overland Campaign. I've read a lot of great battle-level books on the Civil War, and this ranks among the best, scintillating the senses with its graphic descriptions of men faced off in a new style of warfare, while never losing that spark of humanity that makes for great history. This is the first book I've read by Gordon Rhea - the first of many, I'm sure.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

My First Ever Campaign/Battle History

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2010

Verified Purchase

I have read many volumes on the Civil War, biographies, memoirs, one volume and multi-volume histories, regimental histories. Yet I have never been able to finish any of the multitudinous campaign and battle studies. Why? Mainly because they are what I call "chess tournaments." Where units are moved and discussed as little more than playing pieces of some giant game and not focusing on the men in those units. By no means does this apply to a great many fine narratives out there, but for some reason, they just didn't do it for me.

Mr. Rhea's book is the first Civil War Battle History that I have finished. Why? Because first and foremost, Mr. Rhea is a superb writer. It is known that Mr. Rhea is an attorney. If he practices law like he writes his books, he must be a very successful lawyer indeed. How? Well, he makes a confusing engagement that was the Wilderness crystal clear. The reader is aware what is going on at all times. The maps included are also clear. It may not go into the regimental level like some CW buffs prefer, but they are more than adequate for Mr. Rhea's purposes. His research is dilligent and he keeps his eye on both the high command and the men shouldering the muskets. This is a very difficult thing to do. He is also objective. He sees many admirable qualities in both U.S. Grant and R.E. Lee, yet he doesn't hesitate to point out their shortcomings. Likewise the subordinates of both commanders.

A criticism made towards Mr. Rhea is that he doesn't set the Wilderness in the political context of the war. I feel that the foresaid opinion is wrong. Mr. Rhea's focus is on the men and the battle, not the political aftermath. Other books have discussed those issues, so why should Mr. Rhea waste his time doing that? Plus, with Spotsylvania occuring so soon after the Wilderness, the armies had other things to worry about rather than concerning themselves about what a bunch of fops in either Richmond or Washington would be thinking of their actions at the time.

I'm starting his next volume on Spotsylvania. If it's anything like his Wilderness book, a superb reading experience will result.

Don't hesitate. If you are curious in anyway about the 1864 Overland Campaign, Rhea's books are the standard.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Jmac

American Civil War 1864

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

A well written and a very detailed account of the battle of the Wilderness by Gordon C. Rhea. This is the first of a series of battles in 1864-65 which ended with the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. The maps within the book are good, however you have to look closely to identify some of the places mentioned. There are a number of personal accounts from soldiers of all ranks, describing the fighting and also the gorey results, which brings the narrative alive to the reader. There are four follow on books from this one which takes the reader from February 1864 to June 1864. The introduction chapter of each of the following books includes a summary of the previous battles. At present, I am reading the third book " To the North Anna River".

One person found this helpful

Bryn y Groes

A Wilderness no more

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2014

Verified Purchase

The Battle of the Wilderness the first part of the Overland Campaign of 1864 conducted by Grant and Meade against the Confederate army of North Virginia led by the incomparable Robert E Lee is much neglected and little known to the general world but marked a change in tactics of the Federal Army in the East.

Gordon Rhea make sense of a complex and confusing few days where battle ranged in a forest and little open space existed but at the end of the battle unlike his Predecessors in charge of the Army of the Potomac Grant did not withdraw and refit to fight another day he move south to continue the struggle.

Well written, excellent research and good maps and diagrams make this a definitive account of this battle and I couldn't wait for the second part of the series to arrive when I have finished this book.

3 people found this helpful

tony roberts

It is safe to buy 2hand books from Amazon

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2019

Verified Purchase

It was again good quality

Trent Whippler

An account of Grant vs Lee Round 1 That Spares No Punches

Reviewed in Canada on September 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is a well-written and comprehensive account of the first attempt by Ulysses S Grant to harness the resources of the union armies in Virginia to bring to heel Robert E Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Three things really stood out to me about Rhea's writing. First, he shifts effortlessly between narrating the events of the battle and analyzing them. Second, his analysis is always well-supported, and he doesn't spare either of the legendary commanders or their subordinates when appropriate. And third, Rhea gives the reader not just the generals' view of the battle, but also the experiences of the front-line infantry soldier and his immediate commanders in what was a confusing battle experience even for two armies full of experienced veterans. An extra bonus is the complete (at least as complete as the record-keeping of the time allows) orders of battle for both armies in the appendix. Rhea has obviously done his research, and his use of primary and secondary sources helps the reader understand this battle in ways that many of the participants could not at the time. Highly recommended.

See all reviews

Buy new: $24.32$24.32 FREE delivery: Tuesday, July 12 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used: $11.46

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the Authors

The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5–6, 1864 Paperback – September 1, 2004

Enhance your purchase

Frequently bought together

Similar books based on genre

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the authors

Gordon C. Rhea

Gordon C. Rhea

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$24.32

FREE delivery: Tuesday, July 12 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Ships from: Amazon.com

Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used:

$11.46