A fire in the wilderness the first battle between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
(Book - Large Print)

Regular print version previously published by: Pegasus Books.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 393-407)

"In the spring of 1864, President Lincoln feared that he might not be able to save the Union. The Army of the Potomac had performed poorly over the previous two years, and many Northerners were understandably critical of the war effort. Lincoln assumed he'd lose the November election, and he firmly believed a Democratic successor would seek peace immediately, spelling an end to the Union. A Fire in the Wilderness tells the story of that perilous time when the future of the United States depended on the Union Army's success in a desolate forest roughly sixty-five miles from the nation's capital. At the outset of the Battle of the Wilderness, General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia remained capable of defeating General Grant's Army of the Potomac. But after two days of relentless fighting in dense Virginia woods, Lee was never again able to launch offensive operations against Grant's army. The impenetrable forest and gunfire smoke made it impossible to view the enemy. Officers couldn't even see their own men during the fighting. The incessant gunfire caused the woods to catch fire, resulting in hundreds of men burning to death. The alarming casualties do not begin to convey the horror of this battle, one of the most gruesome in American history"--,Provided by publisher.