Reviews for The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion

The average rating for The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-09-11 00:00:00 Joshua Swedis This history book provides a fuller picture of the final stages of the Petersburg Campaign of 1864/65 that essentially ended the Confederacy. It is an excellent and detailed story that was well researched by the author. This story is definitely told from the perspective of the front-line soldiers who fought here with many references from their diaries, letters, journals and memoirs. While the overall thoughts and plans of the commanding generals is revealed, the emphasis is on the common soldier's experience. Previous to reading this book, my general knowledge of this campaign was that after the Union's failed Crater offensive in the summer of 1864, the conquest of Petersburg settled into a long drawn out siege. This book tells the story of a very bloody and decisive offensive that was needed before the Union Army could force the Army of Northern Virginia to abandon Petersburg and Richmond. That offensive was climaxed by the Union Sixth Corp's offensive against the Confederate Army's Third Corp on April 2, 1865. As this offensive unfolds the Confederate soldiers were far from a defeated and demoralized army. They especially fought a valiant holding action at Fort Gregg to allow the Army of Northern Virginia the time needed to organize a retreat from Petersburg in the forlorn hope of regrouping in North Carolina, and combining with General Joseph Johnston's remaining Southern forces. The final stages of the Petersburg Campaign are anything but the story of a long boring siege. This campaign was conducted with courage, bravery and sacrifice on both sides as you'll discover when you read this book.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-07-06 00:00:00 Philip Tyran Excellent book. Nothing better regarding the action on April 2.