In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications and Confederate Defeat (Civil War America)
"This book and its two companion volumes will be the starting point for students of field fortifications in the American Civil War for the foreseeable future."--Louisiana History"Hess has crafted an exceedingly well researched and well argued book. . . .At the moment, there is no better scholarly or popular guide to the campaign." --The Journal of Southern History"Hess disputes much of what we have come to know about the Petersburg siege in this crisply written and thoroughly researched volume. . . . A splendid book that successfully places the campaign in a larger military context . . . should serve as the standard single-volume history for decades to come."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society"The only book on Petersburg to focus on the significance of its fortifications. . . . A well-documented study. . . . Concludes a series that expertly charts the significance of field fortifications in the Eastern Theater."--West Virginia History"Hess has a well-deserved reputation as the master on American Civil War field fortifications. . . . [Makes] a coherent whole of the months-long contest by placing the series of offensives and counteroffensives like beads on a string of digging, tunneling, and mining. . . . Hess fans and students of field fortifications will be pleased, and others will find a work of first class military history."--Journal of America's Military Past"The best single study of the grand tactics and strategy of the campaign. . . . An outstanding conclusion to a trilogy of books that belong on the shelf of any serious student of the Civil War's Eastern Theater."--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography"Even without the incredibly detailed analysis of field fortifications, [this book] would stand alone as campaign history. . . . A testament to the author's years of study on the topic."--H-Civil War"Contains the fine scholarship and clear prose we have come to expect from Hess. . . . [It] will stand as a definitive study on the Petersburg Campaign."--On Point"Provides extensive details to illuminate the subject. . . . An outstanding source for anyone researching Civil War trench warfare at Petersburg and Richmond."--Virginia Libraries"This excellent book will be of interest to those who appreciate military engineering in siege operations."--The Lone Star"Humanizes the experience of the soldiers working in the fortifications."--McCormick Messenger"The [book is the] result of Hess's indefatigable research in a wide range of sources and his imaginative field study of extant battlefields. . . . This volume and its companions, even more innovative and important than his previous outstanding studies, should give Earl J. Hess his rightful place among the best Civil War historians of our time."--Civil War History"[Hess's three-volume] set unquestionably deserves recognition as groundbreaking work on an important topic. It will be the standard for years."--Robert Krick,America's Civil War"Takes an in-depth look at the war's final evolution of field fortifications and countermeasures, and explores the central role they played in the various Union offensives conducted during the ten-month Petersburg campaign. . . . Impressive."-- Civil War Books and Authors Blog"Wonderfully written, well researched and easy to read. . . . Highly recommend[ed] to any serious student of the American Civil War. . . . Entertaining and enlightening."--This Mighty Scourge