Season of Fire: The Confederate Strike on Washington
In 1864 Confederate general Jubal Early, outraged by Union depredations in the Shenandoah Valley, launched a bold but futile raid on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. With this event as the central focus of his narrative, Judge has written a fascinating and riveting account of men in battle. He masterfully maintains both dramatic tension and historical accuracy by relating the events through the memoirs of the actual participants. Judge explains the military maneuvers in language that laypersons can easily grasp, and his portrayals of the key participants breathe life into the account. Among the more memorable players are Early, the Yankee-hating unrepentant rebel; Lew Wallace, who attempts to block Early's advance and whose literary bent will later lead to the century's best-selling novel; and George Davis, a Vermonter whose icy calm and audacity under fire won him the Medal of Honor. This is a fine recounting of a relatively obscure but quite interesting series of events, and both the general reader and Civil War aficionados will enjoy it.Jay Freeman