Battle of the Wilderness in Myth and Memory
Subtitle: Reconsidering Virginia's Most Notorious Civil War Battlefield
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Published: 2019
Language: eng
Number of pages: 208
ISBN-13: 9780807171912
Subjects: United states, history
Description: "In this book, Adam Petty argues that veterans and historians of the American Civil War created and perpetuated myths about the Wilderness, a forest in Virginia which was notorious for being one of the most challenging battlefields of the war. According to Petty, mythology about the campaigns in the Wilderness began to take shape during the war, but truly blossomed in the postwar years and continue into the present. The intention of this study is to sift through the Wilderness myth to obtain an accurate understanding of how the geography of the battle affected combat and strategy. While the Wilderness was indeed a battlefield that created very difficult combat conditions, the author suggests that the claims that it was unique and that it favored the Confederates are unfounded."--Provided by publisher.