UNC Press - In the Trenches at Petersburg

432 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 32 illus., 27 maps, appends., notes, bibl., index

Civil War America

Cloth

ISBN 978-0-8078-3282-0

Published: July 2009

Paper

ISBN 978-1-4696-0995-9

Available: August 2013

In the Trenches at Petersburg

Field Fortifications and Confederate Defeat

By Earl J. Hess

Awards & Distinctions

2010 Richard B. Harwell Book Award, Civil War Round Table of Atlanta

In the Trenches at Petersburg, the final volume of Earl J. Hess's trilogy of works on the fortifications of the Civil War, recounts the strategic and tactical operations around Petersburg during the last ten months of the Civil War. Hess covers all aspects of the Petersburg campaign, from important engagements that punctuated the long months of siege to mining and countermining operations, the fashioning of wire entanglements and the laying of torpedo fields to impede attacks, and the construction of underground shelters to protect the men manning the works. In the Trenches at Petersburg humanizes the experience of the soldiers working in the fortifications and reveals the human cost of trench warfare in the waning days of the struggle.

About the Author

Earl J. Hess is associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University. He is author of many books on the Civil War, including, most recently, The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi.

Reviews

"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

"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

"This excellent book will be of interest to those who appreciate military engineering in siege operations."
--The Lone Star

"Provides extensive details to illuminate the subject. . . . An outstanding source for anyone researching Civil War trench warfare at Petersburg and Richmond."
--Virginia Libraries

"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

"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