The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864 (review)

BOOK REVIEWS63 The Army of the Potomac failed for a variety of reasons to defeat Lee in the Wilderness. In "Union Cavalry in the Wilderness: The Education of Philip H. Sheridan and James H. Wilson," Gordon C. Rhea argues persuasively that those generals performed poorly and contributed significantly to the army's poor performance . Nevertheless, the Union cavalrymen fought better than they had in the past and had some good, young leaders who demonstrated the capacity to lead them to victory in the future. Peter S. Carmichaers essay "Escaping the Shadow ofGettysburg: Richard S. Ewell and Ambrose Powell Hill at the Wilderness" tackles the performance of two prominent Confederate generals. He states that, though not brilliant corps commanders, Hill and Ewell have been unfairly criticized on the basis of biased postwar accounts by John Brown Gordon and Henry Heth. Carmichael shows that the two men have been "convenient scapegoats for Confederate lost opportunities and near-disasters at the Wilderness" (155). '"Lee to the Rear,' the Texans Cried" by Robert K. Krick is an extensive examination ofthat well-known episode in the battle.According to Krick's analysis , Lee at this point in the war felt it was necessary "to throw his person into battlefield situations that he earlier had mastered by other means" (189). Focusing on an overlooked Union unit, Carol Reardon's "The Other Grant: LewisA. Grant and the Vermont Brigade in the Battle of the Wilderness" examines the actions and motivations of the men whose gallant role has largely gone unnoticed. These Vermonters deserved many of the accolades that went to other brigades. In his essay "Like a Duck on a June Bug: James Longstreet's Flank Attack, May 6, 1864," Robert E. L. Krick describes the assault led by staff officer Lt. Col. G. Moxley Sorrel and the wounding ofLongstreet by his own troops. Krick concludes that the loss of that general did not prevent the Confederates from driving Grant's army back across the Rapidan. Like previous volumes in this series, The Wilderness Campaign contains wellresearched and well-written essays. The book deserves attention from scholars and avocational historians alike. Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr. Pamplin Park Civil War Site The Battlesfor Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864. By Gordon C. Rhea (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. Pp. x, 483. $34-95) Gordon C. Rhea continues his examination of Grant's overland campaign in The Battlesfor Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864. This is an impressive sequel to his The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864 (1994), as Rhea has produced an outstanding book that supplants 64CIVIL WAR HISTORY William D. Matter's reliable study ofSpotsylvania, IfIt TakesAll Summer(1988). The author plans to chronicle the armies' movements to the James River in two additional volumes. If he adheres to the impeccable standards of scholarship established in his previous works, no one will ever write about the 1864 Virginia campaign with the same clarity, drama, and perceptiveness of Rhea. The confusing chain ofcommand between Grant and George G. Meade, Rhea contends, largely explains why Lee escaped defeat at Spotsylvania. Because Grant retained Meade as the Army of Potomac's commander, the general in chief issued his orders through Meade, who then conveyed Grant's intentions to the army's subordinate command. This clumsy relationship neither promoted efficient communication nor enhanced battlefield performance. To his amazement , Grant discovered his field commanders sorely lacking in initiative, especially thecautious Meade, who considered his superior's penchant forthe offensive excessive. This divergence of opinions prevented Grant from coordinating the complex movements required ofhis army at Spotsylvania. Governeur K. Warren's assault against Laurel Hill on May 8, Winfield S. Hancock's attack across the Po River on May 9, and most notably Emory Upton's charge against Doles' Salient on May 10, collapsed, in large part, because Grant could never convince Meade to act quickly. In one of his most surprising conclusions, Rhea exonerates Gershom Mott for his feeble support of Upton and blames Grant, Meade, and Horatio G. Wright for sending contradictory orders. Rhea finds a more invidious cause for disharmony among...