Glory Enough for All: Sheridan's Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station.

by Eric J. Wittenberg

After the ferocious fighting at Cold Harbor, Virginia, in June 1864, Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered his cavalry, commanded by Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, to distract the Confederate forces opposing the Army of the Potomac. Glory Enough for All chronicles the battle that resulted when Confederate cavalry pursued and caught their Federal foes at Trevilian Station, Virginia, perhaps the only truly decisive cavalry battle of the American Civil War. Eric J. Wittenberg tells the stories of the men who fought there, including eight Medal of Honor winners and one Confederate whose death at Trevilian Station made him the third of three brothers to die in the service of Company A of the Fourth Virginia Cavalry. He also addresses the little-known but critical cavalry battle at Samaria (Saint Mary's) Church on June 24, 1864, where Union Brig. Gen. David N. Gregg's division was nearly destroyed. The only modern strategic analysis of the battle, Glory Enough for All challenges prevailing interpretations of General Sheridan and of the Union cavalry. Wittenberg shows that the outcome of Trevilian Station ultimately prolonged Grant's efforts to end the Civil War.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, Military History, Civil War Eastern Theater, American History, History, Military Fiction

389 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2001

About the author

Eric J. Wittenberg is an American Civil War historian, author, lecturer, tour guide and battlefield preservationist. He is a practicing attorney in downtown Columbus, Ohio. His published works have focused especially on the Civil War cavalryman and the cavalry battles of the Civil War, with emphasis on the Army of the Potomac's Cavalry Corps

Reviews

[Josh Liller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glory Enough For All covers the four-week cavalry campaign in Virginia in June 1864 between Phil Sheridan and Wade Hampton. About half the book covers the fighting at the titular Battle of Trevilian Station, the largest all-cavalry battle of the American Civil War. Also covered are subsequent unnamed fighting around White House Landing and the Battle of Samaria Church.

The book is extensively research and cited. It was and remains the most comprehensive account of the battle and campaign. The extensive coverage if the rest of the campaign after the climactic battle are the kind of thing many other authors would skim over. Besides the main narrative, the closing chapter provides an extensive assessment.

I read the original softcover edition of this book from 2002 because I picked up for only a few bucks at a used book sale. The book was later reprinted in 2007 by University of Nebraska Press. Considering the improvements to two of the author's other books when they received revised editions published by Savas Beatie, I strongly recommend getting that newer edition as it likely addresses some of my criticisms of this book. (It's 50 pages longer so clearly revisions were made.)

Eric Wittenberg became a prolific writer of Civil War cavalry history. However, this is one of his earliest and longest works, and ends up being one of his weakest. It's not bad, but it's a little dry and it feels like he wanted to include every anecdote and first-person experience he could. I think the readability would have benefited from further editing and trimming. The book also feels longer because it's devoid of any section breaks within chapters, no matter how much sense they make due to shifts in the narrative. This is a pet peeve of mind, especially for slow reads, as it makes it hard to find good places to stop and remember where you left off.

The battle maps are basic. The campaign maps are dreadful, only showing rivers and place names - not actually indicating the locations of any units or their movements!

I'd give this 2.5 stars if I could, but I'll round up due to the quality of the research. It's a significant work on a battle that has largely been overlooked in the historiography, despite its size and strategic implications. The research and analysis top notch.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best written book, but interesting all the same.