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The Civil War #8
Lee Takes Command: From Seven Days to Second Bull Run
A gripping, comprehensive account of the Civil War, including eyewitness testimony, profiles of key personalities, period photographs, illustrations and artifacts, and detailed battle maps. Fully researched, superbly written.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 2, 2021
This book was similar to Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign 'Decoying The Yanks' book number 6 in the series. It starts out with an abbreviated biographical account of Robert E. Lee and moves into him assuming command during the war. This book was very good and I felt it was denser than the others. There is a lot of material presented in the publishing standard 176 pages. This one had again great photographs, paintings/sketches, and colored maps. This book ends with the battle of Second Bull Run.
I would highly recommend any of the books from this series to American Civil War readers. I like how they are very informative, non-biased, and clearly presented. Thanks!
I would highly recommend any of the books from this series to American Civil War readers. I like how they are very informative, non-biased, and clearly presented. Thanks!
August 27, 2025
The suspense before reading about the battles is edge of your seat.
The old photos are fascinating. Amazing.
The old photos are fascinating. Amazing.
July 1, 2018
When Gen. Johnston was seriously injured on the first day of the Battle of Seven Pines, the door was opened for Robert E. Lee, military adviser to the Confederate President, to become the field commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Lee would begin his tenure of command ardently reorganizing and supplying the troubled army, and desperately planning the last ditch defense of the Rebel capital. Within just a few weeks, he and his army would be camped on the outskirts of the Yankee capital, Virginia would be cleared of Federal forces, and Lee was planning to invade Maryland. The fact that he did this at a mighty numerical and material disadvantage makes his accomplishments all the more noteworthy.
This was decent volume in the Time Life Civil War collectors set, though having it written by a team of editors shows as the narrative lacks the flair of a William C. Davis who wrote several of the earlier titles. Still, it was a good book, and perhaps the most 'action' filled of all the volumes in the large series.
Following the bloody draw at Seven Pines, McClellan had most of the Corps' of the AoP across the Chickahominy, and inching their way towards Richmond. McClellan's right flank, however, was still on the eastern side of the river, and Lee looked to decoy the Union force to his front with a small measure of his force, while he crossed the Chickahominy with the main part of the ANV and fell upon McClellan's isolated right flank.
Thus was born the 7 Days campaign, a brutal week long series of engagements that hammered away at McClellan's right flank, and steadily forced him to withdraw southwards away from Richmond and towards the James River.
However, the campaign was a Rebel tragicomedy of errors, and McClellan's careful planning from months earlier, wherein he understood that he placed himself in a position where the Southerners had no choice but to charge his guns, ensured that Lee and the ANV paid a steep price for victory. Lee did manage to force McClellan into a defensive posture at Harrison's Landing, covered by the guns of the US Navy, and he had saved Richmond. But the cost was dreadful with 20,000 Confederate soldiers killed or injured. Federal losses were roughly 17,000, with nearly 6,000 of those prisoners(meaning McClellan's methodology led to a nearly 2-1 kill ratio against the Rebels in terms of actual killing, never again would the North inflict a favorable kill ratio on the Rebels).
Despite this genuinely tremendous victory, Lee and the CSA were still in danger.
A new Federal army, the Army of Virginia, was formed around the Rapidan River from the various Union forces who had failed to trap Jackson in the Shenandoah earlier in the spring. Their commander, John Pope, while an effusive braggart and a man who determined to make war on Southern civilians, posed enough of a danger that Lee felt he had but no choice but to gamble with the capital's safety and try to make out Pope's dispositions.
Sending Jackson's Corps on a reconnaissance in force above the Rapidan, Lee forced Pope to hastily concentrate his forces. On 9 August, at Cedar Mountain, Jackson meant to strike Nathaniel Bank's isolated Corps, but Bank's struck first. The short yet sharp battle ended in another victory for Stonewall, but realizing that Pope was concentrating his whole force to face him, Jackson fell back beyond the Rapidan to cover Richmond from the north.
Lee realized he had to risk everything or else face being scorched between two fires. Thankfully the Lincoln Administration, again, made the Rebels decision far easier by ordering McClellan's army to board transports for a sea lift to Fredericksburg to unite behind the Rapidan with Pope.
Lee determined to strike northwards to drive Pope beyond the Rapidan.
Here the editors who wrote this fell into the typical Lee worship/Pope bashing that clouds the narrative of the 2nd Manassas Campaign. While Lee was genuinely a great general, Pope did a credible job of frustrating Lee at every turn to attempt to pry Pope away from the line of the Rappahannock. In fact the near disaster that befell Jubal Early's Division when it crossed the river only to be partially surrounded by rapid moving Federal reserves is entirely absent from the text! Lee was so frustrated after the Confederates managed to rescue Early's Division that he seriously considered having to resume the defensive.
Instead Rebel persistence, and Washington's desire to have Pope unite with McClellan's landing forces at Fredericksburg won the line of the Rapidan as Pope took up a new position behind the Rappahannock.
Here Lee made the fateful decision that won the campaign and changed the nature of the War Between the States.
Lee would divide his army, sending Jackson's lighter Corps on a wide swinging march to cut in behind Pope's Army and interpose himself between Pope and McClellan and Washington, destroying Federal resources along the way. Longstreet's heavier Corps would follow in Jackson's wake, marching behind the cover the Bull Run mountains to descend to unite with Jackson, hopefully, into a divided Federal force which could be defeated in detail.
The ensuing campaign was perhaps the most brilliant of the whole war.
Jackson indeed swept into Pope's rear, the breakdown of the Federal communications this caused meant that the Union high command lost track of Jackson's Corps entirely, and Stonewall's men had a merry time ransacking the Yankee's supply depots before punching the head of Pope's advancing columns in pursuit at Groveton.
At Groveton, on 26 August, 1862 the 2nd Battle of Manassas began with a furious standup fight that forced Jackson to fall back to a defensive position taken behind an unfinished railroad grade that created a ready made, mile and a half long military trench and parapet position.
Pope, who had completely broken down in his focus by this point, was unsure as to Jackson's exact whereabouts, and for a whole day a series of disjointed, but determined, brigade and division sized assaults pounded Jackson's Corps, all the while Longstreet filed his Corps alongside Jackson to extend the Southern right flank. On the third day Pope, finally realizing he faced Stonewall's entire Corps, determined to crush it, and ordered Porter's V Corps (from the AoP) as well as Rickett's Division of the AoV to crush Jackson's right.
However, Pope refused to believe Longstreet was on the field, and his stacking of the deck to punch through Jackson's right(which by now was really the Rebel center), had denuded his own left flank, and when Jackson's Corps held, if barely, Longstreet's Corps launched the largest American infantry assault to be undertaken on a single field until the Meuse-Argonne in WW1. Longstreet's Corps annihilated Pope's left flank in a single blow, and the entire Federal army began to break apart and stream towards the crossing points across Bull Run.
The Federals fought two desperate rearguards, first at Chinn Ridge which was taken by furious assault from Longstreet's Rebels, and Henry House Hill which likewise was abandoned following the hammering delivered by the victorious Confederates. Still, those two rearguards sapped the momentum of the Confederate offensive, and ensured that while 2nd Bull Run was indeed a crushing Union defeat, it was not a disaster.
16,000 Union and 9,000 Rebel young men were lost in the three days of 2nd Manassas, and Lee's victory here would in time be seen as his masterpiece, and a prime example of the American art of war. The Rebel victory here also saw Pope relieved of command, and McClellan given command over the now consolidated forces which made up the Army of the Potomac.
And Lee would soon invade Maryland to take the war north of Washington.
All in all this was a very good book. Mostly well written, and very fast paced considering how many battles were covered in this volume. Despite the flaws I mentioned this could also stand as a decent brief overview of Lee's initial campaign.
Highly recommended.
Lee would begin his tenure of command ardently reorganizing and supplying the troubled army, and desperately planning the last ditch defense of the Rebel capital. Within just a few weeks, he and his army would be camped on the outskirts of the Yankee capital, Virginia would be cleared of Federal forces, and Lee was planning to invade Maryland. The fact that he did this at a mighty numerical and material disadvantage makes his accomplishments all the more noteworthy.
This was decent volume in the Time Life Civil War collectors set, though having it written by a team of editors shows as the narrative lacks the flair of a William C. Davis who wrote several of the earlier titles. Still, it was a good book, and perhaps the most 'action' filled of all the volumes in the large series.
Following the bloody draw at Seven Pines, McClellan had most of the Corps' of the AoP across the Chickahominy, and inching their way towards Richmond. McClellan's right flank, however, was still on the eastern side of the river, and Lee looked to decoy the Union force to his front with a small measure of his force, while he crossed the Chickahominy with the main part of the ANV and fell upon McClellan's isolated right flank.
Thus was born the 7 Days campaign, a brutal week long series of engagements that hammered away at McClellan's right flank, and steadily forced him to withdraw southwards away from Richmond and towards the James River.
However, the campaign was a Rebel tragicomedy of errors, and McClellan's careful planning from months earlier, wherein he understood that he placed himself in a position where the Southerners had no choice but to charge his guns, ensured that Lee and the ANV paid a steep price for victory. Lee did manage to force McClellan into a defensive posture at Harrison's Landing, covered by the guns of the US Navy, and he had saved Richmond. But the cost was dreadful with 20,000 Confederate soldiers killed or injured. Federal losses were roughly 17,000, with nearly 6,000 of those prisoners(meaning McClellan's methodology led to a nearly 2-1 kill ratio against the Rebels in terms of actual killing, never again would the North inflict a favorable kill ratio on the Rebels).
Despite this genuinely tremendous victory, Lee and the CSA were still in danger.
A new Federal army, the Army of Virginia, was formed around the Rapidan River from the various Union forces who had failed to trap Jackson in the Shenandoah earlier in the spring. Their commander, John Pope, while an effusive braggart and a man who determined to make war on Southern civilians, posed enough of a danger that Lee felt he had but no choice but to gamble with the capital's safety and try to make out Pope's dispositions.
Sending Jackson's Corps on a reconnaissance in force above the Rapidan, Lee forced Pope to hastily concentrate his forces. On 9 August, at Cedar Mountain, Jackson meant to strike Nathaniel Bank's isolated Corps, but Bank's struck first. The short yet sharp battle ended in another victory for Stonewall, but realizing that Pope was concentrating his whole force to face him, Jackson fell back beyond the Rapidan to cover Richmond from the north.
Lee realized he had to risk everything or else face being scorched between two fires. Thankfully the Lincoln Administration, again, made the Rebels decision far easier by ordering McClellan's army to board transports for a sea lift to Fredericksburg to unite behind the Rapidan with Pope.
Lee determined to strike northwards to drive Pope beyond the Rapidan.
Here the editors who wrote this fell into the typical Lee worship/Pope bashing that clouds the narrative of the 2nd Manassas Campaign. While Lee was genuinely a great general, Pope did a credible job of frustrating Lee at every turn to attempt to pry Pope away from the line of the Rappahannock. In fact the near disaster that befell Jubal Early's Division when it crossed the river only to be partially surrounded by rapid moving Federal reserves is entirely absent from the text! Lee was so frustrated after the Confederates managed to rescue Early's Division that he seriously considered having to resume the defensive.
Instead Rebel persistence, and Washington's desire to have Pope unite with McClellan's landing forces at Fredericksburg won the line of the Rapidan as Pope took up a new position behind the Rappahannock.
Here Lee made the fateful decision that won the campaign and changed the nature of the War Between the States.
Lee would divide his army, sending Jackson's lighter Corps on a wide swinging march to cut in behind Pope's Army and interpose himself between Pope and McClellan and Washington, destroying Federal resources along the way. Longstreet's heavier Corps would follow in Jackson's wake, marching behind the cover the Bull Run mountains to descend to unite with Jackson, hopefully, into a divided Federal force which could be defeated in detail.
The ensuing campaign was perhaps the most brilliant of the whole war.
Jackson indeed swept into Pope's rear, the breakdown of the Federal communications this caused meant that the Union high command lost track of Jackson's Corps entirely, and Stonewall's men had a merry time ransacking the Yankee's supply depots before punching the head of Pope's advancing columns in pursuit at Groveton.
At Groveton, on 26 August, 1862 the 2nd Battle of Manassas began with a furious standup fight that forced Jackson to fall back to a defensive position taken behind an unfinished railroad grade that created a ready made, mile and a half long military trench and parapet position.
Pope, who had completely broken down in his focus by this point, was unsure as to Jackson's exact whereabouts, and for a whole day a series of disjointed, but determined, brigade and division sized assaults pounded Jackson's Corps, all the while Longstreet filed his Corps alongside Jackson to extend the Southern right flank. On the third day Pope, finally realizing he faced Stonewall's entire Corps, determined to crush it, and ordered Porter's V Corps (from the AoP) as well as Rickett's Division of the AoV to crush Jackson's right.
However, Pope refused to believe Longstreet was on the field, and his stacking of the deck to punch through Jackson's right(which by now was really the Rebel center), had denuded his own left flank, and when Jackson's Corps held, if barely, Longstreet's Corps launched the largest American infantry assault to be undertaken on a single field until the Meuse-Argonne in WW1. Longstreet's Corps annihilated Pope's left flank in a single blow, and the entire Federal army began to break apart and stream towards the crossing points across Bull Run.
The Federals fought two desperate rearguards, first at Chinn Ridge which was taken by furious assault from Longstreet's Rebels, and Henry House Hill which likewise was abandoned following the hammering delivered by the victorious Confederates. Still, those two rearguards sapped the momentum of the Confederate offensive, and ensured that while 2nd Bull Run was indeed a crushing Union defeat, it was not a disaster.
16,000 Union and 9,000 Rebel young men were lost in the three days of 2nd Manassas, and Lee's victory here would in time be seen as his masterpiece, and a prime example of the American art of war. The Rebel victory here also saw Pope relieved of command, and McClellan given command over the now consolidated forces which made up the Army of the Potomac.
And Lee would soon invade Maryland to take the war north of Washington.
All in all this was a very good book. Mostly well written, and very fast paced considering how many battles were covered in this volume. Despite the flaws I mentioned this could also stand as a decent brief overview of Lee's initial campaign.
Highly recommended.
July 24, 2021
Another well written history of the period from the battles of Mechanicsville all the way to Second Manassas.
January 10, 2020
As far as I can tell, this was accurate and while dry in the history aspect of it, I loved it. I loved seeing how Lee progressed during the war and seeing the various tactics used thru the war. That said, the Civil War was incredibly difficult for our country and while people may dislike it, you can't cut history out.
It was well-written and historically accurate. And honestly? I'd never seen some of the tactics that were used. I was fond of some of the shorter bits in the book detailing aspects of other officers.
It was well-written and historically accurate. And honestly? I'd never seen some of the tactics that were used. I was fond of some of the shorter bits in the book detailing aspects of other officers.
May 28, 2019
Great detail and pictures in this slice of history.
June 16, 2020
Another volume in the Time-Life series about the Civil War. Photos and art are always excellent. The maps are a bit busy.
September 18, 2016
This is a riveting biography of the great leader and military strategic genius. Albeit he was a rebel leader, the man's brilliance in warfare must be admitted and studied. This is a slid account of that.
September 16, 2021
Rather brief overview of two important campaigns, with a heavy emphasis on period photographs. Since it doesn't go into a lot of detail, it seems to better suited for people just beginning to get interested in the Civil War.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews