The Heart of Hell: The Soldiers' Struggle for Spotsylvania's Bloody Angle

Civil War America

by Jeffry D. Wert

The struggle over the fortified Confederate position known as Spotsylvania's Mule Shoe was without parallel during the Civil War. A Union assault that began at 4:30 A.M. on May 12, 1864, sparked brutal combat that lasted nearly twenty-four hours. By the time Grant’s forces withdrew, some 55,000 men from Union and Confederate armies had been drawn into the fury, battling in torrential rain along the fieldworks at distances often less than the length of a rifle barrel. One Union private recalled the fighting as a "seething, bubbling, soaring hell of hate and murder." By the time Lee's troops established a new fortified line in the predawn hours of May 13, some 17,500  officers and men from both sides had been killed, wounded, or captured when the fighting  ceased. The site of the most intense clashes became forever known as the Bloody Angle. 

Here, renowned military historian Jeffry D. Wert draws on the personal narratives of Union and Confederate troops who survived the fight  to offer a gripping story of Civil War combat at its most difficult. Wert’s  harrowing tale reminds us that the war’s story, often told through its commanders and campaigns, truly belonged to the common soldier.

Genres: Civil War, History, Military History, Nonfiction, American Civil War

328 pages, Hardcover

Published June 7, 2022

About the author

American historian and author specializing in the American Civil War. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Lock Haven University, and a M.A. from The Pennsylvania State University, both in History. He worked for many years as a history teacher at Penns Valley Area High School in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of a campaign study than a traditional battle narrative, this book was still immensely rewarding. The author describes for us the epic encounter at the Mule Shoe; a contest between armies that eventually became a vicious combat between individuals. The thing I liked most about the book was the large number of maps included; they helped me visualize what was happening as the battle progressed. While I would recommend this book to buffs, I would say it is too nuanced for the general reader. But still a worthy effort.

[Ron Baumer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a truly inspirational read! The conditions and horrors these brave men endured was truly inspiring. The author made good use of quotes from participants to give you the feel of being in the middle of the action. This is a great read and a must read for the civil war enthusiast. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every now and then you read a book that makes you just sit back and go "OH MY GOODNESS." I am reviewing this, even though I have not fully finished the book - the link expired before I could finish reading. While I was wanting to read more - it was hard to read on the computer after spending hours each day in meetings. I have this on my list to buy when it releases.

I have always enjoyed the Civil War, and finding books about battles in the area where I live are just that much better - as I can share the history with my kids as we walk the sites.
The amount of research done by Jeffry Wert was amazing, and I was blown away by the flow of the book, the ease of the read, and the information that was presented.

The battle for Spotsy Courthouse was one that was brutal and bloody- and through the portion of the book that I was able to read before it expired, I was truly hooked. Using a variety of sources, and reconstructing the battle itself, this book is one that all Civil War history buffs are going to want to add to their shelves.

I look forward to purchasing and finishing the read! This is one that I will be recommending my students pick up for their book reviews.

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great look at the assault on the "Mule Shoe" salient on May 12, 1984 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Wert does a fantastic job and conveying the horror of war and the horrors of the aftermath of the battle. Descriptions of the dead and wounded in the aftermath of the battle were horrible and I appreciated that Wert did not shy away from showing the readers the true result of Civil War combat.

Overall a fantastic book and one any Civil War buff should read. Could not recommend this book enough.

[Kenneth Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book detailing the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in May,1864. Grant has taken over the Army of the Potomac replacing Meade. Grant keeps Meade on as titular head of the army. Grant has taken his usual agressive approach and wants to keep pressure on Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. The two armies had just met in the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5 & 6. Grant is trying to be Lee the Spotslvania Courthouse situated on an important crossroad on the way to Richmond. However Lee gets there first and his troops build fortifications to stop the Union forces. In the defensive line there is a bulge that leaves Confederate forces vulnerable. It is around this bulge that the main battle takes place. Gracnt orders his troops to attack the bulge in a frontal assault. The fierce fighting centers on an area called the Bloody Angle or the Mule Shoe. The Federal troops initially break through the Confederate fortifications, but the Rebels counter attack and drive the Federals back. The entire battle consists of charges and counter charges by each side. The fighting is often hand to hand and the losses on each side are horrific. It is the bloodiest battle of the war so far.
What makes the book so interesting is the use of primary sources. The author uses letters, memoirs and newspapers to describe the action and emotions of the soldiers and officers who did the fighting. The author also provides biographies of the men and officers. The reader feels like he is a part of the action being described. The book lets the reader know the horror that is war.

[Steve DeViney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written, researched and notable addition to better understand the terrible cost of the conflict fought over the four years of the Civil War. As was seen during the battle at Gettysburg in July 1863, once again two armies stumbled into battle which extracted a terrible cost. What started at The Wilderness a week earlier, then moved to Spotsylvania Courthouse where fully a third of the 55,000 participants ended up dead, wounded, captured and simply missing, their bodies turned into just a mass of unrecognizable flesh. Even for those who survived on both sides of this conflict one wonders what cost the experience claimed from their remaining lives.

For me, this book was especially personal as my great, great grandfather Private Robert Devinney was a member of the 12th North Carolina that fought in the Bloody Angle. He was captured on May 12th, survived 3 months at the Point Lookout prison camp; then another 3+ months at Camp Elmira before he died there of disease, starvation and the cold on December 4, 1864.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

328 pages

5 stars

I gave this book five stars even though I have not read it.

Try as I might, I could not get it to download. I even reinstalled Adobe Reader on my computer. It wouldn’t open it. It doesn’t appear on the NetGalley Shelf or on my Kindle. After quite some time, I gave up.

I apologize.

I want to thank NetGalley and the University of North Carolina Press for attempting to forward this book to me.

[CASPER HILEMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeffry D. Wert once again provides the details in a compelling and visceral way. In the Spring of 1864, 170,000 men of both the Union and Confederate Army would descend on Spotsylvania Virginia in the second battle of the "Overland Campaign." Inconclusive in the outcome other than the 30,000 dead and wounded men Wert has put this battle in the greater bloody mosaic of the American Civil War and the lead up to Union victory in April of 1865.

[Tony Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well researched, well written book about a less well known episode of the American civil war. It is a harrowing read, the sacrifice and bravery of the soldiers of both sides is well described.
It gives an an awful presage of the horrors that will haunt the Western front.

[W Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know what it was like for the common soldier at the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania here is the book. Jeff Wert brings you into the grinding he’ll of combat from their point of view. This is a must read.

[Bob Coté · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Yet another excellent addition to the expanding canon of modern American Civil War scholarship. The depth of research is amazing. A great supplement to Gordon Rhea’s incredible five volume treatise of the Overland Campaign.

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review forthcoming.

[Richard Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Well written book great read. I Especially enjoyed the acknowledgments chapter takes a lot for research to write a book of this magnitude.

[James Council · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best civil war books I have read.

[Michael Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not fully understand the bloodshed unleashed at the bloody angle, this a great quick read filled with information including what happened to the land years after the battle.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book and full of first hand accounts. The book flowed nicely and provided an intimate look into the one of the most violent days of the Civil War.