From the Mountains to the Bay - (Modern War Studies) by Ethan S Rafuse (Hardcover)

About the Book

"From January to July of 1862, the armies and navies of the Union and Confederacy conducted an incredibly complex and remarkably diverse range of operations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under the direction of leaders like Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, George McClellan, Joseph E. Johnston, John Rodgers, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Buchanan, Irvin McDowell, and Louis M. Goldsborough, men of the Union and Confederate armed forces marched over mountains and through sweeping valleys, maneuvered on and along great tidal rivers, bridged and waded their tributaries, battled malarial swamps, dug trenches and constructed fortifications, and advanced and retreated in search of operational and tactical advantage. In the course of these operations, the North demonstrated it had learned quite a bit from its setbacks of 1861 and was able to achieve significant operational and tactical success on both land and sea. This enabled Union arms to bring a considerable portion of Virginia under Federal control--in some cases temporarily and in others permanently. Indeed, at points during the spring and early summer of 1862, it appeared the North just might succeed in bringing about the defeat of the rebellion before the year was out. The factors that placed the Union war effort in a position in late May 1862 where this seemed by no means an unrealistic hope--even though, as subsequent events would demonstrate, the military balance in Virginia was beginning to tilt more favorably for the Confederacy--are the subject of this study, the first in a two-volume account of the war in Virginia during the first seven and a half months of 1862"--

Book Synopsis

From January to July of 1862, the armies and navies of the Union and Confederacy conducted an incredibly complex and remarkably diverse range of operations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under the direction of leaders like Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George McClellan, Joseph E. Johnston, John Rodgers, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Buchanan, Irvin McDowell, and Louis M. Goldsborough, men of the Union and Confederate armed forces marched over mountains and through shallow valleys, maneuvered on and along great tidal rivers, bridged and waded their tributaries, battled malarial swamps, dug trenches and constructed fortifications, and advanced and retreated in search of operational and tactical advantage.

In the course of these operations, the North demonstrated it had learned quite a bit from its setbacks of 1861 and was able to achieve significant operational and tactical success on both land and sea. This enabled Union arms to bring a considerable portion of Virginia under Federal control--in some cases temporarily and in others permanently. Indeed, at points during the spring and early summer of 1862, it appeared the North just might succeed in bringing about the defeat of the rebellion before the year was out.

A sweeping study of the operations on land and sea, From the Mountains to the Bay is the only modern scholarly work that looks at the operations that took place in Virginia in early 1862, from the Romney Campaign that opened the year to the naval engagement between the Monitor and Merrimac to the movements and engagements fought by Union and Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley, on the York-James Peninsula, and in northern Virginia, as a single, comprehensive campaign.

Rafuse draws from extensive research in primary sources to provide a fast-paced, complete account of operations throughout Virginia, while also incorporating findings of recent scholarship on the factors that shaped these campaigns. The work provides invaluable insights into the factors and individuals who shaped these operations, how they influenced the course of the war, the relationships between political leaders and men in uniform, and how all these factors affected the development and execution of strategy, operations, and tactics.

Review Quotes

"This book will quickly become required reading for all students of the Civil War."--Emerging Civil War

"This latest study should become a standard for any historians seeking a clear and concise explanation of a pivotal period during the conflict."--Journal of Southern History

"A worthy addition to Civil War literature and a solid interpretation of this critical five months of conflict."--Journal of the Shendandoah Valley during the Civil War Era

"This book is a masterful retelling of the momentous events of early 1862 in Virginia. A must read for all Civil War students and buffs."--New York Military Affairs Symposium

"Rafuse supplies his readers with excellent summaries of the Romney Expedition, the battles of Kernstown and McDowell, siege operations along the Yorktown-Warwick River line, the large clash at Williamsburg, and everything in between. The military and political factors involved in the high command decision-making of both sides is expertly chronicled, and the strong emphasis placed on their interconnectivity is elucidated to great satisfaction."--Civil War Books and Authors

"Prodigiously researched, eloquently crafted, and engaging, historian Ethan Rafuse's From the Mountains to the Bay offers a fresh perspective and cogent analysis of operations throughout the Old Dominion during 1862's first five months. For anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the fighting in Virginia during this period, Rafuse's study is essential."--Jonathan A. Noyalas, author of Slavery and Freedom in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War Era

"Remarkably, there is no other modern work of scholarship that weaves all the operations in Virginia together. Rafuse provides a comprehensive view, with strong attention to politics, the media, African Americans, civilian perspectives, and effects on civilians. His detailed military analysis emphasizes the delays imposed by weather and logistics, with critical but nuanced assessments of the commanders on both sides. A model holistic campaign study."--Samuel J. Watson, professor of history at the United States Military Academy and author of Peacekeepers and Conquerors: The Army Officer Corps on the American Frontier, 1821-1846

"In this sweeping survey of what was happening in Virginia during the spring of 1862, Ethan Rafuse ties together several major campaigns as they related to each other and to the course of the Civil War itself. These were, as he points out, the largest connected series of campaigns attempted by Federal commanders thus far in the conflict, and they affected civilian populations in the region nearly as much as they affected the officers and enlisted men. Union and Confederate operations in western Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and on the Peninsula from January to May 1862 are discussed as a unit, and for the first time we can see the whole picture thanks to this sharply written, well organized, and enlightening book."--Earl J. Hess, author of Civil War Supply and Strategy: Feeding Men and Moving Armies