Trench Warfare under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign (Civil War America) by Earl J. Hess

The Overland Campaign of 1864 brought a new kind of combat to the American Civil War. Instead of armies maneuvering in search of decisive battle, followed by a period of resting and refitting, the confrontation between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee evolved into a series of clashes that lasted nearly seven weeks, with the armies shifting from just below the Rapidan River all the way to the James River and beyond. One of the most prominent features of the campaign was the widespread use of field fortifications. In this volume, which covers the period from the opening of the campaign to the stalemate at Cold Harbor, Earl J. Hess offers the most detailed explanation yet of the evolution of trench warfare during the war in Virginia. As Hess convincingly demonstrates, the use of field fortifications underwent a fundamental shift during the Overland Campaign, although he adds that it would be a mistake to conclude that soldiers on both sides had never before constructed fieldworks. Wh