A Want of Vigilance
The Bristoe Station Campaign, October 9-19, 1863
Will be published approx. on 19. October 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-61121-300-3 (ISBN)
Description
The months after Gettysburg had hardly been quiet-filled with skirmishes, cavalry clashes, and plenty of marching. Nonetheless, Union commander Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade had yet to come to serious blows with his Confederate counterpart, Gen. Robert E. Lee.
"Lee is undoubtedly bullying you," one of Meade's superiors goaded.
Lee's army-severely bloodied at Gettysburg-did not have quite the offensive capability it once possessed, yet Lee's aggressive nature could not be quelled. He looked for the chance to strike out at Meade.
In midOctober, 1863, both men shifted their armies into motion. Each surprised the other. Quickly, Meade found himself racing northward for safety along the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, with Lee charging up the rail line behind him.
Last stop: Bristoe Station.
Authors Robert Orrison and Bill Backus have worked at the Bristoe Station battlefield, which is now surrounded by one of the fastestgrowing parts of Virginia. In A Want of Vigilance, they trace the campaign from the armies' camps around Orange and Culpeper northwest through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and along the vital railroad-to Centreville and back-in a backandforth game of cat and mouse: the "goggleeyed snapping turtle" versus "the old gray fox" pitted against each other in one of the most overlooked periods of the war.
"Lee is undoubtedly bullying you," one of Meade's superiors goaded.
Lee's army-severely bloodied at Gettysburg-did not have quite the offensive capability it once possessed, yet Lee's aggressive nature could not be quelled. He looked for the chance to strike out at Meade.
In midOctober, 1863, both men shifted their armies into motion. Each surprised the other. Quickly, Meade found himself racing northward for safety along the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, with Lee charging up the rail line behind him.
Last stop: Bristoe Station.
Authors Robert Orrison and Bill Backus have worked at the Bristoe Station battlefield, which is now surrounded by one of the fastestgrowing parts of Virginia. In A Want of Vigilance, they trace the campaign from the armies' camps around Orange and Culpeper northwest through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and along the vital railroad-to Centreville and back-in a backandforth game of cat and mouse: the "goggleeyed snapping turtle" versus "the old gray fox" pitted against each other in one of the most overlooked periods of the war.
Reviews / Votes
...an excellent short summary of a complex but often overlooked period of the Civil War. The tactical stalemates of Bristoe and later Mine Run led to the reorganization of the Union war effort in the East and the subsequent Overland Campaign of the Spring and Summer of 1964. * Civil War News *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
El Dorado Hills
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
150 images and maps
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
249 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-61121-300-3 (9781611213003)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2019
Savas Beatie
€14.97
Available for download
Persons
Bill Backus researched and led the interpretation for the Bristoe Station battlefield. He currently works as a historian at a 19th century historic site in Northern Virginia. Robert Orrison is co-founder of Emerging Revolutionary War and has worked in the public history field for over 25 years. He currently serves as the Division Manager for the Prince William County (VA) Office of Historic Preservation. Some of his published works include A Single Blow: The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolution, A Want of Vigilance: The Bristoe Station Campaign, The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign, 1863, and To Hazard All: A Guide to the Maryland Campaign, 1862.