Cheap To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign (Book) (Stephen Sears) Price

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Customer Reviews of To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign

Clear, compelling description of a confusing campaign
"To the Gates of Richmond" provides an excellent description of the complicated and too-often-overlooked series of battles on the Peninsula before Richmond in early 1862. Sears brings the same matter-of-fact narrative style he used so effectively in the classic "Landscape Turned Red" and his more recent "Chancellorsville," while seasoning the story with ample quotations from diaries and letters of soldiers and officers who served in the campaign. The result is a clear description of a series of battles that were often both ill-conceived and poorly executed, without bogging down in a dry, minute-by-minute "microhistory" approach.

Sears's expertise on George McClellan is especially welcome here, and he provides damning evidence and hard but fair criticism of the competence of the "Young Napoleon", who was so afraid of losing a battle that he deliberately and repeatedly removed himself far away from the battlefield. He also provides considerable insight into the lapses of Stonewall Jackson, who was "not himself" during the Seven Days, and chronicles the rise of Robert E. Lee and the birth of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Finally, the book is also supplemented by clear (if somewhat amateurish) maps and a generous supply of contemporaneous sketches and watercolors by observers of the campaign. I highly recommend this as a very welcome addition to any Civil War bookshelf.

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Excellent History of Failed Opportunities
In To The Gates of Richmond : The Peninsula Campaign, Stephen W. Sears once again proves that he is the preeminent author of Civil War histories. Like his histories of the The Battle of Antietam in Landscape Turned Red or of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Sears has an enviable way of setting forth both the feel of the battles and the raw history that one needs to fully understand the battles and campaigns of the Civil War. In To The Gates of Richmond, Sears does a masterful job of describing the thought process of McClellan and Lee as well as the line soldiers on both sides. If one wants to get a true feel of what it was like to be on the Peninsula in 1862, then this is the book for you.

The theme of the book is lost opportunities for both the Union and the Confederacy. The Peninsula Campaign is probably the only time in the history of the Civil War where each side had an ability to end the conflict on terms that were advantageous. For the Union, a victory and the capture of Richmond, probably would also have resulted in the destruction of the main Southern Army. For the Confederacy, if Lee had been able to cut off and destroy the Union Army, as Lee wanted to do, the Union would have been left with no effective force to stop an advance on Washington. However, errors on both sides led to three more years of death and destruction.

For Lee it was the problem of a new command, with subordinates not of his own choosing and with many of those subordinates failing to live up to expectations. For Stonewall Jackson, the Peninsula Campaign was far from his finest hour. From failing to communicate with Lee, to not having his troops arrive on time, to not pushing forward where there was a clear advantage, Jackson's failures assisted the Union Army in escaping the 'traps' that were being set by Lee. However, the blame is not placed solely on Jackson and his fellow Generals. Sears properly criticizes Lee for his overly complicated battle plans, especially given his unfamiliarity with the command.

Sears greatest criticisms are rightfully saved for McClellan. Like in the Battle of Antietam, McClellan great caution turned a real numerical superiority into an imaginary disadvantage. Where McClellan should have been driving forward and bringing Lee to battle, his incorrect belief that he was outnumbered two to one forced him to take the defensive and almost led to the destruction of the Army that he truly loved. The plain fact is that McClellan may have been the right General to have formed the Army of the Potomac, but as a battlefield leader he was a disaster. From his ordering retreats when they were not necessary, to his failure to establish a clear chain of command during battles, to his penchant for not being in the field when battles were taking place, and for his failures to take advantage of opportunities presented him, Sears systematically outlines the deficiencies of the General that was once known as the Young Napoleon.

This is a very good book, especially for those who are interested in the personalities of those that led the armies into battle. It is very readable and draws a fine balance between presenting the facts that one needs to be aware of as well as the personalties of the leasers and common soldiers that fought the battles.

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Great Campaign Analysis
Sears (as usual) does a great job of covering all the logistics and numbers surrounding the lengthy Peninsula campaign, and it's necessary since the campaign's principal source, George Brinton McClellan, was deluding himself throughout 1862.

Each battle is covered in very good detail and the maps are easy enough to follow. Sears does a good job covering every folly, from Johnston's mixeded up plan for Seven Pines to McClellan's disgraceful disappearance act on the Galena.

As always, plenty of primary source information from the common soldier gives a good idea what the marches and other hardships were like. And every reader will put down the book completely disgusted with George McClellan.