The campaign that made Robert E. Lee famous

A Selection of the History Book Club2011 AAUP Public and Secondary School Library Selection

The first campaign in the Civil War in which Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia, the Seven Days Battles were fought southeast of the Confederate capital of Richmond in the summer of 1862. Lee and his fellow officers, including "Stonewall" Jackson, James Longstreet, A. P. Hill, and D. H. Hill, pushed George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac from the gates of Richmond to the James River, where the Union forces reached safety. Along the way, Lee lost several opportunities to harm McClellan. The Seven Days have been the subject of numerous historical treatments, but none more detailed and engaging than Brian K. Burton's retelling of the campaign that lifted Southern spirits, began Lee's ascent to fame, and almost prompted European recognition of the Confederacy.

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A full and measured account marked by a clear narrative and an interesting strategy of alternating the testimony of generals with their grand plans and the foot soldiers who had to move, shoot, and communicate in the smoky underbrush.

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A well-written, thoroughly researched study of the Seven Days. . . . Provides thorough and reasonable analyses of the commanders on both sides.

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A welcome addition to scholarship that should be the standard work on its subject for some time to come.

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A thoroughly researched and well-written volume that will surely be the starting point for those interested in this particular campaign.