Defeating Lee A History of the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac [Paperback]

Fair Oaks, the Seven Days, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Petersburgthe list of significant battles fought by the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, is a long and distinguished one. This absorbing history of the Second Corps follows the unit's creation and rise to prominence, the battles that earned it a reputation for hard fighting, and the legacy its veterans sought to maintain in the years after the Civil War. More than an account of battles, Defeating Lee gets to the heart of what motivated these men, why they fought so hard, and how they sustained a spirited defense of cause and country long after the guns had fallen silent.

Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
1. Beginnings: The Organization of the Second Corps
2. Apprenticeship: The Peninsula and Maryland Campaigns
3. Defeat: The Fredericksburg Campaign
4. Pinnacle: The Winter Encampment of 1863 through the Gettysburg Campaign
5. Rebuilding: Bristoe Station to Stevensburg
6. Carnage: The Overland Campaign
7. Victory: The Petersburg and Appomattox Campaigns
8. Memories: The Postwar Era
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index

The author has an easy to read informative style that made the pages fly. His word portraits make lesser-known names into real people. . . . This is a well-written book with all the items that are expected in a serious history.7/6/2011

Lawrence A. Kreiser, Jr., is Associate Professor of History at Stillman College and author (with Ray B. Browne) of Voices of Civil War America: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life.

Attractively organized and well written, Defeating Lee deserves its place as a staple in any library on the Army of the Potomac, large or small.Overall, this is a most worthy effort and should be included in the library of every fan of unit histories.Kreiser breathes new life into this most important of Union Army units. . . . A remarkably well-written and superbly researched account.2012 AAUP Publ3Ð