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Original Title:	The Civil War: A Narrative (Volume 2, Fredericksburg to Meridian)
ISBN:	039474621X (ISBN13: 9780394746210)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	The Civil War #2
Literary Awards:	National Book Award Finalist for History and Biography (1964), Fletcher Pratt Award (1963)

The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (The Civil War #2)

Shelby Foote

Paperback | Pages: 976 pages

Rating: 4.52 | 5959 Users | 200 Reviews

Point Based On Books The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (The Civil War #2)

Title	:	The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (The Civil War #2)
Author	:	Shelby Foote
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 976 pages
Published	:	November 12th 1986 by Vintage (first published 1963)
Categories	:	History. Military History. Civil War. Nonfiction. North American Hi.... American History. War. American Civil War

Description Toward Books The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (The Civil War #2)

I took me three months to read the almost one thousand pages of The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian, the second volume in Shelby Foote’s trilogy. It was a great read considering all the battles minutely analyzed, and the many actors depicted and portrayed. Foote's marvelous narrative made this reading a real enjoyment. As in the first book, here Foote once again presents a detailed analyses of the political climate both in the North and the South, discusses the difficulties and challenges of Lincoln and Davies and how both leaders were able to deal with their respective roles as Commander-in-Chief. The first volume ended after the bloodbath of Antietam in the fall of 1862. This one takes up with events following the removal of the American commander, George McClellan, and his replacement by General Burnside in time to start off with the December 1862’s Fredricksburg and ending in the spring of 1864, with Grant taking command of the entire Union Army. The beginning for me might have been slow, but from the moment Foote starts to discuss two of the most decisive Union victories, Gettysburg and Vicksburg, I could not stop reading. I went straight to the end practically without stopping and merely breathing. That’s should be enough to tell you how much it enthralled me. The other major battle discussed was Chickamauga, a Southern victory which ruined the careers of two generals, Rosecrans and Bragg, and ended with Grant victorious at Chattanooga. Foote continues to use his great narrative style to full effect here. Early on when we read about Lincoln search for a commander for the Army of the Potomac:

Scott and McDowell, Pope and McClellan, and now Burnside: none of these was the killer he was seeking. Already he saw that this search was perhaps the major problem. All else – while, like Blondin, Lincoln threaded his way, burdened by untold treasures – was, in a sense, a biding of time until the unknown killer could be found. Somewhere he existed, and somewhere he would find him, this unidentified general who could face the grim arithmetic being scrawled in blood across these critical, tragic pages of the nation’s history.

It is a masterful book, with the concomitant analyses of developments occurring simultaneously in different theaters, both East and West. For the reader, it means not only a better organized telling, but also a more real understanding of what it was like for actual actors – military, politicians and civilians – to live through this nightmare. Thus, the reader will be reading about Grant's trials and tribulations in finding a way to attack the formidable Confederate defenses position of Vicksburg, Mississippi; while reading concomitantly about the contemporary conflicts between the Federal Army of the Potomac and Rebel Army of Northern Virginia as they fought at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in May and July of the same year. For the first time, the Union started to produce the victories that start to point out to a possible end of the war. The taking of Vicksburg was a great victory for Grant, while at Gettysburg, Lee was defeated by the newly appointed General Meade, after Lincoln had already gone through over a handful of generals. But the outcome of Gettysburg was basically the result of Lee’s mistake of attacking entrenched Union forces. Lee had gambled the chance of winning the day and the war in one sweep; the southern generals’ realization that the South could not hope to actually win the war unless he gained a major battle against the North seemed to have forced his hand.

The true total of Lee's losses in Pennsylvania could hardly have been less than 25,000 and quite possibly was far heavier; 28,063 was the figure computed by one meticulous student of such grisly matters, in which case the butcher's bill for Gettysburg, blue and gray together, exceeded 50,000 men. This was more than Shiloh and Sharpsburg combined, with Ball's Bluff and Belmont thrown in for good measure.

With Lee defeated, however, Meade failed to follow Lee's army in retreat and destroy it. Once more, a commander of the Army of the Potomac showed an acute lack of aggressiveness that until then proved to be one of the Union’s major shortcomings. Later we read about the fighting in the West, with the Federal capture of Chattanooga followed by the battles of Chickamauga Creek and Missionary Ridge in Tennessee and Northern Georgia. This is just a sample of how much Foote is able to handle at any given time. With the first loss by the Union, where Bragg defeated Rosecrans, Lincoln places Grant as the commander of the Union’s Western Army. Thus, the South’s momentum is broken. Grant once again showed the aggressiveness that was lacking in the East, by attacking Bragg’s position in the ridge and liberating the besieged Chattanooga. Foote ends this installment with Lincoln's decision to bring Grant to the East to command all the Union forces as the General-In-Chief. Lincoln, after going through with seven generals that proved not aggressive enough, had finally found his killer, the man to win the war.

Yonder began the campaign, Sherman was to say a quarter century later, standing before the hotel on the occasion of a visit to the Ohio city. "He was to go for Lee and I was to go for Joe Johnston. That was his plan."

Highly recommended!

Rating Based On Books The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (The Civil War #2)

Ratings: 4.52 From 5959 Users | 200 Reviews

Evaluation Based On Books The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (The Civil War #2)

I took me three months to read the almost one thousand pages of The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian, the second volume in Shelby Footes trilogy. It was a great read considering all the battles minutely analyzed, and the many actors depicted and portrayed. Foote's marvelous narrative made this reading a real enjoyment. As in the first book, here Foote once again presents a detailed analyses of the political climate both in the North and the South, discusses the difficulties and

The second volume (Fredericksburg to Meridian) of Shelby Footes magnificent The Civil War: A Narrative is a feast of biography, politics, military tactics, and a visceral exploration of the wrenching turning points in the conflict that still haunts America. As with the first volume, the story is told with a novelists precision, always drawing out the most poignant details. What makes this second volume even more enjoyable is that after spending so much time with the various personalities on both

My intention was to read the entire three volumes of Shelby Foote again during the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. That may yet happen, but as we approach the anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg I chose to read "The Stars in Their Courses" which is a small volume extracting the middle chapter of the middle volume of this giant work. This is the best discussion of the military actions at Gettysburg and you can feel which parts influence Michael Sharaa's "The Killer

This second in Footes trilogy of the war is a vast doorway into the stories of a myriad of people managing and perpetrating the American Civil War for most of the year 1863. Starting with Robert E. Lees Confederate successes in Virginia against Ambrose Burnside in Fredericksburg (Dec. 1862) and against Joe Hooker at Chancellorville in the Spring, the year proceeds toward a major turning of tables with Meades victory over Lee at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania and U.S. Grants final taking of Vicksburg

I started this series in 1997. I revisited vol. 1 in 2009. I went about reading this volume for a book club challenge to read a BIG BOOK for February 2020. I started in November... and I just finished. I will admit that I read other books during breaks (usually after each chapter/section). Was I bored? No! It is such a BIG BOOK that is a slow read. No skimming here. This series is simply one of the best set of books I have ever read. Here are a few bullets to explain:* This is a historical

Like the 1st volume, Shelby Foote's 2nd (of 3) volume of his massive The Civil War: A Narrative series is nearly 1000 pages countless details. These books are a truly amazing accomplishment. Foote has the gift of elegant writing, which makes it considerably easier to make it through such a vast series. If you want to dedicate a few months....or years....to learning about the Civil War, these books will do the job. If you only want to know this gist, I wouldn't go with any of these. However, the

As we finished the second volume in this trilogy on the Civil War I wondered who/what I am most amazed by: the War in all its many complexities which tore our nation apart, the man who wrote this book over 50 years ago when he was still in his 40s, or the incredible people (north and south) who fought, struggled, suffered and died for so many different reasons. The author, Shelby Foote, who died in 2005, believed that this war was central to us as Americans. As my husband and I listened to this