May 1864. The Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia spent three days in brutal close-quarter combat in the Wilderness that left the tangled thickets aflame. No one could have imagined a more infernal battlefieldâuntil the armies moved down the road to Spotsylvania Court House. Even the march itself was unprecedented. For three years the armies had fought battles and disengaged after each one. That pattern changed on the night of May 7. Instead of leaving the Wilderness to regroup, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant led the Federal army southward, skirmishing with Confederates all the way. âThere will be no turning back,â he had declared. He lived up to his word. By dawn on May 8, the armies had tussled their way ten miles down the road and opened another large-scale fight that would last until May 21. âOne thing is certain of this campaign thus far,â explained Dr. Daniel Holt of the 121st New York: âMore blood has been shed, more lives lost, and more human suffering undergone than ever before in a season.â The fighting launched a score of new place-names and events that would sear themselves into the American consciousness, such as Spindle Field, Uptonâs assault, the Mule Shoe, the Bloody Angle, and the Harris Farm. The casualties exacted at Spotsylvania exceeded those of the Wilderness by thousands. The fighting severely tested the offensive capabilities of Gen. Robert E. Leeâs Southern army, just as the defensive posture his men embraced would, in turn, test the limits of Federal endurance. A Tempest of Iron and Lead: Spotsylvania Court House, May 8â21, 1864 is a comprehensive and comprehensible study of this endlessly fascinating campaign. Author Chris Mackowski is intimately familiar with the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. He is a former historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, and he continues to give tours of the battlefield as the historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the battlefieldâs eastern front. His meticulous knowledge of the landscape and familiarity with primary source materials, earned over nearly two decadesâcoupled with outstanding maps and helpful imagesâcreate a readable and satisfying single-volume account the campaign has so richly deserved.
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