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America's Bloodiest Battles
Among all the killing fields of the Civil War, certain battlegrounds have earned the right to be called legendary: Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg and Cold Harbor.With a level of destruction and a rate of casualties unprecedented in American military history, each of these clashes played a pivotal role in shaping the course and the ultimate outcome of the war between the states.Civil War Combat offers a dramatic look at the most significant and brutal battles of America's bloodiest era..
The Wheatfield At Gettysburg
Until July 1863, most of the major battles of the Civil War had been fought on Confederate soil.General Robert E. Lee was thus determined to bring the fighting to the North.Lee launched his attack in Pennsylvania, despite poor intelligence reports that left him unaware of Union troop movements.After initial success against Northern troops, Lee allowed his exhausted army to rest -- giving Union forces vital time to dig in.When the two armies finally clashed near Gettysburg, the battle of "The Wheatfield" saw soldiers fighting literally hand-to hand.This battle remains one of the most dramatic scenes in American military history.
The Tragedy Of Cold Harbor
In the Spring of 1864, President Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant commander of all Union armies.Relentlessly pursuing Lee's forces, Grant finally caught up with him outside of Richmond, Virginia, near a dusty crossroads tavern known as Cold Harbor.On June 3rd, Grant attacked, sending his troops into what some called a suicidal assault against the well-entrenched Confederate armies -- and lost over seven thousand men in just twenty minutes.According to one Rebel officer observing the slaughter, "It wasn
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