In the early eastern theater of the American Civil War, the Northern and Southern armies saw little of combat and little of each other, with most of their military intelligence more akin to propaganda than objective fact. However, by 1862, both sides knew through bloody experience how the other could fight, though gaps in knowledge of the other's tactics and political strategies remained. Perhaps most important, Northern soldiers had by then spent significant time in the South, and as they witnessed firsthand the effects of slavery, their attitudes hardened toward the South. Covering all aspects of the war in Virginia in the first six months of 1862, Forward to Richmond treats the military actions in the Shenandoah Valley, the Piedmont, and the Peninsula as part of a theatre-wide campaign. Brian K. Burton goes beyond military events to also examine the political, social, and diplomatic interactions with military events, including the meetings of Union soldiers with Southern civilians and African Americans, ultimately leading to a turn away from conciliation and a beginning of a move toward support of emancipation.
List of Illustrations List of Maps Preface Acknowledgments Series Editors' Introduction Introduction 1. The Campaign Opens 2. Union Moves 3. Kernstown and Yorktown 4. Advances North and South 5. Jackson and Johnston 6. End and Beginning 7. Six Days in June 8. Malvern Hill and After Epilogue Notes Bibliographic Essay Index
"Brian Burton has given us a fascinating account of the contest in Virginia-chiefly between Lee and McClellan-during the one-year period when it seemed as if that most celebrated theater of conflict might decide the war's outcome. Thoughtful and rich in fascinating insights, Burton's book brings into sharp focus the things that period of fighting changed, the things it did not change, and the reasons why."-Steven E. Woodworth, author of Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns "An outstanding example of military history synthesis, incorporating modern Civil War scholarship in its military, social, and political aspects. It is an introductory volume whose intended audience includes both the well-informed enthusiast and the serious student."-Christopher S. Stowe, professor of military history, Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University "Brian Burton offers a straightforward analysis of the Civil War in Virginia during the first six months of 1862. Most unique to his work is the consideration of the theaters of the war (the Valley, the Piedmont, and the Peninsula) in one volume, demonstrating to readers how these campaigns were not independent and exclusive from one another. Burton's treatment of the Piedmont as less of a tertiary theater of war is an innovative and welcomed approach to a more nuanced understanding of the war in Virginia in 1862."-Jennifer M. Murray, author of On a Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2013
