Bloody Spring

Forty Days That Sealed the Confederacy's Fate

De: Joseph Wheelan

Narrado por: Grover Gardner

A unique and compelling examination of the Civil War's "turning point" - 40 crucial days in the spring of 1864 that turned the tide for the Union.

In the spring of 1864, Robert E. Lee faced a new adversary: Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Named commander of all Union armies in March, Grant quickly went on the offensive against Lee in Virginia. On May 4th, Grant's army struck hard across the Rapidan River into north central Virginia, with Lee's army contesting every mile. They fought for 40 days until, finally, the Union army crossed the James River and began the siege of Petersburg.

The campaign cost 90,000 men - the largest loss the war had seen. While Grant lost nearly twice as many men as Lee did, he could replace them. Lee could not and would never again mount another major offensive. Lee's surrender at Appomattox less than a year later was the denouement of the drama begun in those crucial 40 days.

©2014 Joseph Wheelan (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Loved it- fair and balanced

I have read many books on the Civil War and encountered some of the battles of the Wilderness Campaign, but not in a coherent fashion as Wheelan presents here.

He gives excellent evidence to support The conclusion that neither Lee nor Grant, nor even divisional Icons like Hancock or Longstreet, were close to perfect. He portrays instead imperfection - not only in human error, but in tactics given technology, inadequate diet, “knee deep” dust and mud.

I really appreciated his presentation in detail of “modern” Trench warfare, presaged in every dimension by the Civil War in the Spring of 1865. This includes the violence and unbelievable level of destruction to combatants, both physical and psychological. This is the first book I have read which documents she’ll shock and PTSD through quotations of front line surgeons.

Bloody Spring reads like a great fiction, while working very hard to portray an historically accurate, fair and balanced reporting of the late civil War in the East, bereft of chivalry and even humanity - and utterly tragic.

My only critique is.that Wheelan ends the story with Lee’s and Johnson’s Armies under siege and incapable of fighting o outside their fortification, signaling the ultimate fall of Richmond, and any chance of joining the two Confederate armies. It’s a fair place to end, but I would have liked another 100 pages chasing Bobbie Lee Westward, even with the ending a forgone conclusion.

I got lost in all the detail

I very much enjoyed parts of this book...especially the history and character of US Grant. But the battle detail got so confusing and dragged on and on. I eventually would run thru the battles at 1.5 to1.8 speed, just to get onto the next movement of the army and strategy behind it. I loved all the detail about Lincoln's comments on Grant's ideas. I wish a lot of the tedious detail about every little event in each battle had been compressed.

Awesome book!

Grover Gardner has the perfect voice for Civil War history. You feel like your listening to Ken Burns Civil War documentary listening to this. This book is the best book I think on Grant & Lee facing off in the Spring of 64 and it details commanders and troops under Lee & Grant, they're movements, battle experiences, and casualties along with outcomes in great detail from the Overlqnd Campaign right up until Petersburg. Do yourself a favor and listen to this Awesome presentation.

Very Detailed

the book was very detailed with the troop movements and battles,but it became frustrating not having a map or diagrams to see on paper where these places were in relationship to actual event.i like to see where these places were in on a map

Better than Bruce Catton?

Most of what I read and study about the Civil War has to do with the western theater. To me, Sherman’s Army always had a certain romance to it, which I could never find in reading about the army of the Potomac. Even after countless visits to Gettysburg and Antietam, Spotsylvania, and Fredericksburg, I just didn’t see the fascination. It was Sherman’s Webfeet who won the war, not a bunch of paper-collar feather beds, whom found themselves in winter quarters each autumn only to emerge no less refreshed the following spring. This book helped me in that regard. It helped me understand how 1864 was so pivotal for the armies in the east and how Grant brought it all together. So, I guess I never gave Grant enough credit.

If you’re a student of the war like I am you’ll find this an excellent read, and even if you’re a history buff, you might find yourself immersed. There is almost a Bruce Catton tone to Bloody Spring, which lends to the authenticity though I always found Catton to be too romantic. There are times when I feel the book bogs you down with “Battles and Leaders” type dialog but Wheelen does an excellent job of keeping you engaged by citing accounts and anecdotes from soldiers in both armies. You will not be bored.

I also have been finding myself selecting books that are read by Grover Gardner. Not all but it seems the last several anyway. I like how he reads and I like the sound of his voice. The tone and manner in which he tells the story keeps my interest and will not disappoint. Now, if he could only take over for the Wall Street Journal Morning Read.

Do yourself a favor and put this one in your library. And follow up with Jay Winik’s April, 1865 (I didn’t see on Audible though I have in my collection). It will help bridge your desire for closure and the end of the war when this one is complete because ending the book 5 months short doesn’t do the reader, or the author justice.

Excellent work on 64

Great details, good accounts, some new research. It was a good listen. I wish I bought the book because there was so much to note.

Excellent read

As always, Grover Gardner does a super job of reading books. This is a very detailed and easy to listen to story about one of the most significant period of the Civil War. Couldn't put the book down.

Excellent

This is an excellent book for the Civil War buff. It is very interesting from beginning to end, and hard to stop, listening to at any point. The author puts the reader in the trenches, and on the march with the soldiers, and at the strategy table with Grant and Lee.

Fantastic and well written

Don't listen to the modern revisionist reviews and give this a listen. Excellent performance, accurate and well written. The narrative is well done and detailed.

Good history of Lee vs Grant

I enjoyed this book. I was familar with the borad strokes of the campaign form general historeis but this was the first history of the specific campaing I had read and I was impressed with the details. I fel the author was reasonably balanced in his portayal of the battles and of the people involvred