To the Gates of Richmond

The Peninsula Campaign

By: Stephen Sears

Narrated by: Nelson Runger

It was the largest campaign ever attempted in the Civil War: the Peninsula campaign of 1862. General George McClellan planned to advance from Yorktown up the Virginia Peninsula and destroy the Rebel army in its own capital. But with Robert E. Lee delivering blows to the Union army, McClellan’s plan fell through at the gates of Richmond. Now, in a study of the great Civil War engagement that weaves together narrative, military analysis, and eyewitness accounts drawn from the diaries and letters of soldiers, historian Stephen W. Sears showcases all the reasons why Ken Burns, the producer of the PBS series The Civil War, calls Sears “one of our best Civil War historians.”

©1992 Stephen W. Sears (P)1995 Recorded Books

Amazing detail using documents from those who were there

I liked that he didn’t put any of his opinion or anybody else’s opinion that wasn’t actually living at that time. He doesn’t speculate. He tells you what happened based on documents that tell those tails by those who were there. He doesn’t pick a side. He just tells the incredible story of the campaign and how it played out for both union and confederate generals and troops. This is history. It’s not the bullshit of today that parades around as history but is really just some vapid new age author speaking “their truth”. Great read. I’ve read a few of this authors books and so far they’re all 10 out of 10 in my opinion.

Very good

Great overview of the peninsula and seven days campaigns. It’s an entertaining listen, quite the opposite of other books on the subject that can be a bit dry.

Great book

This book Lee's first Campaign commanding Army of Northern Virginia. If not for his mistakes and those by his subordinates the Army of Potomac may have been destroyed.

Detailed and easy to follow 5 stars

Very enjoyable book. The narrator is excellent and the material accurate. My G-gpa fought at Seven Pines. This book helped me understand what he went thu.

Reliable, professional and readable historian

Good, readable military history for anyone with an interest. Serious students will need to look to more detailed battle histories.