Counter-Thrust: From the Peninsula to the Antietam
A window into the Union's internal conflict at building a military leadership team. Lincoln's administration in disarray, with relations between the president and field commander McClellan strained to the breaking point. Shows how the fortunes of war shifted abruptly in the Union's favor, climaxing at Antietam.

Oak Grove
French's Field, King's School House
First Seven Days Battle
Civil War Virginia

American Civil War
June 25, 1862

Peninsula Campaign Map


Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles
One of the most decisive military campaigns in Western history, the Seven Days were fought in the area southeast of the Confederate capitol of Richmond from June 25 to July 1, 1862

Oak Grove was the first of the Seven Days' battles.

On June 25, Major General George B. McClellan advanced his lines along the Williamsburg Road with the objective of  bringing Richmond within range of his siege guns.

Union forces attacked over swampy ground with inconclusive results, and darkness halted the fighting.

McClellan's attack was not strong enough to derail the Confederate offensive that already had been set in motion.

The next day, Lee seized the initiative by attacking at Beaver Dam Creek north of the Chickahominy.

Result(s): Inconclusive (Union forces withdrew to their lines.)

Location: Henrico County

Campaign: Peninsular Campaign (March-September 1862) next battle in campaign   previous battle in campaign

Date(s): June 25, 1862

Principal Commanders: Major General George B. McClellan [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]

Forces Engaged: Corps

Estimated Casualties: 1,057 total (US 516; CS 541)


To The Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign
For three months General McClellan battled his way toward Richmond, but then CSA General Lee took command of the Confederate forces. In seven days, Lee drove the cautious McClellan out, thereby changing the course of the war

George B. Mcclellan: The Young Napoleon
By age 35, General George B. McClellan (1826–1885), designated the "Young Napoleon," was the commander of all the Northern armies. He forged the Army of the Potomac into a formidable battlefield foe, and fought the longest and largest campaign of the time as well as the single bloodiest battle in the nation's history
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American Civil War Book Titles

The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
1988 Pulitzer Prize for History and a New York Times Bestseller. Rare contemporary photographs, period cartoons, etchings, woodcuts, and paintings, carefully choosing those that best illuminate the narrative

Generals in Bronze: Interviewing the Commanders of the Civil War
Revealing interviews with the commanders of the Civil War. In the decades that followed the American Civil War, Artist James E. Kelly (1855-1933) conducted in-depth interviews with over forty Union Generals

Civil War Album: A Complete Photographic History: Fort Sumter to Appomattox
4000 photographs from the war. Brings to life the battles, bunkers, soldiers, and parades. The farms, cities, and towns as they appeared at the time. This volume is enhanced with essays by Civil War historians, who provide an overview of each battle, and describe each image

Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox
The words of the soldiers themselves provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege—from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front

Robert E. Lee
This book not only offers concise detail but also gives terrific insight into the state of the Union and Confederacy during Lee's life. Lee was truly a one of kind gentleman and American, and had Virginia not been in the south or neutral, he ultimately would have led the Union forces.

Echoes of Thunder: A Guide to the Seven Days Battles
This is a valuable and welcome addition to this series of battlefield guides. This book will provide you with a guide on the field or it will supplement reading about the American Civil War battle of The Seven Days.

A Girl's Life in Virginia Before the War
First published in 1895. An engrossing eyewitness account of antebellum plantation life as it really was

Record of the Actual Experiences of the Wife of a Confederate Officer
The author tells of her many travels across the war-torn South, capture behind enemy lines, encounter with Belle Boyd, friendship with General J. E. B. Stuart, and the devastation suffered by the citizens of Richmond in the last days of the Confederacy.

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Check out American Civil War visitors top DVD picks

Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles

The Civil War in Virginia
Virginia was the arena where North and South fought many of their bloodiest battles. the program gives a full account of the events that took place describing in detail the history of the American Civil War in Virginia

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor

Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.


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