Ernest Furgurson, author of Ashes of Glory and
Chancellorsville 1863, brings his talents to a pivotal and
often neglected Civil War battle–the fierce, unremitting slaughter
at Cold Harbor, Virginia, which ended the lives of 10,000 Union
soldiers.
In June of 1864, the Army of the Potomac attacked heavily
entrenched Confederate forces outside of Richmond, hoping to break
the strength of Robert E. Lee and take the capital. Facing almost
certain death, Union soldiers pinned their names to their uniforms
in the forlorn hope that their bodies would be identified and
buried. Furgurson sheds new light on the personal conflicts that
led to Grant’s worst defeat and argues that it was a watershed
moment in the war. Offering a panorama rich in detail and revealing
anecdotes that brings the dark days of the campaign to life, Not
War But Murder is historical narrative as compelling as any
novel.