{"product_id":"a-fire-in-the-wilderness-the-first-battle-between-ulysses-s-grant-and-robert-e-lee-9781643137001","title":"A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe riveting account of the first bloody showdown between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Leea battle that sealed the fate of the Confederacy and changed the course of American history.  In the spring of 1864  President Lincoln feared that he might not be able to save the Union. The Army of the Potomac had performed poorly over the previous two years  and many Northerners were understandably critical of the war effort. Lincoln assumed hed lose the November election  and he firmly believed a Democratic successor would seek peace immediately  spelling an end to the Union. A Fire in the Wilderness tells the story of that perilous time when the future of the United States depended on the Union Armys success in a desolate forest roughly sixty-five miles from the nations capital.  At the outset of the Battle of the Wilderness  General Lees Army of Northern Virginia remained capable of defeating the Army of the Potomac. But two days of relentless fighting in dense Virginia woods  Robert E. Lee was never again able to launch offensive operations against Grants army. Lee  who faced tremendous difficulties replacing fallen soldiers  lost 11 125 menor 17% of his entire force. On the opposing side  the Union suffered 17 666 casualties.  The alarming casualties do not begin to convey the horror of this battle  one of the most gruesome in American history. The impenetrable forest and gunfire smoke made it impossible to view the enemy. Officers couldnt even see their own men during the fighting. The incessant gunfire caused the woods to catch fire  resulting in hundreds of men burning to death. It was as though Christian men had turned to fiends  and hell itself had usurped the place of the earth  wrote one officer. When the fighting finally subsided during the late evening of the second day  the usually stoical Grant threw himself down on his cot and cried.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45789740630069,"sku":"ByrdShop_164313700X","price":20.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781643137001.jpg?v=1784695775","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/a-fire-in-the-wilderness-the-first-battle-between-ulysses-s-grant-and-robert-e-lee-9781643137001","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}