Author: Bradley M. Gottfried.
Softcover (6.7×9.3 inches). 128 pages. 2025.
I was quite impressed with the battle maps of this volume in this volume of the Casemate Illustrated series. So much so, I went poking around to find out who this Gottfried fellow was — prolific American Civil War author who has created a number of The Maps of books, such as The Maps of Second Bull Run, The Maps of Gettysburg, Maps of Antietam, and so on.
The prose covers the brutal campaign that includes the battles of Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and North Anna. The Union started with about 120,000 men (p9) and ended with 66,000 (p13). The Confederates lost about 32,000. Both sides lost about half their army (p125), but the Union could better weather the losses. The combat overviews offer sufficient insight into plans and realities for each of those major battles and the maneuverings in between.
It was good to read that Brigadier General Henry Lockwood was commander of the Union Second Division (p110), but V Corp Commander Maj. Gen. Warren apparently sacked my probable distant ancestor as a scapegoat for Cold Harbor. I can sympathize — during wargames, many of my C-in-Cs wish they could sack me from the tabletop. No word what happened to Lockwood after that in the book, but Wikipedia says he was shipped back to command the Middle Department through the end of the war.
The OOB could be better — goes down to brigades, but not any numbers. You’ll have to poke through the prose for regiments and strength.
The booklet contains 53 black and white photos, 22 color photos, 47 black and white illustrations, five color illustrations, and eight color maps.
Oddly enough, Gottfried is not listed as the copyright owner. My guess is that Casemate is following Osprey practices and paying a flat fee for all rights to the booklet. No matter, you can pull the basics for scenarios, even if you may need additional research to get troops strengths.
Enjoyed it.
–Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
