A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee by John Reeves

Abstract

Reviewed by: A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee by John Reeves Christopher B. Bean A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. By John Reeves. (New York and London: Pegasus Books, 2021. Pp. [xii], 270. $28.95, ISBN 978-1-64313-700-1.) Few things bring to mind the carnage of the Civil War more than the two words the Wilderness. The fierceness, casualties, horror, and inconclusiveness of that battle embody the struggle between the North and the Confederate South. In his latest work, John Reeves chronicles this most notorious battle. A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee focuses primarily on the interplay between the commanders of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. By the time the two commanders met in the woods of northern Virginia in the spring of 1864, both Grant and Lee were coming to be seen as their respective side's savior. Grant was perhaps the last chance for the North to prevent the Union from irretrievably cleaving. The Confederacy invested Lee with its hopes and dreams of independence. Without exaggeration, the fate of the United States, regardless of the outcome, rested on the shoulders of these two men when they confronted one another for the first time in the war. In sixteen chapters, Reeves recounts the ordeal of the Wilderness—although the last three chapters focus on events after the battle, including a chapter on the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. In order to spotlight the soldier's battle, Reeves follows the actions of Private William Reeves (no relation to the author), of the Seventy-Sixth New York Voluntary Infantry Regiment, and Brigadier General James Wadsworth, Reeves's division commander. As the author notes, Private Reeves's "story represented the experiences of tens of thousands of young men from all across America. … His tragic death epitomized the steep price that was paid for saving the Union" (p. 224). The author's description of these two men's actions during battle and their ultimate deaths is riveting. Through these two men, the author hits the familiar aspects of the battle—the Orange Turnpike, Orange Plank Road, Saunders Field, the conflagration in the woods—as well as the actions of the major participants, including Generals Winfield S. Hancock, Ambrose E. Burnside, James Longstreet, and, of course, Grant and Lee. Reeves is especially strong in two areas. He highlights the confusion of the battle, which was often obscured to the participants by the woods, and his description of what awaited any wounded soldier at the hands of the medical professionals is worth the read. The book's title aside, Reeves's work focuses primarily on the common soldier. His descriptions of their experiences during the battle are excellent. This focus comes, however, at the expense of fleshing out the experiences of Grant and Lee. Beyond cursory quotations and orders from Grant and Lee, the chess game that occurs between all opposing commanders in battle remains underwhelming. Furthermore, the strategic forces pressing down from Washington, D.C., on Grant and from Richmond on Lee are practically nonexistent. This reviewer can appreciate the necessity for vigilance against going down rabbit holes when doing a battlefield biography, but nothing occurs within a vacuum. Reeves's work, thus, falls short in chronicling the entirety of the Wilderness story that exists in Gordon C. Rhea's The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5–6, 1864 (Baton Rouge, 1994) and Noah Andre Trudeau's [End Page 571] Bloody Roads South: The Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May–June 1864 (Boston, 1989). In closing, more well-placed maps are warranted. Without maps, a less knowledgeable reader becomes as confused following the action and whereabouts as the actual participants. Those criticisms aside, Reeves's work is a quick read and easy to understand. This reviewer highly recommends this work for any student wanting an introduction to the Wilderness. Christopher B. Bean East Central University Copyright © 2022 The Southern Historical Association