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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...