To Hell or Richmond is a fictionalized version of very real
battles on Grant’s drive to break Lee’s forces and destroy the mystique of one
of the most admired military leaders in the annals of American military
history. The tale is peopled with
historical figures who led men into battles that took a terrible toll on
soldiers of both the Federals and Confederates.
From the impetuousness of the Chief General of the Army, Gen. U.S.
Grant, to intellectual commander of the Army of the Potomac, Gen. George Meade to
the fiery zealotry of Col. Emory Upton, and even to the earthy soldiers from
Pennsylvania’s canal district, the portrait of men at war is stripped of glory and
gentility. Lee is portrayed in a more human
than iconic manner, plagued with self doubts, infirmities, and at times
confusion; Ewell as overly cautious, but competent; while Johnston, Cullen,
Ramseur are resolute, but reactive; and yet J.E.B. Stuart maintains his image
as the dashing southern cavalier, just the way he would have wanted it. All are caught in the fog of war, making and
recovering from strategic and tactical errors, all the while inflicting
enormous casualties on one another in the most brutal fashion imaginable. But that is the nature of war and in this
realistic narrative, details of its horror are not spared.
From the griping of privates to the acrimony and strategic
disagreements among the generals, this story rings true in a way that
romanticized versions of Civil War campaigns fail to achieve. To be sure, individual acts of bravery and cowardice,
tactical genius and stupidity, politics, and just plain human foibles all are woven
skillfully in the telling, adding to the brilliance of this tale. Whether languishing in the commanders’ tents
as they discuss grand strategies, or slogging through the mud with the men of II
Corps, or behind the abatis and earthworks of the North Carolinians and
Alabamans, it all just feels real... slaughter punctuated by spates of humor,
malaise, boredom, and just plain exhaustion.
Through it all, one comes to appreciate that sheer industrial might and
numbers will wear down even the most brilliant strategist and devoted
army. From the Wilderness to
Spotsylvania, to N. Anna’s Creek, to Cold Harbor, and on to Petersburg, Hell or
Richmond is a book no Civil War buff will want to miss.