Extraordinary Circumstances

A detailed history of the American Civil War’s first campaign in Virginia in 1862.

The first campaign in the Civil War in which Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia, the Seven Days Battles were fought southeast of the Confederate capital of Richmond in the summer of 1862. Lee and his fellow officers, including “Stonewall” Jackson, James Longstreet, A. P. Hill, and D. H. Hill, pushed George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac from the gates of Richmond to the James River, where the Union forces reached safety. Along the way, Lee lost several opportunities to harm McClellan. The Seven Days have been the subject of numerous historical treatments, but none more detailed and engaging than Brian K. Burton’s retelling of the campaign that lifted Southern spirits, began Lee’s ascent to fame, and almost prompted European recognition of the Confederacy.

“A thoroughly researched and well-written volume that will surely be the starting point for those interested in this particular campaign.” —Journal of American History

“A welcome addition to scholarship that should be the standard work on its subject for some time to come.” —Journal of Military History

“Plenty of good maps . . . help the reader follow the course of the campaign. . . . Burton does not neglect the role of the common soldiers . . . [and]provides thorough and reasonable analyses of the commanders on both sides.” —Georgia Historical Quarterly

“A full and measured account marked by a clear narrative and an interesting strategy of alternating the testimony of generals with their grand plans and the foot soldiers who had to move, shoot, and communicate in the smokey underbrush.” —The Virginia Magazine