Lee’s Army During the Petersburg Campaign: A Numerical Study

Alfred C. Young III’s Lee’s Army During the Petersburg Campaign is an intensive study of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during the Sieges of Petersburg and Richmond from the outset of the campaign in June 1864 to the end of the year. Young bases his work on years of research gleaned from the National Archives and numerous other primary sources and provides periodic strength figures for the combat elements of Lee’s army, as well as casualties on the Confederate side during each of the major battles and during siege operations throughout the campaign. His work is not a comprehensive study of the campaign; rather, it is a study of each command or element comprising Lee’s army. Lee’s Army During the Petersburg Campaign is a companion to Young’s earlier study, Lee’s Army During the Overland Campaign. In addition to a narrative that provides background information on the campaign and a selection of twenty-six maps, the book features ninety-nine detailed tables of casualty data and unit strengths. Until now, accurate information on the strength and casualties in Lee’s army during the latter half of 1864 has mostly been speculative. Young’s work is the first serious attempt to correct this gap in the history. Read more