The Army of the Potomac in the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns

摘要

Steven Sodergren examines here the morale of Union soldiers besieging Petersburg in the last year of the war. His thesis is that the transition to trench warfare not only saved the Army of the Potomac from destruction due to low morale and high casualties, but it also enabled it to rejuvenate itself for ultimate victory. He is especially interested in the role of mail, a vital link between the army and the soldiers' homes in the North, referred to by soldiers as "God's Country."