“Brian Burton has given us a fascinating account of the contest in Virginia—chiefly between Lee and McClellan—during the one-year period when it seemed as if that most celebrated theater of conflict might decide the war’s outcome. Thoughtful and rich in fascinating insights, Burton’s book brings into sharp focus the things that period of fighting changed, the things it did not change, and the reasons why.”—Steven E. Woodworth, author of Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns

“An outstanding example of military history synthesis, incorporating modern Civil War scholarship in its military, social, and political aspects. It is an introductory volume whose intended audience includes both the well-informed enthusiast and the serious student.”—Christopher S. Stowe, professor of military history, Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University

“Brian Burton offers a straightforward analysis of the Civil War in Virginia during the first six months of 1862. Most unique to his work is the consideration of the theaters of the war (the Valley, the Piedmont, and the Peninsula) in one volume, demonstrating to readers how these campaigns were not independent and exclusive from one another. Burton’s treatment of the Piedmont as less of a tertiary theater of war is an innovative and welcomed approach to a more nuanced understanding of the war in Virginia in 1862.”—Jennifer M. Murray, author of On a Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933–2013