From the Mountains to the Bay

"This book is a masterful retelling of the momentous events of early 1862 in Virginia. A must read for all Civil War students and buffs."—New York Military Affairs Symposium

"Rafuse supplies his readers with excellent summaries of the Romney Expedition, the battles of Kernstown and McDowell, siege operations along the Yorktown-Warwick River line, the large clash at Williamsburg, and everything in between. The military and political factors involved in the high command decision-making of both sides is expertly chronicled, and the strong emphasis placed on their interconnectivity is elucidated to great satisfaction."—Civil War Books and Authors

“Prodigiously researched, eloquently crafted, and engaging, historian Ethan Rafuse’s From the Mountains to the Bay offers a fresh perspective and cogent analysis of operations throughout the Old Dominion during 1862’s first five months. For anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the fighting in Virginia during this period, Rafuse’s study is essential.”—Jonathan A. Noyalas, author of Slavery and Freedom in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War Era

“Remarkably, there is no other modern work of scholarship that weaves all the operations in Virginia together. Rafuse provides a comprehensive view, with strong attention to politics, the media, African Americans, civilian perspectives, and effects on civilians. His detailed military analysis emphasizes the delays imposed by weather and logistics, with critical but nuanced assessments of the commanders on both sides. A model holistic campaign study.”—Samuel J. Watson, professor of history at the United States Military Academy and author of Peacekeepers and Conquerors: The Army Officer Corps on the American Frontier, 1821–1846

“In this sweeping survey of what was happening in Virginia during the spring of 1862, Ethan Rafuse ties together several major campaigns as they related to each other and to the course of the Civil War itself. These were, as he points out, the largest connected series of campaigns attempted by Federal commanders thus far in the conflict, and they affected civilian populations in the region nearly as much as they affected the officers and enlisted men. Union and Confederate operations in western Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and on the Peninsula from January to May 1862 are discussed as a unit, and for the first time we can see the whole picture thanks to this sharply written, well organized, and enlightening book.”—Earl J. Hess, author of Civil War Supply and Strategy: Feeding Men and Moving Armies