Bloody Spring
Forty Days That Sealed the Confederacys Fate

A unique and compelling examination of the Civil Wars turning pointforty crucial days in the spring of 1864 that turned the tide for the Union In the spring of 1864, Robert E. Lee faced a new adversary: Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Named commander of all Union armies in March, Grant quickly went on the offensive against Lee in Virginia. On May 4 Grants army struck hard across the Rapidan River into north central Virginia, with Lees army contesting every mile. They fought for forty days until, finally, the Union army crossed the James River and began the siege of Petersburg. The campaign cost ninety thousand menthe largest loss the war had seen. While Grant lost nearly twice as many men as Lee did, he could replace them. Lee could not and would never again mount another major offensive. Lees surrender at Appomattox less than a year later was the denouement of the drama begun in those crucial forty days.