Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac

*Includes a Table of Contents

*Illustrated with images of many of the generals mentioned, and more



The Army of the Potomac is the United States’ most famous army, for its service during the Civil War in the Eastern theater. As has been taught in high school classrooms across the country, the Army of the Potomac had the Sisyphean fate of trying to defeat Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and/or capture Richmond.

The story of the army is one of constant challenge. After being organized by General George B. McClellan, it suffered a string of defeats during the Peninsula Campaign before participating in the bloodiest day in American history at Antietam. After being stunningly defeated at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, it won one of the most important battles of the war at Gettysburg. 

In 1864, war hero Ulysses S. Grant attached himself to the Army of the Potomac and directed it in fierce clashes throughout Virginia on the way to settling into a 9 month long siege at Petersburg that finally captured the Southern capital. A week later, Grant and Lee were meeting in Appomattox Court House, and the war, for all intents and purposes, was over. 

Hundreds of thousands of men served in the Army of the Potomac, and tens of thousands of them would die. Even more were injured in combat. But all of them had something to be proud about for serving with that army, and many of them were familiar with the history they were making, writing memoirs. After the war, William Swinton wrote  Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, covering the nearly 4 year history of the army beginning in 1861 and going through Appomattox.

This edition of Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac is illustrated and includes a Table of Contents for easier navigation.