In The Battered Stars, Vermont Civil War historian Howard Coffin once again chronicles the central role played by Vermonters in a critical campaign. The battles fought during May and June of 1864 - The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor - were part of Grant's forty-day overland push toward Petersburg. Vermont sacri-ficed greatly; its proportionate casualties exceeded those of any other Union state. Coffin's history of this savage campaign is, as usual, comprehensive. His focus on the Vermont home front makes this work particularly compelling.

This extraordinary story of General Grant's overland campaign and the unique role played by the troops from the state of Vermont also includes never-before-published material on the experiences on the home front. The Battered Stars is a new and unique contribution to the literature of the War Between the States. Civil War historian Howard Coffin has unearthed never-before-seen archival sources to bring first-hand reports from the battlefields of Spotsylvania, The Wilderness, and many others. He also tells the story of the home front, taking us behind the lines to dozens of small towns in Vermont to show how the great battles of the Civil War affected the lives of ordinary citizens. Archival prints and photographs illustrate the extraordinary bravery at the battlefront and granite-like resolve at home that brought victory, but at a phenomenal price. Includes of a great deal of "back home" information—a whole new focus for the National Park Service. 75 black and white photographs and illustrations, 5 maps, index.

Howard Coffin is a sixth-generation Vermonter and great-grandson of two men who served in Vermont regiments in the Civil War. Coffin was a US Senate appointee to the national Civil War Sites Advisory Commission and has served on the board of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites. Now a public relations consultant and writer, Coffin is a former reporter and for many years was press secretary to US Senator James Jeffords. He is a tireless and charismatic lecturer and tour guide to Civil War battlefields who is well known and loved throughout the state. He lives in Montpelier, Vermont.

Publisher: Countryman
Published: 20020500
Pages: 448