A Stillness at Appomattox (Army of
the Potomac, Vol. 3) by Bruce Catton
A Masterpiece Of Civil War History
If every historian wrote like Bruce Catton, no one would read fiction. This
marvelously well-told account of the final year of the Civil War marches
readers from Wilderness, through Petersburg, and finally to the climax at
Appomattox. The surrender scene, when Grant and Lee meet at last, is
spine tingling. This is the third book of Cattons Army of the Potomac
trilogy. Its also the best of the bunch, even though the first two, Mr.
Lincolns Army and Glory Road, are both exceptional. Not to be missed.
--John Miller
Personal Review: A Stillness at Appomattox (Army of the
Potomac, Vol. 3) by Bruce Catton
It would be an almost impossible task for anyone to figure out just how
many books have been written dealing with the American Civil War. It
would also be difficult to determine which Civil War historians are most
often cited by their peers but there is no doubt that Bruce Catton would be
near or more likely at the top of any such list. The reason for this is quite

simply that Catton was one of the great historical writers of all time. Very
few people can take their readers into the heart of an army, both those of
it's soldiers and leaders like Catton and even fewer convey their story in
the very clear and easy to read style that this author has mastered. To
read this book of pure history is in many ways like reading a historical
novel and even the reader who already has a firm grasp on the historical
facts of this story will sometimes find themselves wondering what happens
next.
This is the story of the last campaign of the Army of the Potomac, that Ill-
fated army that had so often been humiliated by Robert E. Lee and his
Army of Northern Virginia. This campaign was to be different however
because there was a new man calling the shots and having a man like U.
S. Grant at the helm made all of the difference in the world. It took Grant a
while though to convince this often badly led army that he was any
different than his predecessors. Different he was however and once he
locked horns with Lee he wasn't going to let up until one army or the other
was destroyed. In other words Grant understood what had to be done and
he was determined to do it.
Catton's main field of study was this man Grant but one of the author's
most endearing qualities is that he makes no effort to whitewash or hide
his subject's faults. Catton also does not attempt to build Grant up by
tearing away at Lee like many of the more recent Grant biographers have
done. He simply makes Grant's greatness apparent by telling the story the
way it happened and it doesn't take long for the reader to figure out what
an outstanding general Grant was.
The author has done a lot of searching through soldier's letters and
memoirs as well as regimental histories and this leads to a very personal
perspective of the last year of the war. The stories he has gleaned from
these sources are poignant, somber, gleeful and funny. For example, one
entire brigade falls out of the final advance upon Lee's army to chase down
and cook some chickens that have been scattered by artillery fire. I think it
was Napoleon who said something about an army traveling on it's
stomach.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Civil War.
The hard core Civil War reader will find new information here and the
casual reader will find that this book is fun to read and no one should have
a problem following the story. If Amazon allowed six stars this is one of the
few books that would qualify.
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