"The bloody Battle of Spotsylvania Court House took place in May 1864. The frantic back-and-forth fighting at an area now called the Bloody Angle was among the fiercest single-day battles of the entire Civil War. How did the bullet-riddled stump of a once-mighty oak tree there become a symbol of the conflict? What can its story tell us about that day's battle and the broader history of the Civil War? Readers will out the answers to these questions...

"From the bloodstained fields of the Mule Shoe to the North Anna River, with Meadow Bridge, Myers Hill, Harris Farm, Jericho Mills, Ox Ford, and Doswell Farm in between, grueling night marches, desperate attacks, and thundering cavalry charges became the norm for both Grant's and Lee's men. But the real story of May 13-25 lay in the two generals' efforts to outfox each other, and Rhea charts their every step and misstep."--Jacket.