By Nancy Jones, Angle Valley Press, LLC
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Hanover Tavern’s Speakers Series on Tuesday, September 17 at 7 p.m. to feature Virginia author John J. Fox, who will introduce his newest Civil War book.
Winchester, VA., September 4, 2013 – Angle Valley Press will debut Virginia historian John Fox’s new Civil War book on Tuesday, September 17 [7 p.m.] at Hanover Tavern. The book details the dramatic Great Chickahominy Raid that made Confederate cavalry General Jeb Stuart famous. He led 1,200 horsemen on a three-day reconnaissance mission deep behind Union lines along the dusty roads of Hanover, New Kent, Charles City and Henrico counties during mid-June 1862.
Blue and Gray cavalrymen exchanged gunfire in front of Hanover Tavern in the first encounter of the expedition. The Confederate raiders successfully circled General George McClellan’s enormous Union army near Richmond, and Stuart soon became an 1860’s media sensation in both the North and South. Stuart’s Finest Hour is the first book-length study ever written about this dangerous mission. John Fox used numerous eyewitness accounts by
civilians and Union and Confederate troopers to show how Stuart’s ride could have met disaster at numerous points. However, a combination of skill, luck and some Union missteps ensured the mission’s success. The ride proved an embarrassment to McClellan, but it also helped to destroy the career of Stuart’s father-in-law, General Philip St. George Cooke, who led the Federal pursuit.
When Jeb Stuart returned to Richmond, he delivered important information that gave General Robert E. Lee the confidence to split his army and then to attack McClellan’s right flank, anchored in Hanover County. The tactical and strategic impact of Stuart’s raid allowed the subsequent Confederate offensive, known as the Seven Days’ Battles, to push the numerically superior Union army away from Richmond. The war lasted almost three more bloody years before Federal troops would have another similar opportunity to capture Richmond.
Angle Valley Press LLC is a Winchester-based history book publisher in business since 2004.
John J. Fox is an award-winning Civil War historian who was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He is the author or editor of several books and articles about the Civil War including Red Clay to Richmond [2004] and The Confederate Alamo [2010]. He lives in Winchester, Virginia.
Stuart’s Finest Hour: The Ride Around McClellan, June 1862 is a 344-page hardback available for $31.95 at the Hanover Tavern Bookstore or by ordering at www.AngleValleyPress.com
Angle Valley Press contact:
Nancy Jones
540-539-1260
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