Robert Orrison – författare

A guide to the Gettysburg Civil War battlefields and their history, featuring lesser-known sites, side trips, and optional stops along the way."I thought my men were invincible," admitted Robert E. Lee.A string of battlefield victories through 1862 had culminated in the spring of 1863 with Lee''s greatest victory yet: the battle of Chancellorsville. Propelled by the momentum of that supreme moment, confident in the abilities of his men, Lee decided to once more take the fight to the Yankees and launched this army on another invasion of the North.An appointment with destiny awaited in the little Pennsylvania college town of Gettysburg.Historian Dan Welch follows in the footsteps of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac as the two foes cat-and-mouse their way northward, ultimately clashing in the costliest battle in North American history.Based on the Gettysburg Civil War Trails, and packed with dozens of lesser-known sites related to the Gettysburg Campaign, The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign offers the ultimate Civil War road trip."Orrison and Welch have created something different. Historians must search for innovative ways to engage the public on the battle''s relevance. This book offers a new experience for tourists—one that enriches their visit to the site of one of the most consequential battles in American history." —Matt Arendt, TCU, for Gettysburg Magazine"Shows a deep knowledge of the subject and the style of writing is clear and easy to follow . . . buy this book!" —Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Part of the Emerging Civil War Series, this history covers a crucial clash between the Blue and the Gray that impacted future Union tactics and victories. The months after the Battle of Gettysburg were anything but quiet—filled with skirmishes and cavalry clashes. Nonetheless, Union commander Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade had yet to encounter his Confederate counterpart, Gen. Robert E. Lee, in combat. Lee''s army, severely bloodied at Gettysburg, did not have the offensive capability it once possessed. Yet Lee''s aggressive nature could not be quelled, and he looked for the chance to strike out at Meade. In mid-October, 1863, both men shifted their armies into motion, each surprising the other. Quickly, Meade found himself racing northward for safety along the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, with Lee charging up the rail line behind him. Last stop: Bristoe Station, Virginia. In A Want of Vigilance, authors Bill Backus and Robert Orrison trace the battle from the armies'' camps around Orange and Culpeper through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and along the vital railroad—to Centreville and back—in one of the war''s most little-known confrontations, pitting the "goggle-eyed snapping turtle" against "the old gray fox." "An excellent short summary of a complex but often overlooked period of the Civil War. The tactical stalemates of Bristoe and later Mine Run led to the reorganization of the Union war effort in the East and the subsequent Overland Campaign of the Spring and Summer of 1864." —Civil War News

A concise history of the "shot heard round the world"—and the dramatic day that began America''s war for independence. Includes maps and photos. When shots were fired at Lexington and Concord on a spring day in 1775, few, if any, fully grasped the impact they would ultimately have on the world. This concise book offers not only a guide to the historical sites involved but a lively, readable history of the events, a culmination of years of unrest between those loyal to the British monarchy and those advocating for more autonomy and dreaming of independence from Great Britain. On the morning of April 19, Gen. Thomas Gage sent out a force of British soldiers under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith to confiscate, recapture, and destroy the military supplies gathered by the colonists and believed to be stored in the town of Concord. Due to the alacrity of men such as Dr. Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, and William Dawes, utilizing a network of signals and outriders, the countryside was well aware of the approaching British—setting the stage for the day''s events. From two historians, this is an outstanding introduction to a momentous battle, and the events that led up to it.

Experience the history of the Maryland Campaign with this Civil War chronicle and guide featuring battlefield information and day-trip itineraries.In the summer of 1862, the world watched anxiously as Confederate armies advanced across a thousand-mile front. Reacting to the Army of Northern Virginia''s trek across the Potomac River, George B. McClellan gathered the broken and scattered remnants of several Federal armies within Washington, D. C., to repel the invasion and expel the Confederates from Maryland. "Everything seems to indicate that they intend to hazard all upon the issue of the coming battle," he said of the invading force.Historians Robert Orrison and Kevin Pawlak trace the routes both armies traveled during the Maryland Campaign, ultimately coming to a climactic blow on the banks of Antietam Creek. That clash on September 17, 1862, remains the bloodiest single day in American history. To Hazard All offers several day trip tours and visits many out-of-the-way sites related to the Maryland Campaign.

July, 1862. General Robert E. Lee, now in command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, had driven back the massive Federal Army of the Potomac from the very gates of the Confederate capital. Richmond was safe – at least for the moment. But soon, new threats emerged against Lee’s army and the Confederate war effort in Virginia. Rumors swirled that a Federal command headed towards Fredericksburg, and a new Federal army, the Army of Virginia, under Maj. Gen. John Pope, was shifting operations towards Confederate communications and supply points. Pope had come from the west, where he had scored successes along the Mississippi River. He brought with him a harder philosophy of war, one that would put pressure not just on Lee’s army but on the population of Virginia itself. Not only alarmed but also offended by “such a miscreant as Pope,” Lee began moving his own forces. He intended to not just counter the new threat but to “suppress” it. In Never Such a Campaign: The Battle of Second Manassas, August 28-30, 1862, historians Robert Orrison and Dan Welch follow Lee and Pope as they converge on ground once-bloodied just thirteen months earlier. Since then the armies had grown in size and efficiency, and combat between them would dwarf that first battle. For the second summer in a row, forces would clash on the plains of Manassas, and the results would be far more terrible.

A history and analysis of the 1780 South Carolina battle that marked the turning point for Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War. "An impressive work of collaborative historical research by historians Robert Orrison and Mark Wilcox, this is the newest title in the simply outstanding ''Emerging Revolutionary War'' series from Savas Beatie and a welcome, unreservedly recommended pick."—Midwest Book Review "They have done all that can be expected of them, we are outnumbered and outflanked," explained Lt. Col. Benjamin Ford regarding the desperate situation his Marylanders faced on the disastrous day of August 16, 1780.Many historians consider the battle of Camden as the high tide of Great Britain''s prospects for victory in the American South. In the spring of 1780, British leadership focused their attention on conquering the Southern Colonies. Charleston capitulated, along with the bulk of the American army defending it, in May of 1780. After its fall, the British set up outposts across South Carolina''s backcountry to secure that colony before moving into North Carolina. In response, the Continental Congress sent Gen. Horatio Gates, the "hero of Saratoga," to take over the Southern Department. Gates reorganized the forces there and named his field command "Grand Army," whose core was a small contingent of experienced Continentals from Maryland and Delaware. The majority, however, was comprised of untested soldiers and newly recruited militia from Virginia and North Carolina. Soon after his arrival, Gates led his army south to confront the British near Camden, South Carolina. The mostly inexperienced American force found itself facing some of the best units of the British army under the command of one of its best generals, Charles Cornwallis. The result was an unmitigated disaster for the Americans with far-reaching consequences.In All That Can Be Expected: The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South, August 16, 1780, historians Rob Orrison and Mark Wilcox set forth the events surrounding one of the worst American military defeats in United States history. Readers will also follow in the footsteps of American and British soldiers through the South Carolina backcountry on a narrative tour to help better understand this fascinating campaign of August 1780.