In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications and Confederate Defeat

Wonderfully written, well researched and easy to read. . . . Highly recommend[ed] to any serious student of the American Civil War. . . . Entertaining and enlightening.--This Mighty Scourge

Takes an in-depth look at the war's final evolution of field fortifications and countermeasures, and explores the central role they played in the various Union offensives conducted during the ten-month Petersburg campaign. . . . Impressive.-- Civil War Books and Authors Blog

[Hess's three-volume] set unquestionably deserves recognition as groundbreaking work on an important topic. It will be the standard for years.--Robert Krick, America's Civil War

The [book is the] result of Hess's indefatigable research in a wide range of sources and his imaginative field study of extant battlefields. . . . This volume and its companions, even more innovative and important than his previous outstanding studies, should give Earl J. Hess his rightful place among the best Civil War historians of our time.--Civil War History

Humanizes the experience of the soldiers working in the fortifications.--McCormick Messenger

This excellent book will be of interest to those who appreciate military engineering in siege operations.--The Lone Star

Provides extensive details to illuminate the subject. . . . An outstanding source for anyone researching Civil War trench warfare at Petersburg and Richmond.--Virginia Libraries

Contains the fine scholarship and clear prose we have come to expect from Hess. . . . [It] will stand as a definitive study on the Petersburg Campaign.--On Point

Even without the incredibly detailed analysis of field fortifications, [this book] would stand alone as campaign history. . . . A testament to the author's years of study on the topic.--H-Civil War

The best single study of the grand tactics and strategy of the campaign. . . . An outstanding conclusion to a trilogy of books that belong on the shelf of any serious student of the Civil War's Eastern Theater.--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography