Defend This Old Town: Williamsburg During the Civil War

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Summary: Williamsburg's Civil War Chronicle
Review: Anyone familiar with Colonial Williamsburg will want to learn about this period of its history. Major Civil War figures such as McClellan, Longstreet, Sumner, and Pickett were present, yet the details of the Battle of Williamsburg and the lengthy occupation of the town by Union forces are not widely known. This book compiles the facts and tells the story with excerpts taken directly from the memoirs, journals, and newspaper accounts of those who were there. This is not a fictionalized novel. The movements of the troops are well chronicled, and it is interesting to read the various perspectives on the strategic importance of the Battle of Williamsburg. Anyone interested in Civil War history will treasure the details offered in this book. In my mind, the images of the town's honorable aspirations and its historic significance as represented by the College of William and Mary, Bruton Parish Church, the Mental Asylum, and the care offered the wounded of both sides, were graphically contrasted with the harsh realities of slavery, and a bloody war.