Product Description

The first-ever popular account of a tide-turning Civil War battle that saved the Union capital-but at a horrific price.

Every Civil War buff has heard of the Battle of Chantilly, the bloody 1862 engagement fought in a driving rainstorm only twenty miles from Washington that claimed the lives of two of the Union's most promising generals. Yet few have known the full story of courage and human drama because no one has ever produced a lively and historically accurate account of the battle-until now.

Tempest at Ox Hill compellingly evokes this pivotal battle of the war, in which the Union army faced annihilation after Robert E. Lee's overwhelming victory at Second Bull Run. At Chantilly, Virginia, on September 1, 1862, a small Union rearguard faced down some of Lee's best generals. The retreating main Union army, and Washington, were saved, but at a frightening human cost, including the deaths of two Union generals-the promising Isaac Stevens and the dashing Philip Kearny, a Mexican War veteran who had also served with Napoleon III's imperial guard. And around these two Union generals lay nearly twelve hundred American soldiers, both blue and gray, dead fighting for their chosen cause. Tempest at Ox Hill captures the moment, the courage, and the carnage unforgettably.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1050051 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
"Exceptionally well-written...A valuable contribution to Civil War history...An example of how it should be done." -- On Point: The Journal of Army History Fall 2003

About the Author
David A. Welker is the author of A Keystone Rebel and many Civil War-related newspaper and magazine articles. He works as a military analyst for the U.S. government and lives in Virginia.

Customer Reviews

A REVIEW BY MARC HAVENNER ON TEMPEST AT OX HILL (CHANTILLY)
This is one of 3 books to have been written on this important but neglected battle in the past 3 years. Mr.Welker has done his homework in a book that emcompasses the battle from the days leading up to it to the aftermath. The book is beutifully written and researched in 12 chapters, a photo section, and an order of battle. A book on this battle is extremely rare and I would consider it as the only definitive record on the Battle of Ox Hill, along with He Hath Loosed The Fateful Lightning by Paul Taylor that you will find. Very informative, addicting and recommended.

Excellent Coverage of the two battles of Chantilly
First this is a very readable, easy to follow history of a little known but important small battle in 1862. Second, this shows what will happen if we do not try and save our battlefields. Mr. Welker weaves the two into a single battle history with such skill that you will need to look for the second story.

Very well written, good maps and a complete introduction make this one of the best books on an ACW battle you will find.

A great new Civil War Book
As a non-expert on Civil War history, I found this book to be very informative as well as very readable. I thoroughly enjoyed the biographical sketches of Generals Kearny and Stevens. The author raises thought provoking questions at the end.