A Stillness at Appomattox

Summary

The concluding volume of Catton's trilogy on the Army of the Potomac, covering the brutal final year of the Civil War from the Wilderness through Petersburg to Lee's surrender. Drawing heavily on soldiers' letters and diaries, Catton focuses on the lived experience of common troops rather than the strategy of generals, producing battle scenes of unusual intimacy and grief. The book set a template for narrative military history aimed at general readers.