The riveting account of the first bloody showdown between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. LeeΓÇöa battle that sealed the fate of the Confederacy and changed the course of American history. In the spring of 1864,President Lincoln feared that he might not be able to save the Union. The Army of the Potomac had performed poorly over the previous two yearsand many Northerners were understandably critical of the war effort. Lincoln assumed heΓÇÖd lose the November electionand he firmly believed a Democratic successor would seek peace immediatelyspelling an end to the Union. A Fire in the Wilderness tells the story of that perilous time when the future of the United States depended on the Union ArmyΓÇÖs success in a desolate forest roughly sixty-five miles from the nationΓÇÖs capital. At the outset of the Battle of the WildernessGeneral LeeΓÇÖs Army of Northern Virginia remained capable of defeating the Army of the Potomac. But two days of relentless fighting in dense Virginia woodsRobert E. Lee was never again able to launch offensive operations against GrantΓÇÖs army. Leewho faced tremendous difficulties replacing fallen soldierslost 11125 menΓÇöor 17% of his entire force. On the opposing side17666 Union soldiers perished. The alarming casualties do not begin to convey the horror of this battleone of the most gruesome in American history. The impenetrable forest and gunfire smoke made it impossible to view the enemy. Officers couldnΓÇÖt even see their own men during the fighting. The incessant gunfire caused the woods to catch fireresulting in hundreds of men burning to death. ΓÇ£It was as though Christian men had turned to fiendsand hell itself had usurped the place of the earthΓÇ¥ wrote one officer. When the fighting finally subsided during the late evening of the second daythe usually stoical Grant threw himself down on his cot and cried.