The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War

"...an extraordinarily informative, exhaustively researched, exceptionally detailed, impressively informative work of Civil War scholarship." ~Midwest Book Review

"In Horn’s history, men at war leap off the pages as full-blooded figures and not just background extras in some sweeping tactical history. If you are interested in revisiting what it must have been like for the men of the 12th to serve, this is the book for you." ~Civil War Courier

"Certainly, anyone who wishes to deeply explore the ANV career of the 12th will want to pick up a copy of Horn's book." ~Civil War Books and Authors

“One of a score or so of outstanding unit histories.” ~Edwin C. Bearss, former Chief Historian, National Park Service

“The culmination of years of study and research, John Horn’s definitive 'The Petersburg Regiment' narrates the wartime adventures of the 12th Virginia with the skill of a master storyteller. We meet the regiment’s members and experience with them the horrors of battle, the exhaustion of the march, and the tedium of camp life. Grounded in primary source materials, told with engaging verve, and accompanied by an ample array of maps, this is Civil War history at its best. 'The Petersburg Regiment' sets a new standard for regimental histories.” ~Gordon C. Rhea, author of On to Petersburg: Grant and Lee, June 4-15, 1864

“John Horn has written important books on the entire Siege of Petersburg and on some of its most crucial battles. His latest, The Petersburg Regiment, was a hard-fighting unit of Robert E. Lee’s army heavily engaged from early 1862 to the end of the war. Its significant service is compellingly narrated throughout these pages. Complementing this narration are keen analyses of the 12th’s strengths—and shortcomings. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the humanity of the military experience.” ~Richard J. Sommers, author of Richmond Redeemed: The Siege of Petersburg and Challenges of Command in the Civil War

“Horn writes with humanity of a band of brothers who push through the hard work of war across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, only to spend the last unhappy months fighting on their own doorsteps to protect their hometown. The Petersburg Regiment is compelling, empathetic, and highly readable—a model for the way regimental histories should be written.” ~Chris Mackowski, editor, The Emerging Civil War Series

“A comprehensive biography of a fighting regiment in the Army of Northern Virginia, especially useful in delineating the hometown support system that sustained the regiment throughout the war.” ~Dr. William Glenn Robertson, author of The First Battle for Petersburg

“John Horn’s splendid history of the 12th Virginia will stand among the classics of the discipline. Long years of research and patient crafting allowed the author to deliver an account as detailed and precise, as honest and clear, as any regimental accounting we’ll ever see. Following the men of Petersburg and its environs from the naïve enthusiasm of the war’s initial months through near-disaster amid the gore at Crampton’s Gap, and on through a series of tough stands in the Chancellorsville campaign to the blunt savagery of the war’s last year, this chronicle of one hard-used, heroic regiment is a true soldier’s book—and that is a great compliment. John Horn takes us as close as words on a page can bring us to the soldier’s experience. From merry snowball fights between entire brigades, to the final, bitter defense of their home city, the men of the 12th Virginia leap to life. Horn’s reliance on first-hand accounts reminds us of how casual death became—as well as how hungry those men in gray became as early as the winter of 1863, when at least a few acquaintances of the regiment found rat meat a tasty supplement to their rations. Simple pleasures and harsh punishments, battlefield confusion and clashes of character…informal truces on the picket line and the shock of finding your powder wet as the enemy approaches…so often, it’s the telling detail, the tidbit ignored by the proponents of grand history, that really bring those Civil War soldiers to life again. And Horn is the master of such details.”
~— Ralph Peters, bestselling author of Cain at Gettysburg and The Damned of Petersburg

"Reflecting his years of careful research, Horn tells an exciting story, which scholars, students,and buffs will both enjoy and learn from. The selections from letters, journals, diaries, and memoirs by the soldiers, their wives, and their children, allows students and academics to walk in the shoes of the soldiers and relate to their experiences on the march and in battle, as well as to better appreciate the decisions made during the war." ~The NYMAS Review

‘’…quotations of so many previously unused primary sources make this published regimental history such a pleasure to read." ~Miniature Wargames

"One of the best regimental histories this reviewer has read . . . Highly recommended." ~StrategyPage