• Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up: The Seven Days' Battles, June 25-July 1, 1862
by Doug Crenshaw (Savas Beatie, 2017).
The latest ECW series title, Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up covers the Seven Days, though it looks like it skips over Oak Grove for some reason (or at least I didn't catch a mention of it during my quick zip through the contents) and goes right to the cross river offensive. Like all volumes in the series, this one is filled with relevant photos, period artwork, and maps. It also has an eight-stop battlefield tour, which is integrated into the narrative (with discussion and directions placed at the end of the chapters).The appendix section has three parts, with discussions of Jeb Stuart's famous 'Ride Around McClellan,' the civilian experience of the fighting in Hanover and Henrico counties, and some battlefield preservation history. The author's Glendale study was recently published by another outfit (you'll recognize the shared maps), and it is also mentioned in the text that Crenshaw is working on a future ECW companion release to this one that will deal with the Peninsula Campaign up to the Seven Days.
My guess is that with space limitations Oak Grove just couldn't make the cut. I think the general mindset is that the Seven Days was about Lee taking the offensive and forcing McClellan to retreat to Harrison's. Oak Grove was a relatively minor affair (both of Heintzelman's divisions against Huger's) and wasn't followed up by McClellan. Oak Grove would, however, be a nice History Press topic. And for those who think "retreat" is misleading and should be "change of base", they should read McClellan's JCCW testimony and his momentary slip before he caught himself.
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