Long suffering students of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign series of battles have had two major projects on their minds for a very long time. The first, R.E.L. Krick's massive two-volume history of the Battle of Gaines' Mill, has already been released to universal acclaim. An American Battlefield Trust donation exclusive, it's still unclear if there are plans for a general release in the future (at least I've yet to come across anything said about it publicly). A study as unique and important as that one deserves a wider release, so hopefully that will happen someday.
Getting to the matter at hand, though, the other much-anticipated title of the pair, Frank O'Reilly's Malvern Hill battle history, has just received a release window from the publisher. If you follow Savas Beatie on social media, you already know that
Retreat from Victory: The Battle of Malvern Hill and the End of the Seven Days, July 1, 1862 is scheduled for a Spring '26 release. Online retailers currently have the date as May 15, but, as such things go, that may change.
It won't have the girth of the Krick set, but it will come in at a tome-like 500+ pages. The Sneden watercolor was a great choice for the cover art, too.
Thanks Drew. We are really excited about this one, as you can imagine. We will hit the release date. -- Ted Savas
ReplyDeleteDrew: As we know, this study is as long waited and as eagerly anticipated as the Krick study. Both are by authors with well-earned status as "icons" in this area. Both will be the definitive battle narratives. There was a point when we were uncertain as to when or even whether they would see the light of day. And now here we are. Thanks to these authors and others, and an outfit like Savas Beatie, we are living in a "golden age" of ACW publishing.
ReplyDeleteHello Drew I got my 2 volumes of the Gaines Mill study after making two donations. I wanted to make sure I got the hardbound 1st printings. I wasn't sure what the availability would be. Both of my volumes have a price($29.95)on the rear of the jackets. So I assume they must have plans to sell some? As long as we waited for this, I hope there will be plenty to purchase. There will be a lot of people that want a set.
ReplyDeleteDon H.
Hi Don, the price printed on the jacket does seem suggestive.
DeleteI do have both of Bobby Krick’s Gaines Mill titles after donating to ABT. As above, I wanted to ensure I would get 1st Printing Hardcovers w/DJ.
ReplyDeleteHe definitely did not disappoint with these two volumes. These ARE and shall remain the definitive books on this subject.
I as well, look forward to the 2026 release of Frank O’Reilly’s Malvern Hill opus.