Midway through its second year the Civil War was no closer to resolution. Pressured by politicians to deliver a significant victory in Southern territory before the winter set in, General Ambrose Burnside, the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, quickly advanced his troops into Virginia toward the city of Fredericksburg. It was a rash gamble, and a Union victory was totally dependent on the element of surprise. It was a terrible and bloody mistake . . .

With a vivid cast of characters that includes President Lincoln, General Lee, and Stonewall Jackson, as well as common soldiers on both sides, all based on actual participants, Richard Croker's No Greater Courage is a blazing narrative of one of the most infamous engagements of the Civil War—brilliantly re-creating the smoke, brutality, and incredible gallantry that was the Battle of Fredericksburg.