In October 1864, in the mountains of southwest Virginia, one of the most brutal acts of the Civil War occurs. Brig. Gen. Stephen Burbridge launches a raid to capture Saltville. Included among his forces is the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry. Repeated Federal attacks are repulsed by Confederate forces under the command of Gen. John S. Williams. As the sun begins to set, Burbridge pulls his troops from the field, leaving many wounded. In the morning, Confederate troops, including a company of ruffians under the command of Captain Champ Ferguson, advance over the battleground seeking out and killing the wounded black soldiers. What starts as a small but intense mountain battle degenerates into a no-quarter, racial massacre. A detailed account from eyewitness reports of the most blatant battlefield atrocity of the war.

142 two-color maps vividly depict battlefield action Detailed local driving directions guide visitors to each battlefield site Of the 384 Civil War battlefields cited as critical to preserve by the congressionally appointed Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, 123-fully one-third-are located in Virginia. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide is the comprehensive guidebook to the most significant battles of the Civil War. Reviewed by Edwin C. Bearss and other noted Civil War authorities and sanctioned by the National Park Service and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, no other guidebook on the market today rivals it for historical detail, accuracy, and credibility.