The Washington-to-Richmond route looks short on a flat map, but the ground contains hills, deep rivers, ridgelines, and other defensible obstacles. An army could make the advance, though the simple distance concealed its cost. This terrain repeatedly threatened the careers of Union generals ordered toward Richmond.
Chapter · 17:24-18:32
The ground between Washington and Richmond
The short Washington-to-Richmond route crosses hills, deep rivers, ridgelines, and other defensible ground that a flat map conceals.