Erik Nelson is a former US Navy weapons specialist and retired city planner of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was a founding board member of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and a founding editor of its journal, Fredericksburg History and Biography.

"Erik F. Nelson has given us the authoritative history of the 'other' battles of the Chancellorsville Campaign. His focus on the military geography of what is now a compromised landscape adds unique clarity to a well-written narrative. No one who aspires to understand 'Lee's greatest victory' can afford to ignore Nelson's original and persuasive account of the fighting in and around Fredericksburg during the first few days of May 1863." --A. Wilson Greene, former historian, Fredericksburg National Military Park

"The Forgotten Battles of the Chancellorsville Campaign rightfully argues that an examination of the campaign helps explain how the Union Army of the Potomac managed to defeat the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia two months later at Gettysburg. Erik F. Nelson's well-researched book makes extensive use of primary and secondary sources. It also reflects deep analysis of command decisions on both sides such as military training, logistics, telegraphy, and other lines of communication." --Keith S. Bohannon, professor of history, University of West Georgia

"Emphasis on the Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and Banks' Ford engagements--each occurring miles east of Chancellorsville yet profoundly affecting the Army of the Potomac's fate--sets Erik F. Nelson's riveting account apart from other Chancellorsville Campaign narratives. Supported by exhaustive research, Nelson's analysis of those actions superbly captures the tactics employed, thereby casting new light on these important, though often overlooked, encounters." --Edward A. Altemos, author of From the Wilderness to Appomattox: The Fifteenth New York Heavy Artillery in the Civil War