The Gettysburg Campaign

Learn about the pivotal battle that changed the course of the American Civil War. In the summer of 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee, fresh off a victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, decided to invade Union territory. Taking his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania, Lee was drawn to a place where the area's major roads converged at Gettysburg. There, over seventy thousand Southern troops waged a dogged, bloody battle against over ninety thousand Union soldiers in the fields and on the boulder-strewn heights surrounding the town. Lee had a lot of faith in his troops. He nursed many hopes for the invasion, primarily engaging in peace negotiations by placing pressure on Washington, D.C. Within three days, those hopes and the future of the Southern cause lay battered on the Gettysburg battlefield, a defeat so crippling it signaled the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. This captivating guide tells the story of the Gettysburg campaign, from Lee's decision to invade to his retreat from the battlefield. In these pages, you'll read about acts of heroism, brilliant battlefield tactics, and horrible decisions that turned the tide of war. In this book, you'll learn about the following: The personal histories of generals and other major figures on both sides; The plight of the people of Gettysburg caught between two armies; The strategy Lee envisioned and the actual battle he was forced to fight; The significance of major landmarks on the Gettysburg battlefield; The scope and intensity of battlefield medical support; The post-war efforts to preserve the ground upon which America's bloodiest battle had been fought; The post-war lives of the major participants in the campaign; The politics underlying major strategic decisions; The truth about myths surrounding the fighting; And so much more!