The Battle of Gettysburg: The Country, The Contestants, The Results

by William C. Storrick

2020 · Library of Alexandria

It is difficult to present a great battle with sufficient detail to please both the student of tactics and the average reader. If the visitor is not satisfied with the brief outline here presented, he is recommended to read further in the books listed, and especially to employ a guide, without whose trained and supervised services the best manual is inadequate. The reader in search of romance is recommended to the successive Incidents of the Battle as herein presented. According to official records, the Gettysburg campaign of 1863 began on June 3rd and ended on August 1st. No effort will be made to describe the movements, counter-movements, and fifty minor engagements that occurred before the armies crossed the Mason and DixonÕs line and finally concentrated at Gettysburg, where they engaged in battle on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It is necessary, however, that the visitor should understand the approach to the field. On June 3rd the Union Army, called the Army of the Potomac, lay at Falmouth, Va., on the north side of the Rappahannock River, Major-General Joseph Hooker in command. The Confederate Army, called the Army of Northern Virginia, occupied the south bank, with headquarters at Fredericksburg, General Robert E. Lee in command. Both armies were resting after the major engagement at Chancellorsville, in which the Confederates were victorious. The Army of the Potomac was made up of seven infantry and one cavalry corps. It numbered at the time of the battle approximately 84,000. The Army of Northern Virginia was made up of three infantry corps and one division of cavalry. It numbered at the time of the battle about 75,000. Following the text is a roster of officers, which should be consulted, both for an understanding of the battle and because of the obligation to honor brave men. During the month of May, General Lee visited Richmond to discuss with the Confederate government various plans involving political and military considerations. Up to this time, the South had won the major victories, but her resources, both in men and sinews of war, were diminishing, and a prolonged conflict would be disastrous. It was decided that the army should invade the North via the Shenandoah and Cumberland valleys, with Harrisburg as an objective. This route not only afforded a continuous highway but put the army in a position to threaten Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington from the north. The Blue Ridge Mountains to the east would screen the advance, and the rich agricultural section would furnish supplies of food and forage. The time was propitious. General LeeÕs army was in the prime of condition. The North was discouraged by losses, distrustful of Lincoln, weary of war. The South believed that one great victory would assure her the friendliness of the leading powers of Europe. Her independence once acknowledged, she could import the materials of war and the necessities of life which she lacked. It was thought certain that at the prospect of invasion the North would withdraw troops from the siege of Vicksburg then being conducted by General Grant. With high hopes the march was begun. On June 3rd Lee put his army in motion northward, with EwellÕs Corps, preceded by JenkinsÕ and ImbodenÕs Cavalry, in the advance, followed by Longstreet and lastly by Hill. Longstreet moved on the east side of the Blue Ridge in order to lead Hooker to believe that Washington would be threatened. On reaching SnickerÕs Gap, he crossed the Ridge into the Shenandoah Valley and followed Hill, who was now in advance. The great army was strung out from Fredericksburg, Va., on the south to Martinsburg, W. Va., on the north, with the cavalry division under Stuart guarding the gaps along the Blue Ridge. Since 1863 the population of Gettysburg has increased from 2,000 to 5,500 After driving out Union forces stationed at Winchester under Milroy, LeeÕs Army crossed the Potomac at Williamsport and Shepherdstown on June 23rd, 24th, and 25th, and advanced northward, unopposed, through the Cumberland Valley, toward Harrisburg.

The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries

by Martha Joanna Lamb, John Austin Stevens, Henry Phelps Johnston, Benjamin Franklin DeCosta, Nathan Gillett Pond, William Abbatt

2024 · BoD – Books on Demand

Reprint of the original, first published in 1879.

The Peninsula Campaign of 1862

by William J. Miller

2013 · Savas Publishing

The first of three volumes. The Civil War's Peninsula Campaign (March through July 1862) was the first large-scale Union operation in Virginia to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond. The operation was organized and led by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, whose amphibious turning operation was initially successful in landing troops at the tip of the Virginia peninsula against the cautious Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. When Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines at the end of May outside Richmond, however, Gen. Robert E. Lee was elevated to command the Army of Northern Virginia. His subsequent major offensive to defeat The Army of the Potomac during the Seven Days' Battles turned the tide of the campaign and the entire momentum of the war in the Eastern Theater. Original well-researched and written essays by leading scholars in the field on a wide variety of fascinating topics. Contains original maps, photos, and illustrations.