The Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (1)

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The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1-3, 1863, in Pennsylvania, resulted in the highest casualties of the American Civil War and marked a pivotal turning point in the conflict. On the first day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia aimed to annihilate the Union army, pushing its forces through the town and into the hills to the south. The initial clash involved four divisions of Confederate infantry and artillery, totaling around 27,000 troops, against two corps of Union infantry and a cavalry division, amounting to about 22,000. While much of the narrative focuses on tactical details and the actions of commanders, it also highlights the critical decisions made on July 1 and their implications. This volume, the first of three, delves into the combat experience of the soldiers, emphasizing the 'face of battle' as described by John Keegan. Personal accounts from common soldiers underscore that Gettysburg was fundamentally a soldier's battle filled with raw emotion. The study presents the battle chronologically, with chapters organized by key terrain features when multiple actions occurred simultaneously, covering various skirmishes and clashes throughout the conflict.