Gettysburg

In July 1863, as the Confederate army approached the crossroads village of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the prospect of victory for the South appeared bright. With morale low among the Union army in the wake of a succession of defeats, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Army Commander Robert E. Lee saw an opportunity to win a decisive battle on Union soil. After three bloody days, however, one-third of Lee's army had been killed or wounded, and Lee was forced to retreat to Virginia. This major loss, considered to be the Civil War's turning point, became the first of many Union victories that ultimately led to Appomattox and complete Confederate defeat. With dramatic text and pictures, Gettysburg humanizes this crucial battle: the thoughts, emotions, and actions of the men who commanded, fought, and died there. As Abraham Lincoln said four months after the battle, those who died at Gettysburg gave their last full measure of devotion that the nation might experience a new birth of freedom. This is the story of those brave men.