SCOTT L. MINGUS / ERIC J. WITTENBERG
The second half of the two-volume history of the Union's and Confederacy's opening moves of the American Civil War's Gettysburg Campaign. This compelling study is the first to fully integrate the military, political, social, economic, and civilian perspectives with rank-and-file accounts from the soldiers of both armies during the inexorably march north toward their mutual destinies at Gettysburg. This current volume (June twenty-two–thirty) completes the march to Gettysburg and details the actions and whereabouts of each component of the armies up to the eve of the fighting. The large-scale maneuvering in late June prompted General Hooker to move his Army of the Potomac north after his opponent and eventually above the Potomac, where he is removed from command and replaced by V Corps commander George G. Meade. Jeb Stuart begins his controversial and consequential ride that strips away the eyes and ears of the Virginia army. Throughout northern Virginia, central Maryland, and south-central Pennsylvania, civilians, politicians, and soldiers alike struggle with the reality of a mobile campaign and the massive logistical needs of the armies. Mingus and Wittenberg mined hundreds of primary accounts, newspapers, and other sources to describe the passage of the long martial columns, the thunderous galloping of hooves, and the looting, fighting, suffering, and dying. It is simply impossible to fully grasp and understand the campaign without a firm appreciation of what the armies and the civilians did during the days leading up to the fateful meeting at the small crossroads town in Adams County, Pennsylvania. This powerful and gripping saga is a ground-breaking study.
