Complete Guide to the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg: Troops, Biographical Sketches of Leaders, Weaponry, Small Arms, 150th Anniversary, Strategic Setting, Operational Art, Legacy

Here is the full story of Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most crucial battles of the Civil War occurring at a time when the fate of the nation literally hung in the balance. 2013 marked the 150th anniversary of this historic victory by Union forces. The Union "Army of the Potomac", long the nemesis of Lee's army in Virginia, met the Confederate invasion at the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg. Under the command of Major General George Gordon Meade, the Union army fought with a desperation not always seen before on other battlefields. Despite initial Confederate success, the battle turned against Lee on July 3rd, and with few options remaining to him, the general ordered his army back to Virginia. The Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg resulted not only in Lee's retreat to Virginia but an end to the hopes of the Confederacy for independence.

This major ebook compendium provides a unique overview of the battle, with coverage of all aspects of the battle, troops, biographical sketches of Union and Confederate leaders, descriptions of weaponry and small arms, a full reproduction of the new history of the battle from the Army Center of Military History, and the Army's Gettysburg Staff Ride Briefing book. Briefing book contents include: Order of Battle - Army of the Potomac, Order of Battle - Army of Northern Virginia, Casualties, Organization, Logistics, Small Arms, Artillery, Tactics, Gettysburg weather reports, Selected Biographical Sketches of Union Leaders, Lincoln, Stanton, Halleck, Meade, Chamberlain, Hancock, Howard, Reynolds, Sedgwick, Sickles, Slocum, Sykes, Selected Biographical Sketches of Confederate Leaders, Davis, Lee, Ewell, Hill, A. P., Longstreet, Pickett, Stuart, Chronology of Events of the Civil War - 1863, Chamberlain and the 20th Maine at Little Round Top, Selected reports and cables.

The battle brought devastation to the residents of Gettysburg. Every farm field or garden was a graveyard. Churches, public buildings and even private homes were hospitals, filled with wounded soldiers. The Union medical staff that remained were strained to treat so many wounded scattered about the county. To meet the demand, Camp Letterman General Hospital was established east of Gettysburg where all of the wounded were eventually taken to before transport to permanent hospitals in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Union surgeons worked with members of the U.S Sanitary Commission and Christian Commission to treat and care for the over 20,000 injured Union and Confederate soldiers that passed through the hospital's wards, housed under large tents. By January 1864, the last patients were gone as were the surgeons, guards, nurses, tents and cookhouses. Only a temporary cemetery on the hillside remained as a testament to the courageous battle to save lives that took place at Camp Letterman.